ENG-1950 — Page 117

The greater part (about 1,100) of the Indian population in Hong Kong is Muslim. The first mosque was built in 1850 on the present mosque site in Shelley Street; the existing construction dates from 1915 when the original mosque was entirely rebuilt. In 1870 the Muslims founded their own cemetery in Happy Valley, their dead having until then been buried in the Breezy Point area above the Western district of Victoria. A second mosque was built in 1896, in Nathan Road, Kowloon, but in 1902 was transferred to the care of the military authorities for use by Indian troops.

The Sikh community, numbering about 300, has had a temple in Hong Kong since the eighteen-seventies. The building was demolished during the Japanese occupation and has since been rebuilt; it is situated in Gap Road.

The Parsis were among the foreign communities who arrived with the British in 1841. They had in 1829 established a prayer- house and cemetery in Macao, and in 1859 they established their first cemetery in Hong Kong in Happy Valley. In 1874 they established a prayer-hall in Elgin Street, which was moved in the nineteen-thirties to a new site on Leighton Hill. There is no Fire Temple or Tower of Silence.

The Jews, whose community numbers about 150, were also established in Macao prior to the foundation of Hong Kong where they were among the earliest residents. Their cemetery, on the slopes of Happy Valley, was founded in 1855, and their religious services were originally held in premises rented in the Peel Street, In 1901 Staunton Street area of the Central district of Victoria. land was purchased by the community. in Robinson Road and the present Synagogue constructed, the entire foundation being the gift of Sir Jacob Sassoon.

The Hindus have never had a temple in the Colony, but the Those community plans to construct one shortly in Happy Valley. Hindus from Sind and the Punjab who have to some extent been influenced by the teachings of Guru Nanak occasionally take part in observances at the Sikh temple; apart from this there is only private worship.

To cater for the needs of the Russian Orthodox congregation, which is about 100 strong, arrangements have been made for regular Russian Orthodox services to be held in the church hall of St. Andrew's Kowloon. There is also a congregation of similar size acknowledging the present Patriarch of Moscow; this congregation makes separate arrangements for its religious services.

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