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RELIGION AND CUSTOM

of his mother Leah and it is known as the Synagogue ‘Ohel Leah'. The Jewish Recreation Club and the resident rabbi's apartments are on the same site. There are about 300 people in the congregation and they belong to families who originally came from the United Kingdom, China, India, Eastern and Western Europe, and the United States.

There are more than 6,000 followers of Islam in Hong Kong, most of them Chinese who have come to the Colony during the past two decades. The other members of the Muslim community are mainly from Pakistan, India, Malaysia, Indonesia, Persia and from neighbouring regions. They gather for prayers at the Shelley Street Mosque, on Hong Kong Island, and at the Nathan Road Mosque in Kowloon.

The Shelley Street Mosque dates back to the early days of the Islamic faith in Hong Kong in the 1880's. The mosque in Kowloon was originally built for the use of Moslem troops in the former Indian Army and stands at present within the boundaries of Whit- feild Barracks. Two places have been set aside by the government as burial grounds for the Muslim community. One is at Happy Valley and the other at the new Cape Collinson Cemetery, Chai Wan, contains a beautifully designed mosque built by the government.

A board of trustees, comprising representatives of the various sects within the Muslim community, is the co-ordinating body for all religious affairs and is also responsible for the mosques and cemeteries. This board has recently been incorporated and is now known as the Incorporated Trustees of the Islamic Community of Hong Kong. Much charitable work among the Muslim community, including financial help to the needy, hospitalization and assisted education, is being done by a welfare committee set up in recent years by a group of public-spirited women.

The Hindu community numbers more than 5,000 and their religious and social activities centre round a temple in Happy Valley. The community has been associated with Hong Kong since earliest times and the temple itself is considered to be one of the finest in the Far East. In addition to visits by saints, swamis and learned men who give spiritual lectures, a number of festivals are observed, the more important being the Holy Festival, the Birth