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Religion and Custom

There are five mosques, the oldest being the Jamia Masjid in Shelley Street on Hong Kong Island, which was built in 1849 and rebuilt in 1915 to make room for 400 worshippers. The eight- storey Masjid Ammar and Osman Ramju Sadick Islamic Centre in Wan Chai houses a prayer hall on two floors, a community hall, a library, a medical clinic, classrooms and offices, and can accommodate up to 1,500 people.

The imposing Kowloon Masjid and Islamic Centre, with its distinctive white marble finish, is a major landmark in Tsim Sha Tsui and a focal point for the Muslim community in Hong Kong. With three prayer halls, a community hall, a medical centre and a library, the mosque can accommodate 3,500 worshippers. There are two more mosques: Stanley Mosque inside Stanley Prison and Chai Wan Mosque at Cape Collinson. There are two Muslim cemeteries, one in Happy Valley and the other at Cape Collinson.

Charitable work among the Muslim community, including providing financial aid to the needy, medical facilities and education assistance, is carried out through the Islamic Community Fund and various local Muslim organisations.

Hinduism

The religious and social activities of the 40,000-strong Hindu community are centred on the Hindu Temple in Happy Valley. The Hindu Association of Hong Kong is responsible for the upkeep of the temple, which is used for meditation, spiritual lectures, yoga classes and other community activities, as well as the observance of major Hindu festivals such as Diwali, Dussehra, Holi, Ganesh Chaturthi and Hanuman Puja. Engagement and marriage ceremonies (in) accordance with the Marriage Ordinance) are performed in the temple according to Hindu rites. Other important services include the administration of last rites, making arrangements for cremation and related ceremonies and the maintenance of the Hindu crematorium at Cape Collinson.

Devotional music sessions and religious discourses are held every Sunday morning, followed by a free community meal, which is also served on Monday evenings.

Sikhism

The Sikhs originally came to Hong Kong from Punjab, India, as part of the British Armed Forces in the 19th century. It was the Sikh members of the British Army Regiment stationed in Hong Kong who built the first Sikh temple, Siri Guru Singh Sabha, in 1901 in Queen's Road East, Wan Chai. The building was redeveloped in 1938 and was further extended in the 1980s to meet the demands of the growing Sikh population in Hong Kong. The present Sikh Temple is classified as a Grade II Historic Building and is managed by the Khalsa Diwan, a registered charitable organisation. The temple provides a range of voluntary services for Sikhs and non-Sikhs alike, including the provision of langar (a free meal) and short-term accommodation for overseas visitors.

There are about 10,000 Sikhs in Hong Kong. Religious services are conducted in the temple every morning and evening. Followers of Guru Nanak Dev, the founder of Sikhism, gather in the temple in large numbers on Sundays and on the main holy days. The most important religious

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