A landmark Hindu temple in the UAE will soon be a reality as Abu Dhabi is busy building a holy shrine for the sake of its Indian diaspora. Indian PM Narendra Modi laid the foundation stone for the said temple in Abu Dhabi on February 11, 2020. Reportedly, the construction of the shrine will be finished by 2020.

News has it that PM Modi laid the foundation stone of the Hindu temple from the Dubai Opera House through video conferencing. The shrine will be made at Abu Mureikhah, off the Dubai-Abu Dhabi Highway. Bochasanwasi Shri Akshar Purushottam Swaminarayan Sanstha (BAPS), a socio-spiritual Hindu organization established in 1907 will look after the temple.

PM Modi shared a tweet to express his joy at the foundation stone laying ceremony and thanked the Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi for donating 55000 sq m of land for building the temple.

The Hindu temple in Abu Dhabi will have idols of Lord Maheshwara, Lord Ayyappa, Lord Krishna and other deities. Artisans from India will carve the stone to be put on the walls of the temple and professionals in the UAE will assemble those carved stones. In order to promote the Vedic message of Vasudev Kutumbakam (the whole world is God’s home), the temple will welcome people from all walks of life.

In addition, the temple will not have steel reinforcement in its foundation much like the ancient stone architecture that has been adopted for religious stone buildings in India. Swami Brahmavihari, the priest in charge of international relations at Baps Swaminarayan Sanstha, told the press that the hand-carved stone from India will be shipped before the Dubai Expo 2020 so that they could put it on display to showcase the majestic charm of the upcoming Hindu temple. The idea is to make the temple resemble quite like the Akshardham temple in New Delhi, which is also controlled by the BAPS.

The temple will be a cultural and tourist attraction and will have features including prayer halls, learning areas, visitors’ centre, exhibition centre, sports area for children and youths, theme-based gardens, water attractions and a food court.