Chief Editor Amer Safir, London, UK
A diverse and vibrant community comes together in unity and harmony
Tucked away to the west of London is a district which many around the world have never heard of, called Southall. With a majority of its nearly 70,000 residents – almost 76% – being South Asian, Southall reflects the diversity of the subcontinent, with 35% of people being Sikh, 24% Muslim, 18% Hindu and just under 13% Christian. It hosts one of the biggest Sikh gurdwaras outside of India and one of the most significant Hindu temples in the UK. Southall Broadway, the main high street, is filled with colourful Pakistani- and Indian-style clothing shops, restaurants serving South Asian cuisine and a multitude of Sikh, Muslim, Hindu and Christian places of worship. It’s no wonder that the district is famously dubbed ‘Little Punjab’.
It was here in Southall in February that the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community inaugurated its first purpose-built mosque in the area. Although establishing themselves in Southall in the 1960s, the Ahmadi Muslims here are few in number. The worldwide head of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community, Hazrat Mirza Masroor Ahmad (aba), formally inaugurated the mosque and delivered a keynote address to the cream of Southall’s religious leaders and government officials. I had become friends with some of the Sikh and Hindu leaders in attendance at this event and after His Holiness’ (aba) faith-inspiring address, I approached my new acquaintances who expressed to me why the speech of His Holiness (aba) was so important for Southall.
Yet just a few decades ago, the circumstances in Southall were quite different to what they are today. Racial tensions had engulfed Southall and incidents of violence between Hindus, Sikhs and Muslims were on the rise. The Independent newspaper reported on 27th January 2002:
‘A spate of attacks [in Southall] within the Asian community has increased fears that tensions are rising between Sikh, Hindu and Muslim groups in Britain in the wake of the World Trade Centre attack on 11 September last year. The Commission for Racial Equality now plans to intervene after several incidents this month, including the murder of a Pakistani restaurant owner by a Sikh gang and an unprovoked attack by Pakistani youths on three Sikh boys in east London.’
Fast-forward almost two decades, and the adherents of these religions are now united, and problems have been relegated to the past. They spoke affectionately about one another and were at pains to tell me that those past incidents did not reflect the majority sentiment. Not only were bygones, bygones, but rather they had formed a vibrant multi-faith organisation to demonstrate their solidarity and harmony. What had prompted such a radical change? And more importantly, how was this relatively tiny mosque important to a district already replete with a multitude of vast mosques, gurdwaras and temples?
My journey to Southall would revolve around a visit to the largest gurdwara in the UK and an important Hindu temple. Many from the Sikh community knew very little about the beliefs of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community, yet they developed new friendships and would welcome the Caliph with great warmth. Many of the Hindu leaders had met His Holiness (aba) on several occasions and greatly revered him. I was able to capture these contrasting journeys of some of the Sikh and Hindu guests who would attend the event and what it meant to them.
Largest Gurdwara in the UK
A week earlier I had travelled to Southall in the lead-up to the mosque inauguration. I had arranged to meet with the Joint General Secretary of the Gurdwara Sri Guru Singh Sabha Southall, Navraj Singh, and with Umesh Sharma, Chairman of the Hindu Council UK, of the Shree Ram Mandir.
What was my purpose in visiting them at the gurdwara and the temple? One of the main reasons was to provide an opportunity for Navraj and Umesh to briefly outline the key tenets of the Sikh and Hindu religions respectively. The Founder of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community, Hazrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmad (as), the Promised Messiah and Imam Mahdi, had said that all major religions that have spread far and wide and whose adherents are in the millions were true in their source. Many Muslims also greatly revere Guru Baba Nanak as a noble saint and Krishnaas as a prophet of God. Therefore, the founders of all major religions are worthy of respect, and to dishonour them in any way would be a serious transgression. Indeed, he emphasised that conferences should be organised where different religious scholars are provided a platform to explain their beliefs without reproach, in order to increase mutual tolerance and understanding. This is how we can ensure peace in the world. This is how we can prevent conflict, as tensions are heightened when religious sentiments are hurt by mocking founders of other religions.
With this golden principle in view, I first sat down with Navraj to discuss more about the Sikh faith and the upcoming mosque inauguration. He mentioned to me that he was not too familiar with the doctrines of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community; I explained briefly its beliefs and showed a picture of Hazrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmad (as) on the inside front cover of The Review of Religions, which I gifted to him.
The Gurdwara Sri Guru Singh Sabha Southall consists of two gurdwaras in close proximity to one another. The Park Lane Gurdwara, while the smaller of the two, is still large and holds huge significance to the Sikh community. The larger gurdwara on Havelock Road is the biggest gurdwara in the UK and both sites combined see 15,000 people visit per week. Entering the gurdwara we removed our shoes and also placed a cloth that was provided over our heads as a mark of respect, and which is required to enter a gurdwara. Removing shoes before entering is a custom that is also practised at both Hindu temples and Islamic mosques.
What Does the Sikh Religion Represent?
In terms of the Sikh faith, I began by asking Navraj what the purpose of a gurdwara was: ‘In the gurdwara we hold our holy scriptures, the Guru Granth Sahib Ji. They were written by the Gurus and we revere them as the Word of God. People come here to listen to pray and show their respects.’
Visiting the main prayer hall, there was pin-drop silence from worshippers, who sat on the ground cross-legged, or walked to the front to bow down in prostration before the holy scripture and offer tokens of respect or donations for the upkeep of the gurdwara. Although men and women are separated on either side of the hall, Navraj explained to me this is not a strict requirement of the Sikh religion. Music plays an important role and different groups sing songs of prayers of the Gurus and their teachings using traditional Indian instruments from a slightly elevated stage at the front. In between musical scores, various learned members deliver religious lectures from the podium. The centrepiece in the main hall is the Guru Granth Sahib. ‘In the main prayer hall is a takht or throne,’ explains Navraj. ‘On top of the throne we place the Guru Granth Ji. We don’t call it a book. We would go to a library to get a book. For us, our enlightener, our Guru, are the words in the scripture, not the paper or the binding.’ Punjabi is the language used for religious services and as I walked through the gurdwara, Punjabi lessons were in session and hundreds of young Sikh children were being taught how to speak the language.
What about the belief in a higher being – what was the Sikh concept of divinity? Navraj replied: ‘Sikhs believe in One God. There is only One God, One Lord and He is a Universal Creator. In the Guru Granth Sahib we find many names of God and we believe there are many ways to God but ultimately He is One. The title we use for God has four syllables, Waheguru. This translates as “the Wonderful Lord”. In the Guru Granth Sahib we even know God as “Allah” and “Bagwaan” and so forth. The word