Sikhism in Belgium

Sikhism in Belgium

Total population
10,000
Regions with significant populations
Watermael-Boitsfort•Sint-Truiden•Vilvoorde•Borgloon•Liège•Alken•Ostend•Ghent
Languages
Punjabi•Languages of Belgium

Sikhismis a minority religion inBelgium,but Sikhs have played a role in Belgian history; duringWorld War I,many Sikhs fought in Belgium. In theFirst Battle of Ypres,an entire platoon of Dogra Sikhs died.

Migration to Belgium

The first eight Sikhs who came to Belgium as private citizens arrived on 8 November 1972 as political exiles. They were expelled fromUganda;at the time, it was under the dictatorial rule ofIdi Amin,who drove all Indians from the country.Other Sikhs who arrived before 1985 (only a handful, among them Jarnail Singh Alhuwalia) were workers at the Indian Embassy. Most Sikhs arrived in the wake of Sukhdev Singh Jalwehra in 1985, after the storming of the Golden Temple in Amritsar by Indian troops the previous year. When Jalwehra arrived in Belgium, a ban existed on the wearing of turbans in passport or identity-card photos. Jalwehra fought the case and won, and Sikhs were no longer required to remove their turbans.In 1993, whenKing Baudouin Idied, Sukhdev Singh Jalwerha paid respect at the palace with a group of other Sikhs as representatives of the Belgian Sikh community.

The first Sikhs in Belgium were predominantly male laborers with limited education, sharing a rented house and dividing the costs. Since they were accustomed to working in agriculture, they looked for work in that sector and found seasonal jobs in the Flemish province of Limburg on fruit farms. Later Sikhs immigrated for economic reasons; they had been living in impoverished regions of the Punjab and came looking for a better life in Belgium. At first they also found employment on fruit farms but when they could afford to do so they established their own shops, particularly shops remaining open at night inBrussels.As immigrants, completing the necessary paperwork was challenging. Sikh women are now arriving in Belgium in greater numbers, many to reunite their families.

Persecution

In 1994, thegovernment of the United Statesnoted that while Belgium hasfreedom of religionand has not seen much systematic violence directed against religious minorities or newcomers, an exception occurred in 1993 against Sikhs. InSint-Truiden,Sikh workers inagriculturewere bullied by some citizens and one Sikh was shot. A house belonging to Sikhs was bombed, with no fatalities. There were arrests in the aftermath.

Official Intervention

Following problems with immigration documentation which gave rise to concerns about possible human trafficking, the Mayor of Vilvoorde closed the local Gurdwara between October and December 2014, and following disturbances in the Temple, again in September 2016.

Gurdwaras

Gurdwara Guru Ravidass Sabha, Ostend

There are sevenGurdwarasin Belgium; the oldest was founded in Sint-Truiden in 1993.

Gurdwaras in Belgium are:

• Gurdwara Sangat Sahib,Watermaaland Sint-Truiden (Founded in 1993)
• Gurdwara Guru Nanak Sahib,Vilvoorde,Brussels (1999)
• Gurdwara Guru Ram Dass Sikh Study and Cultural Center,Borgloon(2005)
• InLiège(2005)
• Gurdwara Singh Sabha,Alken(2013),Gurudwara Official website
• Gurdwara Shri Guru Ravidass Sabha,Ostend
• Gurdwara Mata Sahib Kaur JiGhent

Sikh population

According to a Dutch newspaper, there are approximately 10,000 Sikhs in Belgium.A Sikh stronghold isSint-Truiden(Limburg), where the first SikhGurdwarawas built. There are about 3,000 Sikhs inLimburg,2,000 inLiègeand more than 2,000 inBrussels.The remainder live throughout Belgium.

Cities with significant Sikh populations are:

• Vilvoorde
• Sint-Truiden
• Liège
• Borgloon
• Tienen
• Ostend
• Ghent
• Antwerp
• Leuven
• Alken
• Hasselt

External links

• Gurudwara Guru Nanak Sahib in Brussels