PM Modi’s recent UAE visit and the inauguration of the iconic BAPS Hindu Mandir not only mark a new epoch in Bharat’s engagement dynamics with Islamic countries but is also a compelling case study of how international diplomacy can be successfully leveraged to address issues of culture and civilization.
A decade back, the inauguration of a Hindu Mandir in an Islamic country would have been unimaginable. Yet, in 2024, a Hindu temple with murtis did not just get inaugurated in UAE but the inauguration became a media spectacle with the Prime Minister of Bharat performing Hindu rituals within the temple premises along with the priests of the Swaminarayan sect. This itself is symbolic of the potential of soft power in dismantling pre-conceived notions and hegemonic structures and paving the way for decolonization and reclaiming of age-old cultures and civilizations.
Images of saffron-clad Sadhus accompanying the Bharatiya Prime Minister in the backdrop of a grand stone temple in an Islamic country are enough to send the woke intellectuals of Bharat and the radical Islamists into a tizzy. During the live coverage of the inauguration ceremony by the Bharatiya media, the Bharatiya diaspora of UAE could be heard rapturously declaring that it’s perhaps the first time they will get to hear the sounds of temple bells in Abu Dhabi. The symbolic significance of such statements and the inherent emotional value cannot be translated into written text.
BAPS Swaminarayan Mandir is the first Hindu temple in Abu Dhabi. As per various media reports, the UAE has three other Hindu temples located in Dubai. Exact statistics regarding the number of Hindus living in UAE are not available but as per various media reports, approximately 6 percent of UAE residents are Hindus which makes them a rather small but significant minority. Hindus in UAE mostly follow their religious practices and rituals from within their homes. It’s natural that expression of other faiths publicly is not encouraged in an Islamic nation. But with the inauguration of the BAPS Hindu Mandir in Abu Dhabi, it seems change is on the anvil. The Hindu population of UAE will now have a public space to practice their faith without fear of harassment or intimidation.
The western media has also covered PM Modi’s inauguration of the BAPS Hindu temple in Abu Dhabi. But it’s incredible how it cannot resist any opportunity to introduce a bit of controversy when it comes to news related to Bharat. CNN’s report titled “India’s Modi inaugurates Abu Dhabi’s first Hindu temple” begins by talking about the temple inauguration and the fact that it’s the first Hindu temple in an Islamic country but then changes the track mid-way. “But while Islam is the official religion of the UAE, Modi’s trip comes as Muslims in India say they feel marginalized and threatened as Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party’s Hindu nationalist policies gain momentum in the world’s largest democracy”, says the article. It’s incredible how desperate the western media is to sell some controversy when it comes to Bharat. Bharat must be having at least a million mosques and yet, the likes of CNN feel compelled to talk about the supposed marginalization of Muslims in Bharat while talking about the construction of a Hindu temple in an Islamic country where Hindus form a miniscule minority of a bit more than 6 percent. That too when it’s the first Hindu temple in Abu Dhabi and the fourth one in UAE, if one goes by various media reports of UAE already having 3 other Hindu temples.
Bharat’s foreign policy has put the spotlight on stepping up bilateral engagement with the Middle East. The government has aggressively focused on redefining the contours of Bharat’s engagement with Islamic countries especially during the second term of the Modi government. It’s a result of Bharat’s successful foreign policy vis a vis the Middle East that countries like UAE and Saudi Arabia no longer meddle in the Kashmir issue and consider it as an internal matter of Bharat. To the huge disappointment of the likes of Pakistan and the global Islamists, Saudi Arabia, and UAE are no longer even staying silent on the Kashmir issue but are getting closer to endorsing Bharat’s position.
When the UAE President Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan met the then Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif during his visit to the UAE in January 2023, there was no mention of Kashmir in the joint statement between the UAE and Pakistan. Moreover, Dubai is investing in Kashmir on a large scale. Dubai-based Emaar, a real estate developer from the UAE, has become the first overseas company to spread in a mega -mall spread over 10 lakh square feet in Srinagar. In the wake of Islamic countries fast changing their position vis-à-vis Kashmir, the likes of Pakistan and China have little incentive left to rake up the Kashmir issue at various UN forums. This is a huge diplomatic win for Bharat.
At a time when Islamic countries are taking multiple initiatives to reform themselves, Islamists in Bharat and the west insist on embracing the more fundamental side of Islam. One can see a paradigm shift as radical Islam makes its presence felt in western countries where Islamic appeasement in the garb of helping immigrants ran high for a long time, and now the disruptive results are out there for all to see. Even as the hotbed of Islam, the Arab world realizes reform is necessary to stay relevant in a fast-changing geopolitical order, Islamists in Bharat seem to be stuck in a time warp.
Saudi Arabia can be regarded as a case study of Islamic reform. Since he came to power, Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman has pushed reforms that have given a significant boost to women’s rights and opportunities, catered to the aspirations of the youth for a greater degree of social freedom, and contributed to diversification in economic affairs.
Mohammed bin Salman has initiated a lot of reforms, especially with regard to the freedom of women, ever since he came to power. In 2018, the women of Saudi Arabia secured permission to drive vehicles. Cinemas in the Islamic nation, which had been banned since the 1980s, reopened the same year. As per various media reports, the power of Saudi Arabia’s religious police has also been curbed significantly. The police would earlier monitor public spaces and impose strict rules on women’s dressing and enforce bans on the playing of music, drinking of alcohol, mixing of men and women, etc. Though the religious police still exist in the Islamic nation, its powers have been reduced considerably.
Restaurants in Saudi Arabia can also play music, thus creating a way for the flourishing of the country’s entertainment industry. Also, the ban on the mixing of genders in public spaces has been relaxed, thus paving the way for a more equal society. Music is considered haram in Islam and thus for a long time, Saudi Arabia followed the strict Islamic protocol of banning music in public spaces. Also, strict gender segregation is a feature of many Islamic societies. Although gender segregation is still enforced in Saudi Arabia, many such rules have been relaxed a bit. Adult women in Saudi Arabia can now travel without permission and exercise a greater degree of control over family matters. This mandate came into effect in 2019, prior to which a stringent male guardianship system was in place to regulate and monitor the movement of women outside their homes.
Also, the Islamic country introduced a new tourist visa regime in 2019 that did away with the mandatory requirement of all-covering robes for women tourists. As per these guidelines, all visitors are expected to adhere to a modest dress code.
In a first-of-its-kind decision, Malaysia’s top court recently declared unconstitutional more than a dozen Islamic laws enacted by the state of Kelantan, in a landmark decision that could affect similar Sharia laws in various other parts of the Muslim-majority country.
Malaysia has a double-track legal system with Islamic family laws and criminal laws applicable to Muslims running alongside the country’s secular laws. Malaysia’s Islamic laws are enacted by state legislatures while the secular laws are passed by the Parliament of Malaysia. However, in a landmark decision, a nine-member Federal Court bench declared 16 laws in Kelantan’s sharia criminal code “void and invalid” including provisions criminalizing sodomy, incest, gambling, sexual harassment, and the desecration of places of worship.
Although the Islamic world still seems to be a long way from initiating changes in the Islamic law that strictly governs these countries, the wave of social reforms could soon create space for a change in Islamic law and make it more in sync with modern law that’s the norm in most countries across the world.
However, we must not forget that some other Arab and Islamic nations, like Qatar, Turkey & Pakistan, are not happy with the direction Saudi Arabia and UAE have taken. Wealthy Qatar has now emerged as the global hub of funding and sponsoring Muslim extremists worldwide. Also, Iran continues to be a sponsor of Shia extremism.
It is within the larger context of the wave of reforms in Islamic countries that Bharat’s increasing diplomatic engagement with the Islamic world needs to be looked at. Even as Islamists back home insist on embracing radical Islam as a mark of identity for Muslim minorities in Bharat, the Modi government’s astute diplomacy in the Middle East is changing perceptions when it comes to acceptance of Hindu Dharma.
Modi government’s “temple diplomacy” is leading to the increased visibility of Hindu dharma on a global platform. When we talk about the global clout of Abrahamic religions like Christianity and Islam, their hegemonic status has been consolidated over centuries due to sustained publicity and international branding of these religions. Islam and Christianity are not just religions, they are brands in the international sphere which is what makes entire ecosystems thrive around them. Modi government is now trying to create a brand out of Hindu Dharma which is essential, if we want to turn the tables, lend a greater degree of legitimacy to the practitioners of Hindu Dharma, and eventually end the atrocities committed on Hindus in certain parts of the world.
The consolidation of an issue in terms of branding undergoes multiple phases. In the first phase, one needs to launch a blitzkrieg of positive images and spectacles of Hindu Dharma for the world to take note of Hindu culture and traditions and stop demonizing them. The next step is media exposure; once Hindu Dharma begins to be consolidated as a global brand, more and more media will be interested in doing positive stories on Hindus and Hindu Dharma. Why do we see so many positive stories around Islam and Christianity? Simply because these are consolidated brands and therefore, there is a whole thriving ecosystem that incentivizes such points of view. Branding leads to business and media these days is all about business and sponsorships. If we can create similar branding for Hindu Dharma, mainstream media will start covering Hindu issues widely as well.
Once Hindu Dharma gets consolidated as a brand, the spotlight will also turn on the sufferings of Hindus in countries like Bangladesh, Pakistan, and Afghanistan. Right now, the world doesn’t want to listen to these stories because it doesn’t fall within their scheme of things. But with the Modi government’s successful international diplomacy that also leverages the power of Bharat’s rich civilizational ethos, cultural values, and Hindu identity, that day is not far when the world will start engaging proactively with Hindu issues.
