Religion in Dubai
Religion in Dubai
Islam is the official state religion.
The Government funds or subsidizes almost 95 percent of Sunni mosques and
employs all Sunni imams; approximately 5 percent of Sunni mosques are entirely
private, and several large mosques have large private endowments. The government
distributes guidance on religious sermons to mosques and imams, whether Sunni or
Shi'a, and monitors all sermons for political content. The Shi'a minority is
free to worship and maintain its own mosques. All Shi'a mosques are considered
private and receive no funds from the government. Within the UAE, Shi'a imams
are government-appointed only in Dubai. Shi'a Muslims in Dubai may pursue Shi'a
family law cases through a special Shi'a council rather than the Shari'a courts.
Regarding the other religions in Dubai, Dubai has large expatriate
communities of Hindus, Christians, Buddhists, Sikhs and others. Non-Muslim
groups can own their own houses of worship, wherein they can practice their
religion freely, by requesting a land grant and permission to build a compound.
Groups that do not have their own buildings must use the facilities of other
religious organizations or worship in private homes. While the UAE doesn't offer
any federal-level method of granting official status to religious groups, the
individual emirates may exercise autonomy in officially recognizing a particular
religious denomination. For instance, Dubai granted legal status to The Church
of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in 1993. Dubai is also the only emirate
that has Hindu temples and a Sikh Gurdwara.
In early 2001, ground was broken for the construction of several additional
churches on a parcel of land in Jebel Ali donated by the government of Dubai to
four Protestant congregations and a Roman Catholic congregation. Construction on
the first Greek Orthodox Church in Dubai (to be called St. Mary's) began at the
end of 2005. The land for the construction of the church was also donated by the
government to the Greek Orthodox community of Dubai.
Financial support to non-Muslim groups from the Dubai government is limited to
donated land for the construction of churches and other religious facilities,
including cemeteries. They are permitted to raise money from among their
congregates and to receive financial support from abroad. Non-Muslim religious
groups are permitted to openly advertise group functions, however, proselytizing
or distributing religious literature is strictly prohibited under penalty of
criminal prosecution, imprisonment, and deportation for engaging in behavior
offensive to Islam.