Job Discussion Forums

[nickelgoat]

I am applying for several positions in the Middle East now (not in the KSA) and was wondering about Christian churches in the area. I don't expect very many to exist, but I am most interested in UAE and Oman and definitely desire to continue attending should I obtain a position. I am Protestant.

Appreciate any responses.

Thanks!

[veiledsentiments]

The only country in the Gulf that has no Christian Churches is Saudi Arabia. Oman and the UAE have them in the larger cities. The main difference will be that Sunday is a regular workday, so services are held on other days.

VS

[uaeobserver]

A recent study printed by a Catholic magazine speculated that about a third of Arabia is Christian of one variety or another.

Look around, and there's tens of thousands of expatriate workers from the Philipines, from Kerala (southern India - a largely Christian area), from Lebanon, from South Africa, etc.

The UAE is fairly progressive when it comes to Christians. The US Department of State even notes that Dubai hosted a Promise Keepers convention (a bone toss to the evangelical segment).

If you're in a cosmopolitan place like Dubai, Abu Dhabi, or even Al Ain - you should not have any problem finding a church family. As you move to more remote parts of the UAE, you'll find fewer. The reason is more about demand for such services, than it is political.

[mishmumkin]

There are a couple churches in Sharjah, UAE, too (a more conservative emirate given its ties to KSA).

[Cleopatra]

[grahamb]

By Arabia I imagine they mean the countries in the Arabian peninsula.
The key word here is "speculate"; I'd be most surprised if they had actually conducted a serious survey to establish the size of the Christian population in the region - the idea is worthy of Monty Python.

[Cleopatra]

Yeah, but reliable 'studies' don't tend to 'speculate'.

Anyway, you don't need to do a survey to know that virtually all of the native population of the gulf is Muslim, and that the majority of the region's expats come from countries where Christianity is not the predominant religion.

[veiledsentiments]

I'd agree. 30% is way too high even when one is only talking about the expats. But one thing about religious organizations, they always overestimate their members.

There are probably as many Hindus/Jains/Sikhs as Christians. I know that Oman allows them to have Temples, do the other Gulf countries? (outside of Saudi, of course)

VS

[Stephen Jones]

For buggy statistics on the region there's the normally reliable CIA Worldbook.

It says the population of Saudi Arabia is 100% Muslim. And that the same population is 90% Arab and 10% 'Afro-Asiatic'.

[lall]

There's a small temple in Manama, Bahrain dedicated to Krishna. There is a larger one in the Alba area, which area is also host to a Sikh gurudwara.

Muscat, Oman has a fairly large temple complex with temples dedicated to Krishna and other deities, near the church complex in Ruwi, not far from Lulu's Hypermart.

Salalah has one, too, near Lulu's Hypermart, behind Prophet Omran's tomb.

[NadiaK]

There are several churches in Ras al Khaimah and Fujairah, too.

(By "churches" I mean "congregations" and not necessarily actual church buildings...although some of the congregations in those towns do actually have their own church-buildings now.)

[uaeobserver]

The speculation has been repeated in numerous blogs in the region. However, I don't believe things are true just because they're on the internet.

The original article appears here:

http://chiesa.espresso.repubblica.it/articolo/164081?eng=y

I don't really agree with their math (I inserted the operative word "speculated."). I also think they generalized a little too much from the progressive UAE (the California of Arabia). That's like saying that Toronto represents British Columbia since they're both Canadian. At the same time, it would not surpise me if you said a quarter or a fifth of the UAE is Christian of one variety or another.

As far as Saudi is concerned - there's a difference between the published figures and the real ones. I knew plenty of resident oil and gas workers that ran home churches.

All of this is to affirm to you that yes - there appears to be a significant - and possibly growing number of Christians -- and it appears (at least in the UAE) that their interests are adequately met.

If memory serves me correct - I think His Highness Sheikh Mohammed of Dubai recently approved a Cathedral in that Emirate.

[Cleopatra]

The article linked to does not appear to be an example of stellar journalism. On the one hand they say:

[007]

[canadashirleyblue]

I went to the Catholic Church once when I was in Kuwait (not that I would recommend Kuwait but anyway). The place was absolutely packed. I arrived 20 minutes before it was supposed to start and there was no where to sit. I managed to find a small bench next to the back wall. The place filled up until there was no standing room and people were outside the building. There was a sign on the bulletin board outside telling everyone that they had something like 8 masses a day and they didn't have enough priests to have any more so don't ask for them because it was cannon law (in capital letters). There were several other churches in the same area. The Egyptian Coptic one was just across the street.
I also attended once when I was in Abu Dhabi. I never did get into the building because of the crowd.
I think I was the only white face in either place. They were Phillipinos and Indians.
It was quite interesting too, because the day I went in Kuwait the homily was about marriage. The priest was telling the congregation the regular Catholic docrine about how it was for life etc etc etc. I can't imagine many priests where I come from having the courage to say that. Their congregations would probably have walked out on them. They would have watered it down for local consumption. Or maybe got some lay couple to talk about how wonderful it all was.