Hindu Plan For £2m Temple

suchandra · July 30, 2008

Good decision, a huge vedic temple complexx next to famous Oxford University, home of Richie Dawkins.

Hindu plan for £2m temple

posted 6:05pm Tuesday 29th July 2008

http://www.theoxfordtimes.net/news/headlines/display.var.2412374.0.hindu_plan_for_2m_temple.php

Oxford could soon have a Hindu temple to add to its churches, mosques and synagogue.

Leaders of Oxfordshire's 500-strong Hindu community have launched a campaign to construct a £2m purpose-built temple in the city as they currently have no base for communal prayer.

Organisers would like to build a 12,000 square foot temple - about three quarters of the size of Oxford Ice Rink - with Headington being earmarked as a potential location.

The county's Hindu community currently has to hire locations such as Sandhills Primary School for the festival of Dashera and Wheatley Primary School for its Divali celebrations, and would ideally like to find a site with space for 150 cars.

Temple project initiator Jagruti Bhuva, 44, from Kennington, said: "A temple would help unite the community and be a good way to get everyone together and celebrate.

"Some elderly Hindus don't have much of a social life and this would give them a place to meet up together and give a big boost in their daily lives.

"We would need room for 500 people to pray."

Although no formal survey has been done, it is believed a large proportion of Oxford's 300 Hindus live in Headington.

The temple would be open about four hours a day, seven days a week for prayer and use as a community centre.

The temple would not have any bells or need to broadcast a call to prayer. An orange Hindu flag would fly above the building.

Dr Gyan Gopal, 66, of Covent Close, Abingdon, said: "There's no particular need or requirement for communal prayer in Hinduism as there is in other religions.

"But if we had a temple it would form a focus and that's where the sense of community would begin. The mosques and churches are very visible in Oxford, but there is no Hindu temple to acknowledge our part of the community.

"We are a multi-ethnic society in Britain, and communal prayer is something we want to encourage.

"I don't see why there should be any objections to the plans.

"Hinduism is known to be a peaceful religion and is secular rather than allowing politics to become involved."

Headington Action Group chairman James Bloice Smith said: "The Hindu community deserve the right to have their religious beliefs served and I would defend that.

"However if the temple is to serve the whole of Oxfordshire I think it would add to the traffic and parking problems we have in Headington and would be better placed outside the ring road."

To find out more about the temple plans visit www.oxfordhindutempleproject.org

6:05pm Tuesday 29th July 2008

<table style="border: 1px solid rgb(215, 215, 215);" border="0" cellpadding="1" cellspacing="0" width="500"><tbody><tr><td class="fpbox">Related Links</td></tr><tr><td style="padding-top: 3px; padding-left: 3px;">http://www.oxfordhindutempleproject.org</td></tr></tbody></table>

suchandra · August 31, 2008

A Hindu Temple for Oxford?

http://ruthwilkinson.mycouncillor.org.uk/2008/08/31/a-hindu-temple-for-oxford/

You may have read in the local press recently about a new project looking at providing a Hindu Temple for the county’s Hindu community, possibly in Oxford and possibly in the Headington area. I met last week two of the organisers of this new project to learn from them what their community wants and to see how we can work together in future.

It should be said that this project is at a very early stage, at the moment gathering support in the Hindu community across the county. In the first instance, the intention is to hold regular prayer meetings at an accessible location — the first occasion is in Kennington on 14th September where I hope to be to watch and learn about the ceremonies. In the longer term, there will be a fund-raising campaign looking to support a building and a priest. At that stage, they will be looking for a suitable site, which is in large part dependent on the location of those wanting to attend.

The Headington area, in its widest sense, already serves a range of faith groups, with a variety of Christain churches and, in Marston, the Sikh community represented. I am on record praising the cosmopolitan and open nature of Oxford and I would see a Hindu Temple as a further addition to that positive tradition. Equally, the help I’m giving to the project does not mean I want to tie them solely to my part of the city; I appreciate that there may well be other locations better suited to them than our area of Headington. My hope is that, in the fullness of time, they will find a site, in or near the city, best suited to them. I hope you join me in wishing them good fortune in their endeavours.