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Buddhism has been present in the Middle East and influenced some Middle Eastern religions such as Manichaeism. Buddhism, per some estimates by early medieval Muslim scholars such as Al-Biruni, was present from Eastern ancient Persia up to the frontier of Syria before the advent of Islam.
Al-Biruni has the following detailed account to offer: “Another circumstance which increased the already existing antagonism between Hindus and foreigners is that the so-called Shamaniyya , though they cordially hate the Brahmans, still are nearer akin to them than to others. In former times, Khorasan , Fars , Iraq, Mosul, the country up to the frontier of Syria, was Buddhist”.
There still remains a tiny community of Middle Eastern followers of Buddhism, though unrecognized by the state governments in the region, including in Lebanon and Iran.
It is estimated that in the Middle East, over 900,000 people profess Buddhism as their religion. Buddhist adherents make up just over 0.3% of the Middle East total population. Many of these Buddhists are workers who have migrated from other parts of Asia to the Middle East since the late 1990s, many of them come from countries that have large Buddhist populations, such as South Korea, China, Vietnam, Thailand, Sri Lanka, India, Japan, and Nepal.
Demographics
Theravada Buddhism is the predominant religion of workers from Thailand and Sri Lanka. Mahayana Buddhism is the predominant religion of workers from East Asia and Vietnam, although Taoism, Confucianism, and Shinto are also represented among these people. In Dubai (the United Arab Emirates) and Qatar, the workers from Sri Lanka were allowed to celebrate Vesak (the most important holiday in Buddhism) in those Islamic countries.
Saudi Arabia
Main article: Buddhism in Saudi ArabiaIt is estimated that there are 13.49 million foreign residents living and working in Saudi Arabia.
In addition to 400,000 Sri Lankans, there are a few thousand Buddhist workers from East Asia, the majority of whom are Chinese, Vietnamese, and Thai. A number of Tibetan-Nepalese immigrants may also be among the foreign population of Saudi Arabia. According to a 2020 report by the Association of Religion Data Archives, Buddhists make up about 0.33% of the Saudi population with comprehensive data on foreigners being unavailable.
Qatar
This section is an excerpt from Religion in Qatar § Buddhism. In 2020, Buddhism was represented by between 1.8-3.8% of the population of Qatar, mainly comprising migrant workers from South-East Asia and East Asia especially from China, South Korea, Japan, and Vietnam.Population by country
Buddhist percentages in the Middle East
Saudi Arabia (45.9%) 
United Arab Emirates (24.6%) 
Kuwait (11.1%) 
Turkey (7.9%) 
Qatar (5%) 
Oman (3.6%) 
Bahrain (0.8%) 
Israel (0.7%) 
Lebanon (0.4%)
| Country | Population (2022) | % of Buddhists | Buddhist total |
|---|---|---|---|
| United Arab Emirates
|
9,441,129 | 2.40% | 210,000 |
| Qatar
|
2,695,122 | 3.80% | 90,000 |
| Kuwait
|
4,268,873 | 5.40% | 180,000 |
| Saudi Arabia
|
36,408,820 | .40% | 130,000 |
| Bahrain
|
1,472,233 | 3.10% | 50,000 |
| Oman
|
3,204,897 | .70% | 20,000 |
| Israel
|
9,038,309 | .30% | 20,000 |
| Lebanon
|
5,489,739 | .20% | 10,000 |
| Turkey
|
85,341,241 | .09% | 40,000 |
| Total | 157,360,363 | 1.82% | 750,000 |
See also
References
- Tokyürek, Hacer (2019-10-17). "Eski Uygurca Metinlere Göre Budizmin Manihaizme Etkisi". Journal of Turkish Studies (in Turkish). 7 (4–II): 2889–2906. doi:10.7827/TurkishStudies.4105.
- Akasoy, Anna (2019-03-06). "Islam and Buddhism: The Arabian Prequel?". Entangled Religions. 8: 1–32. doi:10.13154/er.v8.2019.1-32. ISSN 2363-6696.
- Akasoy, Anna (2019-03-06). "Islam and Buddhism: The Arabian Prequel?". Entangled Religions. 8: 1–32. doi:10.13154/er.v8.2019.1-32. ISSN 2363-6696.
- "2013 Report on International Religious Freedom - Lebanon". Refworld. Retrieved 2024-07-06.
- "Lankans in Dubai to celebrate 'Vesak'", Emirates 24/7, 2011-05-05, archived from the original on 2021-06-11, retrieved 2013-07-22
- "Sri Lankans celebrate Vesak in Qatar", The Peninsula, 2009-05-09, archived from the original on 2021-02-27, retrieved 2013-07-22
- "Saudi Arabia (KSA) Population Statistics [2022 Updated] | GMI". Official GMI Blog. 2022-04-20. Archived from the original on 2022-12-12. Retrieved 2022-12-12.
- "National / Regional Profiles, Included Nations/Regions: Saudi Arabia [x], Western Asia [x], The World [x]". Association of Religion Data Archives. Retrieved October 15, 2023.
- US State Dept 2022 report
- The ARDA website, retrieved 2023-08-28
- "International Religious Freedom Report: United Arab Emirates". Archived from the original on 2021-01-10. Retrieved 2019-05-23.
- "Buddhist Countries 2022". worldpopulationreview.com. Archived from the original on 2022-12-12. Retrieved 2022-12-12.
- "Buddhist Countries 2022". worldpopulationreview.com. Archived from the original on 2022-12-12. Retrieved 2022-12-12.
- "Buddhist Countries 2022". worldpopulationreview.com. Archived from the original on 2022-12-12. Retrieved 2022-12-12.
- "Buddhist Countries 2022". worldpopulationreview.com. Archived from the original on 2022-12-12. Retrieved 2022-12-12.
- "Buddhist Countries 2022". worldpopulationreview.com. Archived from the original on 2022-12-12. Retrieved 2022-12-12.
- "Buddhist Countries 2022". worldpopulationreview.com. Archived from the original on 2022-12-12. Retrieved 2022-12-12.
- "Buddhist Countries 2022". worldpopulationreview.com. Archived from the original on 2022-12-12. Retrieved 2022-12-12.
- "Buddhist Countries 2022". worldpopulationreview.com. Archived from the original on 2022-12-12. Retrieved 2022-12-12.
External links
- Buddhist pagodas or temples in Middle East
- The U.S. State Department's International Religious Freedom Report 2006
- CIA FactBook Archived 2013-05-10 at the Wayback Machine
- Religious Freedom page
- Religious Intelligence
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