856:, who drove all Indians from the country. Other Sikhs who arrived before 1985 (only a handful, among them Jarnail Singh Alhuwalia) were workers at the Indian Embassy. Most Sikhs arrived in the wake of Sukhdev Singh Jalwehra in 1985, after the storming of the Golden Temple in Amritsar by Indian troops the previous year. When Jalwehra arrived in Belgium, a ban existed on the wearing of turbans in passport or identity-card photos. Jalwehra fought the case and won, and Sikhs were no longer required to remove their turbans. In 1993, when
910:
26:
786:
123:
864:
Sikhs immigrated for economic reasons; they had been living in impoverished regions of the Punjab and came looking for a better life in
Belgium. At first they also found employment on fruit farms but when they could afford to do so they established their own shops, particularly shops remaining open at night in
863:
The first Sikhs in
Belgium were predominantly male laborers with limited education, sharing a rented house and dividing the costs. Since they were accustomed to working in agriculture, they looked for work in that sector and found seasonal jobs in the Flemish province of Limburg on fruit farms. Later
900:
Following problems with immigration documentation which gave rise to concerns about possible human trafficking, the Mayor of
Vilvoorde closed the local Gurdwara between October and December 2014, and following disturbances in the Temple, again in September 2016.
868:. As immigrants, completing the necessary paperwork was challenging. Sikh women are now arriving in Belgium in greater numbers, many to reunite their families.
1175:
816:
892:
were bullied by some citizens and one Sikh was shot. A house belonging to Sikhs was bombed, with no fatalities. There were arrests in the aftermath.
884:
and has not seen much systematic violence directed against religious minorities or newcomers, an exception occurred in 1993 against Sikhs. In
1130:
1301:
860:
died, Sukhdev Singh
Jalwerha paid respect at the palace with a group of other Sikhs as representatives of the Belgian Sikh community.
848:
The first eight Sikhs who came to
Belgium as private citizens arrived on 8 November 1972 as political exiles. They were expelled from
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877:
1438:
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1168:
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1358:
1251:
1161:
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653:
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1483:
1428:
1398:
1348:
1318:
1516:
1338:
987:
According to a Dutch newspaper, there are approximately 10,000 Sikhs in
Belgium. A Sikh stronghold is
760:
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710:
152:
50:
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474:
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1418:
1388:
1373:
1368:
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217:
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1458:
1413:
1308:
740:
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509:
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106:
90:
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790:
628:
259:
1091:
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137:
122:
70:
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540:
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182:
25:
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339:
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202:
187:
54:
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324:
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58:
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943:
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623:
484:
309:
66:
62:
1068:
1053:
833:
829:
499:
114:
1058:
1043:
1038:
970:
849:
680:
529:
524:
519:
489:
304:
269:
235:
74:
1153:
1048:
976:
964:
956:
908:
244:
132:
78:
1157:
921:
in
Belgium; the oldest was founded in Sint-Truiden in 1993.
836:, but Sikhs have played a role in Belgian history; during
942:
Gurdwara Guru Ram Dass Sikh Study and
Cultural Center,
1128:
Dutch newspaper on Sikhs celebrating Maghi in
Brussels
852:; at the time, it was under the dictatorial rule of
1507:
1469:
1189:
1118:," January 31, 1994, URL accessed January 11, 2007.
84:
44:
32:
1087:
1085:
1083:
1014:Cities with significant Sikh populations are:
1169:
810:
8:
1092:Denzil Walton, "The Sikhs of Sint-Truiden".
18:
1176:
1162:
1154:
999:was built. There are about 3,000 Sikhs in
817:
803:
101:
1011:. The remainder live throughout Belgium.
1079:
113:
1149:Gurudwara Guru Nanak Sahib in Brussels
17:
7:
1116:BELGIUM HUMAN RIGHTS PRACTICES, 1993
913:Gurdwara Guru Ravidass Sabha, Ostend
45:Regions with significant populations
969:Gurdwara Shri Guru Ravidass Sabha,
932:and Sint-Truiden (Founded in 1993)
14:
840:, many Sikhs fought in Belgium.
784:
121:
24:
878:government of the United States
1:
880:noted that while Belgium has
975:Gurdwara Mata Sahib Kaur Ji
1114:U.S. Department of State, "
935:Gurdwara Guru Nanak Sahib,
754:Sikhism and other religions
433:
424:
415:
1594:
1101:November 24, 2010, at the
965:Gurudwara Official website
924:Gurdwaras in Belgium are:
832:is a minority religion in
89:
49:
37:
23:
995:), where the first Sikh
1007:and more than 2,000 in
928:Gurdwara Sangat Sahib,
237:Selected revered saints
1232:Bosnia and Herzegovina
914:
731:Jathedar of Akal Takht
1105:Retrieved 2011-09-10.
912:
896:Official Intervention
957:Gurdwara Singh Sabha
844:Migration to Belgium
761:Sikhism and Hinduism
95:Languages of Belgium
1568:Religion in Belgium
1470:States with limited
882:freedom of religion
791:Religion portal
771:Sikhism and Jainism
721:Nanakshahi calendar
51:Watermael-Boitsfort
20:
1573:Sikhism by country
1133:2008-03-13 at the
915:
888:, Sikh workers in
475:Sikh Rehat Maryada
442:Guru Maneyo Granth
19:Sikhism in Belgium
1578:Sikhism in Europe
1555:
1554:
1184:Sikhism in Europe
939:, Brussels (1999)
827:
826:
766:Sikhism and Islam
696:Nirgun and Sargun
574:Guru Granth Sahib
223:Guru Granth Sahib
218:Guru Gobind Singh
213:Guru Tegh Bahadur
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99:
1585:
1508:Dependencies and
1449:Northern Ireland
1190:Sovereign states
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1171:
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917:There are seven
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315:Bhagat Trilochan
285:Bhagat Parmanand
238:
208:Guru Har Krishan
166:
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102:
33:Total population
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1489:Northern Cyprus
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1364:North Macedonia
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1135:Wayback Machine
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1103:Wayback Machine
1090:
1081:
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983:Sikh population
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858:King Baudouin I
846:
823:
783:
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671:
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629:Harmandir Sahib
619:
615:
609:
601:
600:
568:
564:
556:
555:
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402:
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260:Bhagat Ramanand
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1510:other entities
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1439:United Kingdom
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1401:
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1336:
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1304:
1299:
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1254:
1252:Czech Republic
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1239:
1234:
1229:
1224:
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1204:
1199:
1193:
1191:
1187:
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1173:
1166:
1158:
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1144:
1143:External links
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1094:Flanders Today
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668:General topics
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639:Keshgarh Sahib
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588:Sarbloh Granth
584:
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569:
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280:Bhagat Bhikhan
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275:Bhagat Sadhana
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250:Bhagat Ravidas
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198:Guru Hargobind
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1522:Faroe Islands
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1494:South Ossetia
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1324:Liechtenstein
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1096:, May 5, 2010
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876:In 1994, the
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644:Damdama Sahib
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551:Antam Sanskar
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541:Amrit Sanskar
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394:
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368:
366:
363:
361:
360:Bhatt Mathura
358:
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353:
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348:
346:
345:Bhatt Harbans
343:
341:
338:
336:
333:
331:
328:
326:
323:
321:
320:Bhatt Kalshar
318:
316:
313:
311:
310:Bhagat Jaidev
308:
306:
305:Bhagat Surdas
303:
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298:
296:
295:Bhagat Dhanna
293:
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270:Bhagat Namdev
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183:Guru Amar Das
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27:
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16:
1499:Transnistria
1226:
1123:
1110:
1093:
1024:Sint-Truiden
1013:
989:Sint-Truiden
986:
923:
916:
899:
886:Sint-Truiden
875:
862:
847:
828:
593:
586:
581:Dasam Granth
579:
572:
480:Prohibitions
453:Five Virtues
448:Five Thieves
440:
434:Charhdi Kalā
406:
340:Bhatt Gayand
255:Bhagat Farid
245:Bhagat Kabir
203:Guru Har Rai
188:Guru Ram Das
55:Sint-Truiden
38:
15:
1537:Isle of Man
1472:recognition
1424:Switzerland
1359:Netherlands
1003:, 2,000 in
890:agriculture
872:Persecution
838:World War I
654:Hazur Sahib
649:Patna Sahib
546:Anand Karaj
505:The Five Ks
425:Vand Chakkō
385:Balvand Rai
375:Baba Sundar
355:Bhatt Kirat
350:Bhatt Jalap
335:Bhatt Bhika
330:Bhatt Bhalh
300:Bhagat Pipa
290:Bhagat Sain
265:Bhagat Beni
1562:Categories
1394:San Marino
1354:Montenegro
1334:Luxembourg
1314:Kazakhstan
1217:Azerbaijan
1075:References
706:Literature
691:Panj Pyare
634:Akal Takht
595:Five Banis
536:Naam Karan
495:Amrit Velā
416:Kirat Karō
399:Philosophy
380:Satta Doom
370:Bhatt Salh
365:Bhatt Nalh
325:Bhatt Balh
193:Guru Arjan
178:Guru Angad
173:Guru Nanak
165:Sikh gurus
1527:Gibraltar
1329:Lithuania
1019:Vilvoorde
937:Vilvoorde
930:Watermaal
919:Gurdwaras
905:Gurdwaras
726:Criticism
565:Scripture
467:Practices
408:Naam Japo
85:Languages
59:Vilvoorde
1547:Svalbard
1532:Guernsey
1479:Abkhazia
1454:Scotland
1409:Slovenia
1404:Slovakia
1379:Portugal
1237:Bulgaria
1131:Archived
1099:Archived
1034:Borgloon
1009:Brussels
997:Gurdwara
963:(2013),
944:Borgloon
866:Brussels
854:Idi Amin
686:Waheguru
676:Ik Onkar
624:Gurdwara
532:(Turban)
153:Glossary
107:a series
105:Part of
63:Borgloon
1444:England
1434:Ukraine
1384:Romania
1344:Moldova
1302:Ireland
1297:Iceland
1292:Hungary
1282:Germany
1277:Georgia
1267:Finland
1262:Estonia
1257:Denmark
1242:Croatia
1227:Belgium
1222:Belarus
1212:Austria
1207:Armenia
1202:Andorra
1197:Albania
1069:Hasselt
1054:Antwerp
1001:Limburg
993:Limburg
834:Belgium
830:Sikhism
500:Dasvand
148:History
143:Outline
115:Sikhism
91:Punjabi
1542:Jersey
1484:Kosovo
1429:Turkey
1419:Sweden
1399:Serbia
1389:Russia
1374:Poland
1369:Norway
1349:Monaco
1319:Latvia
1287:Greece
1272:France
1247:Cyprus
1059:Leuven
1044:Ostend
1039:Tienen
971:Ostend
953:(2005)
946:(2005)
850:Uganda
701:Khanda
681:Khalsa
616:Takhts
610:Places
530:Dastar
525:Nitnem
520:Simran
510:Langar
490:Kirtan
138:Topics
133:People
75:Ostend
39:10,000
1517:Åland
1459:Wales
1414:Spain
1339:Malta
1309:Italy
1064:Alken
1049:Ghent
1029:Liège
1005:Liège
977:Ghent
961:Alken
951:Liège
741:Sects
716:Names
711:Music
485:Ardās
79:Ghent
71:Alken
67:Liège
613:and
515:Sewa
949:In
736:War
1564::
1082:^
959:,
109:on
93:•
77:•
73:•
69:•
65:•
61:•
57:•
53:•
1177:e
1170:t
1163:v
991:(
818:e
811:t
804:v
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