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Buddhism has been present in the Middle East and influenced some Middle Eastern religions such asManichaeism.[1] Buddhism, per some estimates by early medieval Muslim scholars such asAl-Biruni, was present from Eastern ancientPersia up to the frontier ofSyria before the advent ofIslam.[2]
Al-Biruni has the following detailed account to offer: "Another circumstance which increased the already existing antagonism betweenHindus and foreigners is that the so-called Shamaniyya (commonly understood as Buddhists), though they cordially hate theBrahmans, still are nearer akin to them than to others. In former times,Khorasan (understood as Eastern Persia),Fars (Ancient province of Fars in Persia),Iraq,Mosul, the country up to the frontier ofSyria, was Buddhist".[3]
There still remains a tiny community of Middle Eastern followers of Buddhism, though unrecognized by the state governments in the region, including inLebanon andIran.[4]
It is estimated that in the Middle East, over 900,000 people professBuddhism 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 asSouth Korea,China,Vietnam,Thailand,Sri Lanka,India,Japan, andNepal.
Theravada Buddhism is the predominant religion of workers from Myanmar, Thailand and Sri Lanka.Mahayana Buddhism is the predominant religion of workers from East Asia and Vietnam, althoughTaoism,Confucianism, andShinto are also represented among these people. InDubai (theUnited Arab Emirates)[5] andQatar,[6] the workers from Sri Lanka were allowed to celebrateVesak (the most important holiday in Buddhism) in thoseIslamic countries.
It is estimated that there are 13.49 million foreign residents living and working inSaudi Arabia.[7]
In addition to 400,000Sri Lankans, there are a few thousand Buddhist workers fromEast Asia, the majority of whom areChinese,Vietnamese, andThai. A number ofTibetan-Nepalese immigrants may also be among the foreign population of Saudi Arabia. According to a 2020 report by theAssociation of Religion Data Archives, Buddhists make up about 0.33% of the Saudi population with comprehensive data on foreigners being unavailable.[8]
As of 2020,Israel had approximately 20,000 Buddhists, constituting about 0.30% of the population.[11] Israel also has several Buddhist centers across its country, mainly inTel Aviv,Haifa, and other regions, including the capital,Jerusalem.
There are approximately 100,000 Buddhists[12] living inKuwait constituting around 5% of the total population. Currently, there are no known Buddhist organizations or temples found in Kuwait.[13]
The Buddhist population in theUnited Arab Emirates consists primarily of expatriates from South Asia and Southeast asian countries such as Thailand, Malaysia, Sri Lanka, and Nepal. TheMahamevnawa Buddhist Monastery branch in Dubai, established in 2009, is the UAE’s only Buddhist temple which serves the Buddhist population.[14]
Saudi Arabia (45.9%)
United Arab Emirates (24.6%)
Kuwait (11.1%)
Turkey (7.90%)
Qatar (5.00%)
Oman (3.60%)
Bahrain (0.80%)
Israel (0.70%)
Lebanon (0.40%)| Country | Population (2022) | % of Buddhists | Buddhist total |
|---|---|---|---|
| United Arab Emirates | 9,441,129 | 2.40%[15] | 210,000 |
| Qatar | 2,695,122 | 3.80% | 90,000[citation needed] |
| Kuwait | 4,268,873 | 5.40% | 180,000[citation needed] |
| Saudi Arabia | 36,408,820 | 0.40% | 130,000[citation needed] |
| Bahrain | 1,472,233 | 3.10% | 50,000[citation needed] |
| Oman | 3,204,897 | 0.70% | 20,000[citation needed] |
| Israel | 9,038,309 | 0.30% | 20,000[citation needed] |
| Lebanon | 5,489,739 | 0.20% | 10,000[citation needed] |
| Turkey | 85,341,241 | 0.09% | 40,000[citation needed] |
| Total | 157,360,363 | 1.82% | 750,000 |
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