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124: JAINS TODAY IN THE WORLD
Also mention the existence of a Jain temple at Hounslow (Middlesex) called "Kailash Giri", a Jain community in Birmingham, a statue of Mahāvīra in the Hindu temple of Leeds and a new Jain temple in Manchester inaugurated in 2003.
In other countries of Europe there are Jain communities in The Netherlands and in Belgium with a small temple in Antwerpen.
Though Germany had great Indianists that made Jainism known in the Western world, there are very few Jains who immigrated to that country until now.
Concerning France, there are some Jain families in Paris and in some other towns but they have no temple. They practice their religious duties at home, contrary to Hindus who have a little temple dedicated to Lord Ganeša and, each year, a very colourful festival in the streets to honour him. In France, nearly all Indians immigrants are Hindus or Muslims till today.
In Paris, mention too the 'Musée des Arts Asiatiques Guimet' that holds a very expressive statue of Rşabha in "padmāsana” posture and a small one of Mahāvīra in “kāyotsarga". It is not a lot, but it shows French interest for Jain art.
We have mentioned numerous places of pilgrimages in India where Jains like to go at least once in their life and where they receive the teachings of monks and nuns. Such things are not available to those who have emigrated, so they take part to travels to India to visit their sacred places and to show their support to ascetics and social activities.
Since 1998, JAINA organizes an annual pilgrimage to India for its members. The first one was to Sammet Shikhar and the Veerayatan ashram. Another was to Ranakpur, Jaisalmer, Mount Abu, Sankeshwar and Palitana. In January 2001 the program included Delhi, Sauripur, Ayodhya, Varanasi, Patna, Champapuri, Rajgir,
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