New Gurdwara Opens Near U.S. Capital

October 24, 2005

Source: Guru Gobind Singh Foundation press release

On October 24, 2005 a Guru Gobind Singh Foundation press release reported, "In the bright sunny October morning on Sunday recently, Sikhs of the Washington area thronged the newly built gurdwara in the outskirts of [the] nation's capital in the city of Rockville, Maryland. [A] 1000 strong audience of Sikh men, women and children participated very proudly in the inauguration of magnificent white building with high arches and huge glass windows which would now be the largest structure of the Sikhs in the area. The serenity of time was mingled with [the] bubbling mood of audience. There were ripples of joy and enthusiasm everywhere... An unprecedented sight was witnessed after the Ardas when religious leaders from the Christian, Muslim, Hindu, Jain, Jewish, Zoroastrian and Roman Catholic Faith offered their blessing for the splendid building at its steps... A number of political leaders from [the] county, state, and federal level[s] addressed the audience... A day earlier, on October 1st, an open house for non-Sikhs was organized by Sartaj Singh, Preeti Kaur and Navjeet Kaur, the youth members of GGSF. It was a gesture to invite neighbors to have a view [inside] of the gurdwara... and see for themselves what goes inside the building. A small video documentary made by BBC was also shown to unravel any mystery the non-Sikhs may feel."