Bangladesh monastery a beacon of harmony after unrest

Dharmarajika Buddhist Monastery in Dhaka provides free meals during Ramadan, promoting interfaith harmony in Bangladesh.

A Buddhist monastery in Bangladesh has found renown for opening its doors to the needy during Ramzan — a beacon of inter-faith harmony in a time of religious tension.

For more than a decade, the Dharmarajika Buddhist Monastery in Dhaka has provided free meals for hundreds of the capital’s poorest residents to break their fast each evening during the Muslim holy month.

Its work has assumed a new resonance this year after the political upheaval that last summer ousted the autocratic leader Sheikh Hasina, leaving many religious minorities in the Muslim-majority nation fearful of persecution.

“I live nearby and earn very little from my job. This meal is a relief,” said Moushumi Begum, who joined around 200 others at the fast-breaking meal known as iftar.

“I am grateful for their kindness and pray to God for their wellbeing.”

The monastery’s abbot, Buddha Priya Mahathero, said the annual tradition began in 2013 with the simple principle that no one fasting should be turned away hungry.

“We have fostered a culture of harmony,” he said.