In the holy month of Ramadan, Buddhist monks serve Iftar for Muslims in Bangladesh

• Buddhist monks prepare iftar meals at the main shrine of Dharmarajika monastery for all Ramadan observers
• This project began 6 years ago and witnesses a herd of underprivileged people coming to the monastery to receive free iftar meals
• Social welfare activities are conducted in the monastery, which was established in 1951 in Basabo area of Dhaka

DHAKA, BANGLADESH: "Live your life like everyday is Ramadan and the Akhirah (afterlife) will become your Eid." The Buddhist monks in Dhaka seem to follow the above quote with their heart and soul. Their actions during the days of Ramadan- holiest season in the life of a devout Muslim all round the world wherein they engage in praying, fasting and believe in giving to charity – is an example of the monasteries attempt to work towards attaining harmony in the society.

Everyday during this month the Buddhist monks prepare iftar meals at the main shrine of Dharmarajika monastery for all Ramadan observers. In the light of the fatal attacks against minorities, which are a common sight in Bangladesh, the Buddhist monasteries initiative rebuilds the faith in the hearts of Muslim devotees to look at a peaceful future ahead.

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This project began six years ago and witnesses a herd of underprivileged people coming to the monastery to receive free iftar meals. The initiator of the project, Suddhananda Mahathero and the high priest of the temple believes in humanity being the ultimate goal of humans. Despite the constant unrest amongst the people and the recent violent attacks in South Asia, the monks of Dharmarajika say they are not worried about their safety and have a very good relation with the Muslim community.

With the aim of attaining Inter-religious harmony, social welfare activities are conducted in the monastery, which was established in 1951 in Basabo area of Dhaka. Their typical iftar box contains potato chops, peyaju (onion tempura), beguni (eggplant tempura), chhola-boot (lentils), khejur (dates), muri (puffed rice), and jilapi (a sweet made of sugar syrup).

Sakhina, an underprivileged member of the Muslim community says that the free food at the monastery is a godsend gift. "Here, we are granted respect that we were supposed to get from our co-religists," she told Al Jazeera. Like her there are 300 poor people served daily in a nation of 160 million, a nation in which Buddhists are less than one percent of Bangladeshi population whereas 90 percent of the population comprises of Muslims. In a nation with the given demographic Ramadan is the best opportunity to help poor Muslims.

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The monastery itself is home to more than 700 orphans. These orphans are imparted free education at the school located in the monastery premises. The iftar distribution programme starts at 5:30pm local time everyday but the people start making queues from 3pm onwards. With women and men standing in different queues to receive the packets there are long lines outside the temple everyday.

-This report is compiled by a staff-writer at NewsGram.

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