Bangladesh Religious Harmony

Photo: Collected US Ambassador-at-Large for International Religious Freedom Rashed Hussain met with Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Md. Shahriar Alam on Wednesday

US Ambassador-at-Large praises Bangladesh's religious harmony

"We are very encouraged to see people of different religious groups living together peacefully in Bangladesh," he told reporters after meeting the state minister at the foreign ministry.

The US ambassador said, "We must stop trying to create divisions and complexities among people of different religions. We must live together peacefully."

Hussein said Washington wants to see religious freedom everywhere in the world.

Alam later told reporters that he had briefed the visiting US Ambassador on the true picture of religious harmony in Bangladesh and the government's commitment to maintain it. The state minister told Ambassador-at-Large that everyone in the country enjoys equal civil rights and Bangladesh does not call anyone a religious minority.

He further added that some vested interests have been using fake Facebook IDs on social media, inciting attacks on Buddhists and vandalizing several Hindu temples. The state minister said the Bangladesh government has sincerely taken all possible steps to solve these problems and help the affected Hindus and Buddhists.

He said the US Ambassador appreciated the initiative of the Bangladesh government in tackling this challenge.

Shahriar Alam said, "We have agreed that Bangladesh and the United States will work together to maintain religious harmony in the upcoming days."

They also discussed the Rohingya issue, noting that the state minister hoped that the recent US stand against the atrocities against the Rohingya in Myanmar would be helpful in the Gambia case against Myanmar in the International Court of Justice.

US Ambassador Hussain arrived in Dhaka on Sunday on a four-day visit to hold several meetings with Bangladeshi officials.