Bangladesh: University opens first multi-religion prayer room

Dhaka University in Bangladesh opened its first multi-religion prayer room for minority students at the Shamsunnahar Hall on July 11.

Professor Lafifa Jamal, provost of Shamsunnahar Hall, said "The standing committee decided that there should be a place in the student hall for the prayers of minority students. A university is a non-communal place, where students of all religions have equal rights".

The university has taken the first step toward ending religious discrimination on campus by opening prayer rooms for students from minority Christian, Hindu and Buddhist religions staying in hostels. The new prayer room contains images of Christ, Buddha and Hindu deities.

Students are happy with this “huge achievement” and expressed the hope that more educational institutions will follow suit.

Monic Roy, a Hindu female student said “I am grateful to the authorities for this good decision to introduce prayer rooms for students of minority communities”.

Priyanka Gomes, a Catholic student, said, “It is an example of religious harmony.”

Father Tapan Rozario, an associate professor in the Department of World Religions and Culture at the University expressed the hope that "In the future we will see churches for Christians, temples for Hindus and Buddhists inside universities".

Dhaka university was established in 1921, and has five dormitories for girls and 23 for boys.

The university has over 38,000 students, and more than 2,000 faculty members. Majority of students are Muslims.

About ninety per cent of Bangladesh’s population of 162 million is Muslim. Hindus are around 8 per cent, with Buddhists and Christians making up the rest.