Sri Lankans celebrate unity as communities come together for Ramadan

Sri Lankans gather at Independence Square in the capital Colombo for an iftar event on April 2, 2023. (AN photo)

• Around 3,000 people gathered for an iftar event in Colombo on Sunday
• Muslims make up less than 10 percent of Sri Lanka’s 22 million people

COLOMBO: Thousands of people from several communities in Sri Lanka came together for iftar over the weekend, an occasion they say conveyed unity and optimism in a country that faced economic collapse and political upheaval in the past year.
Muslims make up less than 10 percent of Sri Lanka’s 22 million people, who are predominantly Sinhalese Buddhists.
As the minority community celebrates the holy month of Ramadan, which involves fasting during daylight hours, around 3,000 Sri Lankans gathered in the capital Colombo on Sunday for the fast-breaking evening meals of iftar.
“We organized this to bring unity amongst all communities. We always believe that humanity is beyond religion,” Rizan Nazeer, a chief organizer of the event, told Arab News.
The gathering, which was organized by the Sri Lanka Muslim Civil Society, the Soup Kitchen Sri Lanka and the Torrington Walkers’ Team, aims to “show the unity in this country,” he said.
Former Sri Lankan president Maithripala Sirisena, who was among the participants, said the iftar event “will contribute a lot to strengthen intercommunal amity.”
Sirisena told Arab News: “Ramadan is a holy month for Muslims but today we enjoy the companionship of members of all communities for a common goal.
“This joint initiative by all communities is a good signal that the country will forge ahead in the future.”
Calm has returned for the most part in Sri Lanka, an island nation facing its worst economic crisis that, only last year, saw months-long mass protests which eventually ousted then President Gotabaya Rajapaksa.
Sunday’s iftar event was a celebration of diversity, said Thailand’s Ambassador in Colombo Poj Harnpol.
“What I witness, I see people from all places and all walks of life to join together and it’s a blessing that we have a pluralistic society,” Harnpol told Arab News. “I’m so glad to be part of the national unity.”
For Y.M. Jayaratne, a Sinhalese Buddhist, seeing the larger Sri Lankan community come together was a boost of optimism.
“I can see all the communities are involved here, it’s a good sign of how this country is coming up after difficult times,” Jayaratne told Arab News.
“We had our ups and downs as a country but we have to come out, we have to look forward,” he said. “I’m glad that I take part in this evening with the community, with my friends.”