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A claim that Sri Lankan diplomats had shut down a Buddhist Sunday school on foreign soil, and blocked Vesak celebrations, was always going to strike a nerve at home. That is exactly what spread across Sinhala social media: posts alleging that the Dhamma school run for a decade by Sri Lanka’s Embassy in Riyadh had been banned on the orders of the NPP government’s ambassador, Ameer Ajwad. We investigated. Here is what we found.
Social Media Posts:
The website Lanka Leader first published the claim, raising concerns over both the suspension of the Sunday school and a Buddhist religious and cultural programme held during the Vesak season.
Quoting Lanka Leader, the claim then spread widely across social media.
Fact Check:
No Credible Source Reported a Ban
We checked whether any mainstream outlet or official source had reported that the Buddhist Sunday school run by the Sri Lankan Embassy in Saudi Arabia had been banned or permanently shut down. We found none. On the contrary, mainstream media, citing an official statement from the Embassy in Riyadh, reported that the social-media claims were false. Those reports are here and here.
Sri Lanka’s Embassy in Riyadh Firmly Denied the Allegations
On July 26, 2026, the Embassy in Riyadh issued a media statement addressing the posts. It said that on July 21, 2026, the website Lanka Leader had published a false and misleading article claiming the Embassy’s Sunday school had been shut down on the Ambassador’s orders. The Embassy rejected the allegations as entirely false, malicious, and distorted. It said it had never discontinued the Sunday school, and that despite space constraints following its relocation to new premises, it had made all arrangements needed to keep the school running without interruption.
The Foreign Ministry Confirmed the Claim Was False
When we contacted the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Foreign Minister’s media secretary confirmed the viral information was entirely false and shared the Embassy’s official statement with us.
The School’s Principal Explained the Reasons: Relocation and Construction
We contacted Athula Kumarasinghe, Principal of the Sri Vijaya Buddhist Sunday School in Riyadh, who sent us the following statement.
“The report published by website, ‘Lanka Leader,’ on July 21, 2026, claiming that the Sunday school run within the Sri Lanka Embassy in Saudi Arabia for over ten years had been discontinued on Ambassador Ameer Ajwad’s orders, and that Buddhist religious activities had been obstructed, is entirely based on false and distorted information.
As one of the founding members who helped establish the Sri Vijaya Buddhist Sunday School in Riyadh in 2007, and as someone who has led its teaching staff for over a decade, I kindly request that these facts be corrected and published on your website.
Since 2007, the Embassy has continuously provided the facilities and space for the school to operate. Following the Embassy’s recent relocation to premises with more limited space, school activities had to be temporarily suspended for several months. This was in no way a closure. Ahead of the 2026/2027 academic year, the Ambassador had months earlier approved and arranged space on the upper and lower floors of the Embassy’s main building to resume the school’s activities. The Buddhist community in Riyadh is well aware of these facts.
The claim that the Ambassador halted Vesak celebrations or devotional-song programmes is likewise untrue and misleading. In the interest of media ethics and responsible journalism, I respectfully request that this false report be corrected and this clarification published.
Athula Kumarasinghe — Founding Member and Principal, Sri Vijaya Buddhist Sunday School, Riyadh. Phone: +966 559046778”
When contacted, Athula added that the Riyadh Sri Lankan International School closes for about two months each summer, and the Sunday school closes alongside it. In 2025, that break coincided with the Embassy’s relocation. The Sunday school, which has about 35 children enrolled, reopened for the year 2025/2026 in September 2025, but the new premises then required construction and partitioning, which forced a temporary halt from October 2025. Once the work finished, the Ambassador allowed the school to resume, but by then term exams were near, so the Sunday Dhamma school did not restart; the current summer vacation followed. The International School reopens on September 4, and accordingly, Sunday school will resume thereafter.
Timeline: What Actually Happened to the Sunday School
According to the Principal, the school’s classes have been paused since October 2025 up to now (July 29, 2026). The sequence is straightforward:
| Period | What happened |
|---|---|
| Summer 2025 (July–August) | The Embassy relocated to new premises. |
| September 2025 | Sunday school reopened as usual for the 2025/2026 academic year. |
| October 2025 | Classes were temporarily suspended for construction and partitioning at the new premises. |
| May–June 2026 | Construction finished and the school was planned to reopen, but term exams delayed it. |
| July–August 2026 | Summer vacation, when the school normally closes anyway. |
| September 2026 | The school is set to resume once the International School reopens (September 4). |
Parents Confirmed the School Was Only Temporarily Suspended
Parents of children who attended the school also told us the posts were false. They said the Ambassador gives extensive support for the Sunday school and for Buddhist activities such as the Vesak devotional-song programme, and that the temporary suspension over space constraints was in no way a ban or shutdown.
The Embassy Hosted, Not Blocked, the 2026 Vesak Programme
Photographs of the 2026 Vesak devotional-song programme and celebration were published on the Riyadh Embassy’s own social-media page.
The Embassy’s statement confirmed that the claim of them denying the public permission to attend the 2026 Vesak programme is false. Embassy said it organized the celebration with the Sri Lankan community in Riyadh and provided facilities for nearly a hundred children and adults to hold Vesak rehearsals on Embassy premises. Facebook
The principal added, in his statement:
The claims about the Vesak celebrations held in May 2026 are entirely false. Rehearsals involving hundreds of children and their parents were held within the Embassy premises for a full month, under the Ambassador’s full permission and patronage. Because the main celebration drew thousands of Sri Lankans, the Embassy’s limited space could not hold it, so, through the Ambassador’s direct intervention and with proper Saudi authorization, it was moved to a larger venue. The claim that the Ambassador halted the Vesak celebration or devotional-song programme is therefore untrue and misleading.
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Conclusion:
Our fact-check finds that posts claiming the Sri Vijaya Buddhist Sunday School, run by Sri Lanka’s Embassy in Riyadh, was banned and permanently shut down are misleading. After the Embassy moved to new premises with limited space, construction work forced the school’s classes to pause temporarily from October 2025. Once the work was done, the Ambassador arranged space inside the Embassy so the school could continue, but by then term exams were near, and the customary summer vacation followed. The Principal has confirmed the school will resume after the International School reopens in September 2026.
On Vesak, the Embassy said it lacked the space to host the large 2026 celebration and therefore held it at a bigger venue, while the Embassy premises were used for the devotional-song rehearsals. The account is confirmed by the Embassy’s July 26, 2026, statement, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the school’s Principal Athula Kumarasinghe, and parents of enrolled children.
Title: Rumour vs. Reality: No, Riyadh’s Sri Lankan Embassy Did NOT Ban Its Buddhist Sunday School
Fact Check By: B.P. Hansani
Result: Misleading
