Interreligious Conflict and the Politics of Interfaith Dialogue in Myanmar

Interreligious Conflict and the Politics of Interfaith Dialogue in Myanmar PDF

Author: Nyi Nyi Kyaw

Publisher: ISEAS-Yusof Ishak Institute

Published: 2019-06-26

Total Pages: 30

ISBN-13: 9814843873

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Amidst successive episodes of interreligious violence in Myanmar between 2012 and 2014, interfaith dialogue emerged as a crucial conflict resolution and prevention mechanism. The 2011–16 Union Solidarity and Development Party administration often indirectly promoted the use of interfaith dialogue to defuse interreligious tensions and conflicts, though its political will was questionable. Various governmental, intergovernmental, and non-governmental actors have engaged in interfaith dialogue, peace, and harmony initiatives in the past seven years. The present National League for Democracy administration has more actively sought to engage in intrafaith promotion of Buddhism and in interfaith peace and harmony initiatives. Intergovernmental, international and local interfaith actors also work in the interfaith dialogue field, but their impact is relatively weak because the government remains the most important actor in Myanmar in transition. Although the National League for Democracy has largely eliminated Buddhist nationalist groups such as Ma Ba Tha, Buddhist identity politics remains influential after the Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army’s attacks in Rakhine State in 2016 and 2017 and the consequent refugee crisis. Although extreme anti-Muslim Buddhist identity politics may not see a resurgence in the approach to the 2020 general elections, it may come back in more nuanced forms. Interfaith dialogue and other training and activities for interreligious peace and harmony will thus remain relevant to the political scene.

Islam and the State in Myanmar

Islam and the State in Myanmar PDF

Author: Melissa Crouch

Publisher:

Published: 2016

Total Pages: 345

ISBN-13: 9780199086979

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This volume explores relations between Islam and Buddhism and the state in Myanmar, offering an informed response to contemporary issues facing the Muslim communities there.

Ethnic and Religious Diversity in Myanmar

Ethnic and Religious Diversity in Myanmar PDF

Author: Samuel Ngun Ling

Publisher:

Published: 2021

Total Pages: 256

ISBN-13: 9781350187436

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"The most comprehensive collection on Myanmar's identity politics to date, this volume discusses the entanglement of ethnic and religious identities in Myanmar and the challenges presented by its extensive ethnic-religious diversity. Religious and ethnic conjunctions are treated from historical, political, religious and ethnic minority perspectives through both case studies and overview chapters. The book addresses the thorny issue of Buddhist supremacy, Burmese nationalism, ethnic-religious hierarchy along with reflections on Buddhist, Christian and Muslim communities. Bringing together international scholars and Burmese scholars, this book combines the perspectives of academic observers with those of political activists and religious leaders from different faiths. Through the breadth of its disciplinary approach, its focus on identity issues and its inclusion of insider and outsider perspectives, this book provides new insights into the complex religious situation of Myanmar."--

Free and Open Indo-Pacific Strategy Outlook

Free and Open Indo-Pacific Strategy Outlook PDF

Author: David Arase

Publisher: ISEAS-Yusof Ishak Institute

Published: 2019-09-20

Total Pages: 27

ISBN-13: 9814881139

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The United States launched a new Free and Open Indo-Pacific (FOIP) strategy in late 2017 after reluctantly concluding that its patient effort to engage and socialize China to the rules-based order since 1972 had failed. China’s behaviour since 2009 convinced the United States that China is a revisionist power seeking to impose an authoritarian model of governance in Asia which, if successful, would end the rules-based order in the Indo-Pacific as well as endanger US security and vital trade interests. The new US FOIP strategy initiative seeks to engage like-minded nations in economic, security (both traditional and non-traditional), and political governance partnerships to construct a collaborative and scalable network of relations that will be able to respond flexibly to meet a wide range of stakeholder needs and regional contingencies across the Indo-Pacific region. The United States occupies a peak organizing role in this network and works with a hierarchy of partners distributed throughout the vast Indo-Pacific to meet the economic, security, and governance capacity needs of network members at any level. The rules-based order is the “operating system” of this network approach, and so the network itself sustains the rules-based order for its members as a collective good. FOIP is more like a club that generates rules-based order benefits for its members and as such has little in common with Cold War bloc politics and containment strategy. Bearing in mind that FOIP is only in its start-up phase and is likely to gather momentum going forward; that the elements of this network strategy are already in place; and that the United States and its main FOIP partners together have considerable material, organizational, and soft power resources, one may say that its prospects for long-term sustainability and success are not bad.

Religion, Religious Groups and Migration

Religion, Religious Groups and Migration PDF

Author: Deniz Coşan Eke

Publisher: Transnational Press London

Published: 2023-09-28

Total Pages: 163

ISBN-13: 180135121X

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The relationship between religion, religious groups, and migration is an important topic of recent social science debate. Migration affects all aspects of the lives of those who have left their homes, including facets characterized as religious. Religion and religious identity are linked to social, cultural, and political issues, including integration, identity negotiation, diasporic community formation, interreligious dialogue, and religious pluralism. On the one hand, migration can change religious cultures, rituals, and traditions through the experience of mobility and the response of the host country. On the other hand, religious groups can encourage migration. In this context, new forms of transnational interaction and organization have emerged that contribute to the reformulation of community and identity. In some cases, such changes can lead to new conflicts and even trigger religious radicalization. This edited book consists of essays that bring together various perspectives on religious groups and their migration processes in different geographical regions. The aim is to empirically analyze the discourse and practices of national and transnational religious groups while investigating the relationship of religion and migration to political, historical, cultural, and social transitions. The book brings together academics and practitioners from different countries through interdisciplinary approaches that will be of interest to a wide readership of scholars and practitioners. Contents Religion, Religious Groups and Migration. - Deniz Coşan Eke and Eric M. Trinka “The World Is Without Shelter, Without Protector”: Buddhism, the Protection of Displaced People, and International Humanitarian Law. - Christina A. Kilby Borders within Borders: Superkilen as the Site of Assimilation. - Ehsan Sheikholharam The Role of Informational Asymmetry in Interfaith Communication During Conflict: A Game Theoretical Approach. - Serdar Ş. Güner and Nukhet A. Sandal In the Intersection of Religion, Identity, and Education: The Perceptions of Sunni Muslim Parents Regarding Islam Courses in Austria. - Ece Cihan Ertem Alevism as a political-theological concept and its Representation in Austria. - Deniz Cosan Eke The Role of Interreligious Dialogue and Outreach in Building Trust and Strengthening Social Inclusion in Europe: the case of Network for Dialogue. - Amjad Saleem and Aleksandra Djuric Milovanovic “Textual Placemaking and Migration Memories in Psalm 137”. - Eric M. Trinka

World Christianity and Interfaith Relations

World Christianity and Interfaith Relations PDF

Author:

Publisher: Augsburg Fortress Publishers

Published: 2022-10-25

Total Pages: 300

ISBN-13: 1506448496

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World Christianity and Interfaith Relations makes the case that religion is not partitioned off from the secular in the Global South the way it is in the Global North. Rather, religion is deeply integrated into the lives of those in the Global South, even though secularism officially predominates.

Myanmar (Burma) since the 1988 Uprising

Myanmar (Burma) since the 1988 Uprising PDF

Author: Andrew Selth

Publisher: ISEAS-Yusof Ishak Institute

Published: 2022-01-24

Total Pages: 370

ISBN-13: 9814951781

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Updated by popular demand, this is the fourth edition of this important bibliography. It lists a wide selection of works on or about Myanmar published in English and in hard copy since the 1988 pro-democracy uprising, which marked the beginning of a new era in Myanmar’s modern history. There are now 2,727 titles listed. They have been written, edited, translated or compiled by over 2,000 people, from many different backgrounds. These works have been organized into thirty-five subject chapters containing ninety-five discrete sections. There are also four appendices, including a comprehensive reading guide for those unfamiliar with Myanmar or who may be seeking guidance on particular topics. This book is an invaluable aid to officials, scholars, journalists, armchair travellers and others with an interest in this fascinating but deeply troubled country.

Teaching for Peace and Social Justice in Myanmar

Teaching for Peace and Social Justice in Myanmar PDF

Author: Mary Shepard Wong

Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing

Published: 2022-06-02

Total Pages: 264

ISBN-13: 135018408X

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Bringing together scholars and educators based in Myanmar, the USA, the UK, Denmark, and Thailand, this book presents new perspectives and research on the struggle for social justice and peace in Myanmar at this critical juncture. It shows how actors from diverse backgrounds and regions of Myanmar are drawing from their identities, evoking their agency, and using critical pedagogy to advance social justice and peace. The chapters provide the compelling life stories of the authors, specific examples of what they are doing, and insights of how their work might be applied to other contexts. The topics discussed include addressing structural violence, peace curriculum development, identity-based conflict, teaching the history of the country, promoting inclusion, civic education, critical pedagogy, teacher agency, and agendas of research funding for peacebuilding. The foreword and afterword, written by well-known scholars of Myanmar, address the relevance and importance of the book vis-a-vis the current social and political crisis following the February 2021 military coup.

Evaluating Interreligious Peacebuilding and Dialogue

Evaluating Interreligious Peacebuilding and Dialogue PDF

Author: Mohammed Abu-Nimer

Publisher: Walter de Gruyter GmbH & Co KG

Published: 2021-09-20

Total Pages: 236

ISBN-13: 3110624621

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In the emerging fields of religious and interreligious peacebuilding, the question of monitoring and evaluation is a challenging, yet necessary process. The need to develop comprehensive yet fitting evaluation models for religious and interreligious peacebuilding is not only important for donor interests, but also critical as a means of documenting and learning for peacebuilders themselves. Theories and best practices in monitoring and evaluation have become prevalent in many fields, yet the amount of literature on evaluating intercultural and, especially, religious and interreligious projects remains scant in comparison. This volume offers a unique contribution that not only looks at several of the challenges and implications faced by religious and interreligious peacebuilders but also provides concrete examples of new models and tools for monitoring and evaluating religious and interreligious peacebuilding projects. In doing so, this volume serves as a tool and point of reference for individuals and organizations developing and implementing interreligious dialogue and peacebuilding projects.

The Significance of Everyday Access to Justice in Myanmar’s Transition to Democracy

The Significance of Everyday Access to Justice in Myanmar’s Transition to Democracy PDF

Author: Helene Maria Kyed

Publisher: ISEAS-Yusof Ishak Institute

Published: 2019-06-13

Total Pages: 32

ISBN-13: 9814843857

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Legal pluralism in Myanmar is a reality that is not sufficiently recognized. A lack of recognition of and clear mandates for the informal justice providers, along with the absence of coordination between these providers and the judiciary, present critical challenges to local dispute resolution and informal legal systems. This results in a high level of unpredictability and insecurity concerning the justice outcomes and in the underreporting of cases. The lack of jurisdictional clarity represents an even greater challenge in areas of mixed control and where numerous armed actors are present. Discussion of reform of the justice sector in Myanmar and debates surrounding peace negotiations and the role of the ethnic armed groups in service provision are separated. This situation reinforces the divide between ceasefire areas and the rest of the country and raises concern that the improvement of justice systems will leave conflict-affected populations behind. Recognition of and support for community-based dispute resolution are crucial to reducing the escalation of conflict at the local level. Justice systems like those of ethnic armed groups can contribute significantly to stability and order at times when the official system has limited territorial reach and is mistrusted by civilians.