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.

Myanmar's Enemy Within

Myanmar's Enemy Within PDF

Author: Francis Wade

Publisher: Zed Books Ltd.

Published: 2017-08-15

Total Pages: 210

ISBN-13: 1783605308

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For decades Myanmar has been portrayed as a case of good citizen versus bad regime – men in jackboots maintaining a suffocating rule over a majority Buddhist population beholden to the ideals of non-violence and tolerance. But in recent years this narrative has been upended. In June 2012, violence between Buddhists and Muslims erupted in western Myanmar, pointing to a growing divide between religious communities that before had received little attention from the outside world. Attacks on Muslims soon spread across the country, leaving hundreds dead, entire neighbourhoods turned to rubble, and tens of thousands of Muslims confined to internment camps. This violence, breaking out amid the passage to democracy, was spurred on by monks, pro-democracy activists and even politicians. In this gripping and deeply reported account, Francis Wade explores how the manipulation of identities by an anxious ruling elite has laid the foundations for mass violence, and how, in Myanmar’s case, some of the most respected and articulate voices for democracy have turned on the Muslim population at a time when the majority of citizens are beginning to experience freedoms unseen for half a century.

The Problem of Muslim National Identity in Myanmar

The Problem of Muslim National Identity in Myanmar PDF

Author: Myint Thein (a) Abdus Salaam

Publisher:

Published: 2012

Total Pages: 846

ISBN-13:

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This study examines the identity of Muslim communities in Myanmar (Burma) based on their ancient origins and settlements in Myanmar and their struggle to maintain their national identity under successive governments. The results of this study confirm that Muslim communities in Myanmar, namely Burman Muslims (including Pathi, Myedu and Zerbadee), Rakhine Muslims (including Rohingya and Kaman), Panthay Muslims (Chinese) and Pashu Muslims (Malay) have historically evolved and are stable communities, like other ethnic groups of Myanmar, and that they are by right Myanmar nationals. This study shows that Muslim communities at Burma's independence automatically had Burmese citizenship, the same status as all other citizens of Burma, and that they were among the 144 national races of Burma until 1982. However, they gradually lost their status, rights and privileges after the military coup led by General Ne Win, in 1962. It is the main finding of the present research that the 1982 Burma Citizenship Law created by General Ne Win did not only deliberately target the Rohingyas in Rakhine State to make them "Stateless" and refugees, but also degraded most of the Muslims and other minorities throughout the country to become second class or third class citizens without any justification. This study also found that the 1982 Burma Citizenship Law is contrary to the basic principles of the United Nations Charter, human rights and international norms.

Myanmar's 'Rohingya' Conflict

Myanmar's 'Rohingya' Conflict PDF

Author: Anthony Ware

Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA

Published: 2018-09-28

Total Pages: 298

ISBN-13: 0190928867

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The plight of Myanmar's Rohingya Muslims has made international news in recent years. Reports of genocide, ethnic cleansing and crimes against humanity are commonplace. The Rohingyas have been denied citizenship and are widely discriminated against. Hundreds of thousands have been internally displaced by violence, or have sought refuge in neighbouring or friendly Muslim countries. This conflict has become a litmus test for change in this country in transition, and current assessments are far from positive. Whitewashing by the military, and a refusal by Aung San Suu Kyi's government to even use the name 'Rohingya', adds to international scepticism. Exploring this long-running tripartite conflict between the Rohingya, Rakhine and Burman ethnic groups, this book offers a new analysis of the complexities of the conflict: the fears and motivations driving it and the competition to control historical representations and collective memory. By questioning these competing narratives, offering detailed sociopolitical analysis and examining the international dimensions of the conflict, this book offers new insights into what is preventing a peaceful resolution to this intractable conflict.

Perilous Plight

Perilous Plight PDF

Author: David Mathieson

Publisher: Human Rights Watch

Published: 2009

Total Pages: 21

ISBN-13: 1564324850

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In early 2009, thousands of ethnic Rohingya Muslims from Burma and Bangladesh made perilous journeys by sea to southern Thailand and Indonesia. Scores are feared to have died as a result of Thailand's "push-back" policy: towing Rohingyas back out to sea to deter further arrivals. This report examines the causes of the exodus of Rohingya people from Burma and Bangladesh and their treatment once in flight. Repression and human rights violations continue against the Rohingya inside Burma, exacerbated by a draconian citizenship law that renders them stateless. Decades of mistreatment have pushed many to flee to neighboring Bangladesh. From there, many pay to be smuggled to Malaysia via other Southeast Asian countries. Because they lack official papers, they live in fear of arrest and possible repatriation to Burma.