Discrimination against Muslims in Burma/Myanmar

See also the Arakan (Rakhine) State sub-section under States and Regions of Burma/Myanmar, and Discrimination Against the Rohingya, under Human Rights
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Websites/Multiple Documents

Description: Follow the URL and Alternate URL to the sections on religious violence and the situation in Arakan/Rakhine State
Source/publisher: Online Burma/Myanmar Library
Date of entry/update: 2013-05-02
Grouping: Websites/Multiple Documents
Language: English, Burmese/ မြန်မာဘာသာ
Format : php
Size: 201 bytes
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Individual Documents

Description: "20 May 2022 - London/Yangon - The Burmese military has increased its attacks on marginalised minorities throughout the country since the coup in February 2021. These incidents escalated yet again on 20 May when the Burmese army set fire to the homes and mosque in Innywa Village, Kathar District, Northern Sagaing Region. A Muslim girl (Sofia) and her uncle were shot and killed by Junta’s thugs (ThwayThaut) in Yangon in a separate event. One other person was injured in the incident. BHRN calls on all nations to heed these warnings of another potential mass atrocities in Myanmar before it happens. “The world cannot sit idly by and allow further atrocities in Burma. What happened to the Rohingya will happen to any minority mainly Muslims and Christians minorities. The efforts by the international community so far have not altered the Junta’s course or stopped them from attacking civilians. If the world put only a fraction of the effort into Burma that they have into Ukraine, we can avert these atrocities,” said BHRN’s Executive Director, Kyaw Win. The Burmese military frequently uses arson attacks on minority areas. The intentional killing of civilians is unacceptable and targeting anyone for their religious and ethnic background is especially atrocious. Similarly, civilians have regularly been shot arbitrarily by the military in areas where no conflict or armed groups are present. BHRN calls on the international community to increase the severity of sanctions on Burma, emphasizing all enterprises that the military directly profits from, particularly their energy sector. All nations must establish a global arms embargo to prevent the military from resupplying weapons that they will use to harm and kill innocent civilians. The crisis in Ukraine has shown the power the world has when it chooses to act, we must be willing to do the same for Burma. BHRN calls on the world to completely sanction all of the Burmese military’s assets and endeavours, particularly the gas and oil sector. A complete arms embargo must be launched against the Junta and they must be ostracised from the world stage. As long as the fascist military continue to exist in power the threat of mass atrocities against the religious and ethnic minorities is highly likely to take place again in Burma. Simultaneously, the National Unity Government must also recognise it as genocide and stop avoiding using the term “genocide”. The world has taken great measures to stand up to the cruelty of dictators and warlords around the world. It must finally do the same for the people of Burma. Organisation’s Background BHRN is based in London and operates across Burma/Myanmar working for human rights, minority rights and religious freedom in the country. BHRN has played a crucial role in advocating for human rights and religious freedom with politicians and world leaders..."
Source/publisher: Burma Human Rights Network
2022-05-20
Date of entry/update: 2022-05-20
Grouping: Individual Documents
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Description: "Violations of religious freedom are increasing and persecution takes place in more than 25 countries, with China and Myanmar among those that have the worst records, according to a report by a Vatican-backed charity. The Religious Freedom in the World Report, covering 2019-2020 and issued on Tuesday, said that in some countries, such as Niger, Turkey and Pakistan, prejudices against religious minorities led local residents to blame them for the COVID-19 pandemic and denial of access to medical aid. The 800-page report was prepared by Aid to the Church in Need International (ACN), a worldwide Catholic charity that studies violations of freedoms of all religions. The latest report put 26 countries in a "red" category denoting the existence of persecution, compared to 21 countries at the time of the last report two years ago. It put 36 countries in the "orange" category denoting discrimination, compared to 17 two years ago. The report describes discrimination as when laws or rules apply to a particular group and not to all, and persecution as when there is an active programme to subjugate people based on religion. "There has been a significant increase in the severity of religiously-motivated persecution and oppression," the report said. It was particularly scathing about China and Myanmar. "The apparatus of repression constructed by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) in recent years is ... fine-tuned, pervasive, and technologically sophisticated," the report said. The most egregious violations were against Muslim Uighurs in Xinjiang "where the atrocities have reached such a scale that a growing number of experts describe them as genocide", it said..... HARASSMENT AND ARREST": In February, the administration of U.S. President Joe Biden endorsed a last-minute determination by the Trump administration that China has committed genocide in Xinjiang and has said the United States must be prepared to impose costs on China. China says the complexes it set up in Xinjiang provide vocational training to help stamp out Islamist extremism and separatism. The Chinese foreign ministry has called allegations of forced labour and human rights violations "groundless rumour and slander". The ACN report said Catholic hierarchy in China "continue to suffer harassment and arrest" despite a landmark deal signed in 2018 between Bejing and the Vatican on the appointment of bishops on the mainland. Reuters reported last year that two nuns who work at the Vatican mission in Hong Kong were arrested when they went home to the mainland for a visit. China was increasing the use of facial recognition on worshippers of various religions, it said. In Myanmar, the report said Rohingya Muslims "have been the victims of the most egregious violations of human rights in recent memory". Last year, the International Court of Justice ordered Myanmar to take urgent measures to protect Rohingya from genocide. The government has denied accusations of genocide. The ACN report said the military coup on Feb. 1 was "likely to make things worse for all religious minorities" in Myanmar, where about 8% of the population is Christian. Africa would be "the next battleground against Islamic militants," the report said. Militant groups were causing havoc in countries including Mauritania, Mali, Burkina Faso, Niger, Nigeria, northern Cameroon, Chad, Central African Republic, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Somalia and Mozambique, it said..."
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Source/publisher: "Reuters" (UK)
2021-04-21
Date of entry/update: 2021-04-21
Grouping: Individual Documents
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Topic: anti-Muslim hate speech, belonging, gender, global communications networks, laws, Myanmar, secularism, Theravada Buddhism
Topic: anti-Muslim hate speech, belonging, gender, global communications networks, laws, Myanmar, secularism, Theravada Buddhism
Description: "Recent literature on Buddhism in Southeast Asia and especially Burma or Myanmar has focused on Theravada formations in traditional and modern contexts.1 Theravada civilizations, in particular, are characterized by elite institutions, by their use of a prestige language, Pali, and by related, vernacular narratives that convey in art, manuscript, and print cultures the ethical values or imaginaries of this religious tradition. These imaginaries are sustained through social discourse, cultural practices, and regional networks.2 The study of traditional Theravada Buddhist social formations thus presumes an encompassing hegemony that is grounded in truth claims about particular civilizational narratives, teleological histories, and the moral universe they embody. Showing how Theravada Buddhist literature, practices, and discourse have shaped local and regional histories has allowed scholars to go beyond received distinctions between text and practice in the study of Theravada Buddhism. Anthropological studies in particular have centered on Buddhist institutions, monastic and lay practices, and ritual exchange, around which social hierarchies are constructed. Interdisciplinary and transregional studies on Theravada formations also describe the cultural and historical contexts in which the ‘Pali imaginary’ has been articulated and trace its vernacular iterations in social practices, particular formations, and local and transregional discourses that distinguish Theravada civilizations (Schober and Collins 2012, 2017)..."
Source/publisher: Juliane Schober via Academia.edu (USA)
2017-00-00
Date of entry/update: 2020-02-10
Grouping: Individual Documents
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Format : pdf
Size: 338.35 KB
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Description: "Divisive groups have taken advantage of Myanmar’s much lauded new political and media freedoms to pursue an agenda that will limit the civil and political rights of the country’s Muslim population. This article examines how extremist groups such as the Ma Ba Tha have exploited these new political and media freedoms and analyses the policy agenda they have pursued. The article argues that the enforcement of the four Protection of Race and Religion Laws will disadvantage Myanmar’s already politically marginalized Muslim residents by creating a de facto religious test for full Myanmar citizenship rights. Despite considerable evidence that Myanmar’s democratization process has stalled (Anguelov 2015; Eck 2013; Irrawaddy 2014; Kingsbury 2015; Sifton 2014), the country has nonetheless liberalized more during the last five years than throughout the previous five decades of direct military rule (Hlaing 2012; Renshaw 2013; Ware 2012; Zin and Joseph 2012). This article examines the freedoms that have accrued to Myanmar’s residents since the country’s 2010 national elections began a transition to a notionally civilian administration. It will briefly describe the nature of these freedoms and the opportunities they have provided for the country’s long-suppressed pro-democracy groups to organize and engage with the political process. However, the darker consequences of these freedoms will be addressed as well. It will be shown that increased freedoms to express political opinions, combined with a growing, less censored media landscape and ready access to the Internet and mobile phones, have provided opportunities for divisive voices to enflame religious and ethnic tensions and promote discriminatory policies, often to the detriment of Myanmar’s Muslim population (Freedom House 2013; Holland 2014; Trautwein 2015)..."
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Source/publisher: Islam and Christian–Muslim Relations via Academia.edu (USA)
2016-03-15
Date of entry/update: 2020-02-10
Grouping: Individual Documents
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Format : pdf
Size: 1.43 MB (18 pages)
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Description: "From difficulties in getting jobs to mounting online abuse, some Muslims in Myanmar are uneasy over what they say are signs of daily discrimination, which have grown since the Rohingya crisis erupted in 2012. Three Muslims share their stories with the BBC..."
Creator/author:
Source/publisher: "BBC News"
2019-08-22
Date of entry/update: 2019-08-23
Grouping: Individual Documents
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Description: "A court in Myanmar has issued an arrest warrant against Wirathu, a notorious Buddhist monk whose hate-preaching sermons against the Rohingya and other minority Muslims have stoked religious tensions. The monk, who once reportedly dubbed himself the "Burmese bin Laden", faces up to life imprisonment under the country's sedition law, which prohibits stirring up "hatred", "contempt" or "disaffection" towards the government. Police have so far declined to say why Wirathu has been charged, but the monk recently drew anger from senior officials for a series of speeches in which he attacked Myanmar's de facto civilian leader Aung San Suu Kyi. Wirathu has not yet been arrested and his exact whereabouts are unknown. A police spokesperson did not answer calls from Al Jazeera seeking comment. He is usually based at his monastery in the city of Mandalay, but a judge has told police to bring him before a court in the country's main city of Yangon before June 4, the Myanmar Now news agency reported. Contacted by phone, a man who described himself as a student of Wirathu told Al Jazeera the monk had left Mandalay for Yangon, where he has been summoned to appear before a panel of senior monks on Thursday. The panel is expected to reprimand him for his involvement in "mundane affairs" after a recent speech he gave defending Myanmar's military-drafted constitution and railing against Aung San Suu Kyi's efforts to amend it. READ MORE Myanmar government ups the ante with military over political role During the speech he said military members of parliament, who are guaranteed unelected seats by the constitution, should be worshipped like the Buddha..."
Creator/author: Joshua Carroll
Source/publisher: Al Jazeera
2019-05-29
Date of entry/update: 2019-06-04
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: English
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Description: ''The chief of the Arakan Army (AA), Tun Myat Naing, recently spoke with The Irrawaddy’s Nan Lwin Hnin Pwint about his group’s policies and accusations by the President’s Office that it has ties to the Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army (ARSA)...''
Source/publisher: The Irrawaddy
2019-01-17
Date of entry/update: 2019-01-17
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: English
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Description: ''Wa Lone and Kyaw Soe Oo were sentenced to seven years in September in a case condemned around the world. They exposed the summary execution of 10 Muslim Rohingyas by the security forces during the military's anti-Rohingya operation in 2017. But the judge called their terms "suitable punishment" and said the defence had not proved their innocence. Both were arrested carrying official documents handed to them by police officers. They maintain their innocence, saying the authorities set them up. When arrested the two were investigating a mass execution of Rohingyas, hundreds of thousands of whom have been forced to flee destruction and persecution in the northern Rakhine province of Myanmar (also called Burma)...''
Source/publisher: BBC News
2019-01-11
Date of entry/update: 2019-01-15
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: English
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Description: Abstract: "This work seeks to understand gender-­based violence and the connection between violence and livelihoods for refugees living in conditions of social exclusion. Through qualitative research consisting of 40 interviews, a market survey, and observation conducted among Burmese Muslim refugees in Thailand, this work analyzes the connection between livelihoods strategies, social exclusion, and gender-­based violence. Muslims are a marginalized group within Burma and experience ongoing discrimination while living in refugee communities in Thailand, which results in risk for several kinds of violence at multiple levels. The experiences of Muslim refugees living in Thailand offer insight into the conditions that shape violence for refugees more generally. Findings show that several factors contribute to the incidence of gender violence, including structural, community, and interpersonal stressors and constraints. These dynamics also shape violence, whether domestic abuse, harassment and assault within the refugee camp, or experiences with Thai authorities. By showing the complex conditions that shape gender-­based violence for refugees in this context, this work demonstrates the need for consideration of marginalized groups within refugee populations and the layered nature of the conditions that underpin dynamics of gender violence. This pa per concludes with consideration of the implications of these findings for the possibility of refugee return to Myanmar in the context of ongoing ethnic difficulty and livelihoods struggles.".....Paper delivered at the International Conference on Burma/Myanmar Studies: Burma/Myanmar in Transition: Connectivity, Changes and Challenges: University Academic Service Centre (UNISERV), Chiang Mai University, Thailand, 24-­26 July 2015.
Creator/author: Mollie Pepper
Source/publisher: International Conference on Burma/Myanmar Studies: Burma/Myanmar in Transition: Connectivity, Changes and Challenges: University Academic Service Centre (UNISERV), Chiang Mai University, Thailand, 24-­26 July 2015
2015-07-26
Date of entry/update: 2015-08-28
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: English, Burmese and Karen
Format : pdf
Size: 309.23 KB
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Description: "...In Myanmar, countless Burmese nationalists regularly pollute facebook and twitter with anti-Muslim vitriol. So too, ultra nationalist Buddhist organisations like ?969? and Ma Ba Tha have been active in pushing Buddho-fascism to the centre of Myanmar politics. Last week, for instance Ma Ba Tha protested outside the Yangon court on two occasions ? one to push for a harsher sentence for New Zealand owner of Gastro Bar and his two Burmese managers for posting a facebook image of the Buddha wearing headphones (they all got 2.5 years of hard labour), and on the second occasion to support the passing of the ?Race and Religion Protection Bills?, which Ma Ba Tha played a large role in conceiving, and which would limit the right of women in certain areas to have children (i.e Rohingya women in Rakhine state) and limit the right of Buddhist women to marry non-Buddhists. With the recent violence in Rakhine state, not to mention the history of mob violence against Muslims and Indians in Myanmar, the events of last week are extremely concerning..."
Creator/author: Tim Frewer
Source/publisher: "New Mandala"
2015-03-26
Date of entry/update: 2015-05-06
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: English and Karen
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Description: Comment, briefing & analysis from Burma Campaign UK... "The consequences of failing to address the growing religious tensions in Burma are so serious that they justify the urgent creation of a task force which helps Burma?s political and religious leaders, both in government and in opposition, learn from the past experience of the international community in addressing these problems... On 20th March violence erupted in Meiktilar, central Burma, between Buddhists and Muslims. While atrocities were committed on both sides in the ensuing violence, the majority of victims were Muslim, and Muslim shops, Mosques and people were systematically attacked. Many lives have been lost and thousands of people have fled their homes..."
Source/publisher: Burma Campaign UK (Burma Briefing No. 19)
2013-03-26
Date of entry/update: 2013-03-26
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: English
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Description: "The following incident report was written by a community member trained by KHRG to monitor human rights abuses in Dwe Lo Township, Papun District, and is based on an interview with a Muslim villager named Saw W---. Saw W--- is a resident of M--- village, situated 20-minutes on foot from K?Ter Tee village, where the incident happened. In the interview, the villager detailed events taking place around the time of September 10th 2012, regarding deterioration in the relationship between Muslim and Buddhist villagers, including a reported attack on a mosque. Further, the community member details the Border Guard Battalion #1013 Company Commander Saw Bah Yoh?s issuing of an order prohibiting villagers from buying products from or selling to Muslims and how, after the KHRG community member documented the incident, a Tatmadaw Operations Commander based near K?Ter Tee called a meeting to encourage Buddhist and Muslim villagers to live beside each other peacefully. The community member describes the dissemination of these pamphlets by a monastery to Border Guard soldiers and local monks in K?Ter Tee in a separate situation update, "Papun Situation Update: Bu Tho and Dwe Lo Townships, September to December 2012," KHRG, March 2013.
Source/publisher: Karen Human Rights Group (KHRG)
2013-03-07
Date of entry/update: 2013-03-21
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: English
Format : pdf
Size: 276.87 KB
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Description: "Violence between Buddhist and Muslim communities in Myanmar that reportedly left several people dead demonstrates an urgent need for Myanmar authorities to protect people at risk, Amnesty International said. On Wednesday 20 March, violent clashes broke out between Muslim and Buddhist communities in Meiktila, a town in Myanmar?s Mandalay Division, following a dispute at a Muslim-owned gold shop. According to local sources, several people have been killed. There was also widespread damage to property in the town, including the destruction of mosques and a government building. Tensions between Muslim and Buddhists have been heightened in certain parts of Myanmar, such as in Rakhine state where violence erupted in June 2012..."
Source/publisher: Amnesty International (Press Release)
2013-03-21
Date of entry/update: 2013-03-21
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: English
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