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
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
Summary:
"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,...
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)
Date of entry/update:
2020-02-10
[field_licence]
Type:
Individual Documents
Category:
Arakan (Rakhine) State - reports etc. by date (latest first), Discrimination against Muslims in Burma/Myanmar, Discrimination against the Rohingya
Language:
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)..."
Source/publisher:
Islam and Christian–Muslim Relations via Academia.edu (USA)
Date of entry/update:
2020-02-10
[field_licence]
Type:
Individual Documents
Category:
Arakan (Rakhine) State - reports etc. by date (latest first), Discrimination against the Rohingya, Discrimination against Muslims in Burma/Myanmar
Language:
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..."
Source/publisher:
"BBC News"
Date of entry/update:
2019-08-23
[field_licence]
Type:
Individual Documents
Language:
Local URL:
more
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..."
Joshua Carroll
Source/publisher:
Al Jazeera
Date of publication:
2019-05-29
Date of entry/update:
2019-06-04
[field_licence]
Type:
Individual Documents
Category:
Burmese Buddhism and Society, Discrimination against Muslims in Burma/Myanmar, Discrimination against the Rohingya
Language:
English
Local URL:
more
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
Date of publication:
2019-01-17
Date of entry/update:
2019-01-17
[field_licence]
Type:
Individual Documents
Category:
Arakan (Rakhine) State - reports etc. by date (latest first), Armed conflict in Rakhine (Arakan) State, Discrimination against Muslims in Burma/Myanmar
Language:
English
Local URL:
more
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
Date of publication:
2019-01-11
Date of entry/update:
2019-01-15
[field_licence]
Type:
Individual Documents
Category:
Arakan (Rakhine) State - reports etc. by date (latest first), Discrimination against Muslims in Burma/Myanmar, Discrimination against the Rohingya, Freedom of opinion and expression: - the situation in Burma/Myanmar - reports, analyses, recommendations
Language:
English
Local URL:
more
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.
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
Date of publication:
2015-07-26
Date of entry/update:
2015-08-28
[field_licence]
Type:
Individual Documents
Category:
Migrant workers from Burma : general and mixed articles and reports, Discrimination against Muslims in Burma/Myanmar, Thailand-Burma relations, International Conference on Burma/Myanmar Studies (ICBMS) 23-26 July, 2015
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..."
Tim Frewer
Source/publisher:
"New Mandala"
Date of publication:
2015-03-26
Date of entry/update:
2015-05-06
[field_licence]
Type:
Individual Documents
Language:
English and Karen
Local URL:
more
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)
Date of publication:
2013-03-26
Date of entry/update:
2013-03-26
[field_licence]
Type:
Individual Documents
Language:
English
Local URL:
more
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)
Date of publication:
2013-03-07
Date of entry/update:
2013-03-21
[field_licence]
Type:
Individual Documents
Category:
Discrimination against Muslims in Burma/Myanmar, Inter-Communal violence and discrimination - Myanmar - General articles and analysis
Language:
English
Format :
pdf
Size:
276.87 KB
more
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)
Date of publication:
2013-03-21
Date of entry/update:
2013-03-21
[field_licence]
Type:
Individual Documents
Language:
English
Local URL:
more