12 replies to this topic

[JSAli]

I keep seeing people posting images on facebook, from Myanmar, of a Muslim massacre that took place there with numbers reaching up to 20,000. I doubted it since one of the images matched with images taken after an earthquake took place in the area, as well as lack of world media coverage. However, I've noticed PressTV and ABNA have reports on it. Can anyone confirm what is happening? This is indeed very sad.

https://www.facebook...&type=1

http://www.presstv.i...ter-in-myanmar/

http://www.abna.ir/d...ang=3&Id=329368

Edited by JSAli, 16 July 2012 - 01:03 PM.

[Aftahb]

as
MOnks ate beef, now they got beef to fight us, moslem. Someone needs to build a tower of monks head.
They think we r weak, i wish they knw our leader had brought the sun up!

https://www.facebook...12198751&type=1

Edited by Aftahb, 16 July 2012 - 01:22 PM.

[Basim Ali]

Here's an article by someone who seems to know what's going on:

Burma is located in Southeast Asia covering an area of more 250,000 square miles and with a population of more than 60 million people. In recent history it was under British rule from 1886 until 1948, and Burma is a country that never been part of the Commonwealth after the departure of the British.
During the British rule, many people from nearby countries, especially from India, came to Burma. But many Muslims have been in the country for centuries. Burma’s main religion is Buddhism with about 4 percent Muslims and other minorities. The foreigners who came to Burma started to dominate running the services in the country.

They were met with extreme resistance and violence. Burma was and still is one of the poorest countries with one of the lowest GDP and per capita in the world. Burma never caught up with the other Southeast Asian countries in regard to development and economic advances, even thought ithas far many more rich resources than some of the Southeast Asian countries. Burma drastically declined in development. It moved from a free market to a Soviet style governing body.

The economy of Burma used to be the strongest among Southeast Asian countries. They were the world largest exporter of rice and it has a lot of untouched forests with the best teak. But poor planning and mismanagement brought economic and social disaster to the people of Burma, and with poverty and lack of education, the country went into chaos.
The recent outbreak of violence is spreading even with efforts of Suu Kyi, the leader of the democratic opposition, who spoke to many world leaders about the situation in her country.

But the atrocities against Muslim minorities had been going on for a long time. It has to be dealt with once and for all. The northern area is only one part of the violence. The chaos is spreading and there is fear that an all out civil war can be near. The president of Burma, Thein Sein, has no control over his own armed forces. He was pressured by the west to calm down his own forces, but, the field commanders are not obeying his orders.
Now Muslim minorities started to leave Burma out of fear. Many of the refugees went to neighboring Bangladesh, but their treatment is not far better than when they were back in Burma. And many more refugees went to China, but the areas are not receiving any aid and now there is fear of wide spread starvation and diseases.

The violence in Burma is widespread with summary executions, torture and rape. The situation of the Muslim minorities is more complicated because they are not recognized as citizens and any scope of any reconciliation will not give them any protection. And it is very difficult to get any information about any solid agreement for the protection of Muslims because the country is very isolated.

The Muslim ethnic group, which is called Rohingya, has always been under constant threats and the massacres and it had been going on for so long, the world simply ignored the whole thing. The Muslims in Burma had been living like refugees in very desperate conditions and they are basically stateless people. And they are not allowed to own land and not allowed to travel outside their area (Rakhine). The world has to look at the Muslim minorities in Burma with serious steps to solve their chronic problem. The Rohingyas who live in the northern part of Burma are always called Bengalis regardless of his origin.

Because most of the fleeing Muslim Burmese are heading to Bangladesh, a country considered one of the poorest countries in the world, will not be able to accommodate or take care of the refugees. Also Bangladesh is having political problem of their own and don’t want to be dragged into a direct conflict with Burmese armed forces. The Burmese army did in fact attack the Bangladishi border in their efforts to pursue some Rohingyas.
Now, the situation in Burma is deteriorating for the Muslim minority and the official announcement about the reason behind the riots is not an excuse for many years of mistreatment of Muslims.

The Burmese government officials said the reason for the attacks on Muslims is because of the attack and rape by three Muslims of Buddhist women, but these attacks had been the norm for many years. Now the United Nations must to find a way to solve the suffering of the more than a million Muslims in Burma. There is an urgent need for medical supplies and food aid. And the only visible assistance came through some Saudi doctors who wanted to help, but there are many difficulties, which hamper their efforts. The number of people in need is very large and the access to where the refugees is very difficult to reach and hard to track. Burma is very isolated and very poor in every basic infrastructure.
http://www.arabnews....%99s-conscience

Very graphic pictures have been surfacing over the internet. Donno how something so vile is not catching media attention.

Edited by Basim Ali, 16 July 2012 - 01:38 PM.

[JSAli]

Basim Ali, on 16 July 2012 - 01:36 PM, said:

Donno how something so vile is not catching media attention.

this is what is very disturbing! Small fry news stations seem to be reporting bits and pieces of it. Why can't the bigger agencies give us a full report? What is there to hide? Who are they trying to protect by not reporting it?

I mean, if it were Israel or some other close ally to the west committing these crimes, I would understand if they kept it low....But it's poor Burma...

[Propaganda_of_the_Deed]

Not the first Buddhist majority country to oppress Muslims.

The Muslims of South Thailand (Pattani) who are ethnically Malay are mistreated and forced to assimilate in Thai Buddhist culture and language.

Historically it was an independent sultanate until it was annexed to Siam (Thailand) with the help of the British in 1902. They have been seeking independence and there are daily explosions and executions inflicted by both military and law enforcement on one side and armed militia on the other. Most killed have been Muslims since the recent uprisings some years back.

[titumir]

I might add, in Buddhist-majority Sri Lanka, there have been widespread rioting against Hindu Tamils as well, in the past, which led to the rise of the Tamil separatist movement.

http://en.wikipedia....wiki/Black_July

[ShiaBen]

lol I'm not sure why Buddhists/Jainists/anything similar would want to impose their faith on Muslims etc.

It just doesn't make sense to me. Crazy.

I use to read about Buddhists and Jains, and they'd say things like, "One can be a Muslim and a Buddhist at the same time" and the same with any other religion i.e. Christian and Buddhist etc.

The world is getting crazier.

Edited by ShiaBen, 16 July 2012 - 11:47 PM.

[Abdul Qaim]

My wife is Burmese (Muslim, of course) and I have been to Myanmar several times. I can confirm that there is widespread discrimination against Muslims in Myanmar/Burma. Actually, there's discrimination against most non-Buddhist Burmese, including Christians and Hindus (of which there are few left since they were "encouraged" to leave the country in the 1960s).

What you hear in the press is just the tip of the iceberg. The Rohingya Muslims are suffering the most because the Burmese government does not even recognise them as Burmese citizens and they therefore are afforded no rights whatsoever. They live in the western areas of Myanmar and are ethically similar to Bengladeshis living on the other side of the border. It just so happened that when the borders were last drawn, they ended up on the wrong side of the border (at least according to the Burmese authorities).

They have been living in their lands for centuries and are therefore just as deserving of Burmese citizenship as the dozens off other ethnic minorities in Myanmar, but they have two strikes against them in the eyes of the Burmese. Firstly, they are Muslim and not Buddhist and, secondly, they are dark-skinned. Believe it or not, the Burmese, who are not exactly Nordic when it comes to their complexions, regard them as dark, ugly people who are plainly unwanted aliens on Burmese soil.

I was told by a Burmese Muslim friend that Muslims began congregating in a house for salaat in a Buddhist majority town outside of Rangoon/Yangon. So agitated were the local Buddhists that the dwelling was going to become a masjid that they set the house on fire and destroyed it.The irony is that most Burmese Buddhists, once highly religious, pay little more than lip-service to their faith these days.

Anyway, I would keep your eyes and ears open for news of the plight of Muslims in Burma over the coming months. It wouldn't surprise me if the anti-Islamic pogroms grow in size and scope over the next few months

[titumir]

^^ Could you tell us how many Shia there are among Burmese Muslims?

[Abdul Qaim]

titumir, on 17 July 2012 - 03:57 AM, said:

^^ Could you tell us how many Shia there are among Burmese Muslims?

Not many at all. It's hard to say precisely how many, but they would be counted in the tens of thousands, whilst there are at least 2.5 million Sunna ther. Most of the Shi'ah who are left (most Shi'ah of Indian origin left Burma in the 1960s) are of Iranian descent, though most are of mixed Iranian/Burmese ethnicity. In fact, the non-Shi'ah Burmese refer to them as "Moghuls" (the term they used for Iranians, believe it or not). They have 3 masaajid in Rangoon/Yangon as well as several Imambarghas. The non-Shi'ah Burmese refer to th

[ImamAliwabas]

another case of religion turning to nazism. buddha will be so proud of these buddist yeh right.

[Noah-]

Again, Shias--Iran and the oppressed Muslims who face massacre.

When do Shias will learn their lessons? For more than 40 years chanting for Palestine, for oppressed Sunni Muslims of Bosnia, Afg and elsewhere gave you any results?

The entire West and the champions of HR are simply ignoring these incidents
The champions of Ahle Sunnah, Saudi Arabia, Turkey, Qatar did not say a single word,
A single Sunni country or Islamic party did not come forward to show their sympathies
The lions of Ahle Sunnah, the Ikhwans from Egypt to Syria never felt anything

But, from twitter to facebook, from social media to news media, from Iran to Europe, from officials to none officials, it is the Shias who must come forward and confront these Budhist folks, only at the end of the day to be accused for having Majsoosi and Rafidhi agendas, the same way were accused in Palestine.

The discrimination, religious restrictions, genocide that Sunnis face from Budhist guys in Myanmar is what and how Shias face for decades in Saudi, Bahrain, Yemen, Pakistan and elsewhere not at the hands of Kuffar, but at the hands of SUNNIS.

Anyhow, I hope the suffering of these ppl will be over and they find peace, and the oppressor parties involved to face justice!

Edited by Noah-, 18 July 2012 - 10:31 PM.

[Chaotic Muslem]

http://www.sprword.c...os/insideburma/

insightful