Muslims Killed in Burma

Takuan

http://www.europeanphoenix.com/en/component/content/article/39-internazionale/1910-burma-muslims-must-choose-between-death-and-forced-migration-un-condemns.html

http://www.tehrantimes.com/politics/99671-majlis-asks-foreign-ministry-to-report-on-muslim-massacre-in-myanmar

Can anyone give more information about this? A friend of mine posted these links on Facebook, I'm rather shocked that I haven't heard about this until today.

RebeccaS

I would be careful of your sources on something like this. The integrity of the Tehran Times is highly, highly questionable.

Takuan

oh sorry, i forgot to pick the right section.

Yeah, a friend of mine sent me these links today. I was kinda skeptical at first, but it did get me wondering if there was any truth to the story.

RebeccaS

There's probably some truth to it, but knowing what that truth actually is can be very hard to find in these kind of stories. Too many media outlets are biased and it's hard to find the middle ground.

The only mainstream media I've seen reporting on the issue is a very small opinion piece in the Huffington Post. And opinion pieces really aren't worth jack if you're looking for facts.

vinlyn

Well there certainly have been some atrocities against Muslim in Thailand bu a military that represents itself as being Buddhist, so it would not surprise me.

karasti

I consider people/groups like that as much Buddhist as I'd consider the Phelps family to be Christian. Just calling yourself something does not make you so.

Dakini

The New York Times had an article on it over the weekend. Buddhists attacking Muslims. They say it started when a Muslim raped a Burmese woman. Muslims have lived in Burma for generations, but they don't have the vote, and they're marginalized, according to the article.

karasti

The wiki article has several credible sources in the references section. It appears the violence between the Buddhist army and the Muslim minority has been ongoing for many decades with flareups. The most recent apparently started when a group of Muslims who robbed, raped and murdered a Buddhist woman. If you follow the sources, the information is in there, BBC and Reuters are fairly reliable as far as their research into these things goes.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2012_Rakhine_State_riots

Dakini

here's something:

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/07/13/opinion/ethnic-cleansing-of-myanmars-rohingyas.html.

Takuan

Ah thank you @karasti and @dakini

Very interesting stuff

federica

Moved to 'General Banter' as 'Current events' is for news-matters relating directly to Buddhism.

Cinorjer

Festering hatred and fear of the "other". This reminds me of our own sad history of conflict between blacks and whites here in the US, everywhere but especially in the south. The white community always claimed that black men were raping the white women. The charges were usually false, but even if true, the black community could point to many examples of white men raping black women. So entire communities lived in fear and distrust.

dharma

That's true , it is better to trace back the reason that led to the riot before jumping to the conclusion . A series of attack on Buddhist villagers might have foment conflict that lead to the riot. The news headline usually doesn't cover the whole story. Just last year we see the targeting on Buddhist villages taking place already:


" Remote Buddhist Villages Threatened by Rampant Robberies"

Jan 12, 2011

Buthidaung, Burma -- Some remote Buddhist villages in southern Buthidaung Township, 80 miles north of Sittwe, are under threat of damage due to the rampant Muslim robbers in the area, report local people widely.

A villager in Kwe Gomaw Village said, "The authority is not protecting our village right now. So many families are thinking of moving to more safe places like downtown Buthidaung, where many army battalions are stationed."

The village of Kwe Gomaw is located near Nyung Chaung Nasaka outpost in southern Buthidaung Township, and the village was hit by dacoits on 1 January, 2011.

"At 12 pm on 1 January, around 30 armed Muslim robbers surrounded our village. After that the robbers entered our village and robbed property from all the houses one by one. When a villager refused to give over his property, a robber beat him with his gun and injured his head. Properties worth 3 million kyat were taken by the robbers," the villager said.

After the robbers left the village, they hit another Buddhist village in the area, Thein Daung Byint, where many people of the Dynet tribes are living.

During the second attack, the village chairman's wife was severely wounded when some of the robbers opened fire on villagers who were trying to fight back against them. The woman is now hospitalized in Buthidaung in critical condition, although her condition is improving.

A villager from Thein Daung Byint said, "We are now afraid to live in our village because we have no safety, despite that our village is located in inner Buthidaung Township, not in the border area. Moreover, when we informed the Nasaka officers about the robber, the officers beat us because were unable to defend ourselves against the robbers. Now we are facing many difficulties living in our village."

During December, 2010, a large robbery also took place in Shwet Bying Village under Zaydi Bying circle in Rathidaung Township. The villagers lost 30 million kyat of property. The robbery was also committed by a group of armed Muslim dacoits.

The Muslim robbers have never robbed any Muslim villages in the area, having so far only struck Buddhist villages in Buthidaung Township. Because of this, many ordinary citizens, including those in the Muslim community, are anxious that the robberies might foment conflict and lead to riots among the people in the area."
,

Cinorjer

Sad. Even here in the US, we had a lot of people who wanted to blame the entire Muslim population, round them up and who knows what, over a few extreme criminal elements.

RebeccaS

Sad. Even here in the US, we had a lot of people who wanted to blame the entire Muslim population, round them up and who knows what, over a few extreme criminal elements.

The problem is that the Qu'raan is pretty extreme. Obviously most religious texts have elements that are horrendous (the Old Testament for example) and that's why we had so many Christian wars and why we still have extremists of most religions.

But the extremism of Islam has become a threat because of the theocratic nature of Iran, and, unfortunately, it is extremists who are in charge over there.

I don't agree with rounding up Muslims any more than I agree with rounding up Jews or anyone else, but it's easy to see where people have lost the distinction between Muslims and extremists.

Plus, there are many saying that Islam is just plain evil and that Muslims are indoctrinated to hate, which is partly true in theocratic nations, but it's portrayed in the media as something that all Muslims everywhere are doing.

You don't have to look hard to see examples of Muslim extremism in America, the UK etc. so again, it's partly true, but it's not fair to accuse all Muslims.

I'm just saying it's easy to see why people have taken to such broad and sweeping generalizations, false as they are.

vinlyn

Sad. Even here in the US, we had a lot of people who wanted to blame the entire Muslim population, round them up and who knows what, over a few extreme criminal elements.

One of the most wonderful things I ever saw a person do -- and it took far more guts than I would ever have -- was the day after 9/11. One of our guidance counselors, who was Jewish, went to the local Islamic mosque, went in ask asked to see the imam (sp?), to express to him that he didn't think the terrorism was the face of Islam, and to say to him that in his view they were all totally welcome in our community.

Theswingisyellow

Sad. Even here in the US, we had a lot of people who wanted to blame the entire Muslim population, round them up and who knows what, over a few extreme criminal elements.

One of the most wonderful things I ever saw a person do -- and it took far more guts than I would ever have -- was the day after 9/11. One of our guidance counselors, who was Jewish, went to the local Islamic mosque, went in ask asked to see the imam (sp?), to express to him that he didn't think the terrorism was the face of Islam, and to say to him that in his view they were all totally welcome in our community.

Vinlyn,
That's pretty right on:thumbsup:

Takuan

One of the most wonderful things I ever saw a person do -- and it took far more guts than I would ever have -- was the day after 9/11. One of our guidance counselors, who was Jewish, went to the local Islamic mosque, went in ask asked to see the imam (sp?), to express to him that he didn't think the terrorism was the face of Islam, and to say to him that in his view they were all totally welcome in our community.

Totally the opposite of what my teachers did. After 9/11 they told us (the students) that all Muslims wanted Americans dead. They told us that Muslims were jealous of the truths of Christianity and the freedoms of America. Pretty much we were taught to fear and even hate Islam... Then I went to college and ended up converting to Islam. lol

I still consider myself Muslim, but I incorporate Buddhist teachings.