NEW ARTICLE - “Nationalist Ethnicities as Religious Identities: Islam, Buddhism and Citizenship in Myanmar”

Imtiyaz Yusuf Discussion

NEW ARTICLE (YOU MAY REQUEST A COPY OFFLINE)

Imtiyaz Yusuf, “Nationalist Ethnicities as Religious Identities: Islam, Buddhism and Citizenship in Myanmar” American Journal of Islamic Social Sciences 34:4 (2017) pp. 100-119.

ABSTRACT

Myanmar is a hard and a difficult country, born out of the ashes of the murder of its freedom fighter General Aung San, who was assassinated on July 19, 1947, just a few months before the the country’s independence on January 4, 1948. His legacy of seeking integration, as well as the violence associated with his murder, continues to impact Myanmar. Since its independence, Myanmar has adopted an isolationist position at the regional and international levels (e.g., it did not join the British Commonwealth).

In its sixty-nine years of existence, the country has seen close and sometimes tense relations among the government, the army, and Buddhism: both in relation to the Sangha Maha Nayaka Committee (the ultimate authority for all ecclesiastical l matters) and the Buddhist monastic associations.

Just as Muslim radicals or nationalist Islam do not represent Islam, the ethnic versions of Buddhism in Myanmar do not represent the wisdom of the Buddha. In Myanmar, Buddhism has been interpreted in a way designed to Burmanize the country, to construct an “ethnocratic” nation.

Since 2015, thanks to global communications and social media, Muslims around the world have become aware of the presence of these Muslims who have been facing discrimination and violence in Myanmar. The media sensationalization of their condition evoked worldwide sympathy and support, as well as a flurry of relief activities (collecting large donations) and political and religious condemnations of the Buddhists. However, none of this activity yielded a plan or strategy to resolve the situation. The response was not historically or politically based in knowledge of the Rohingya nor of Myanmar in the transforming geopolitics of Southeast Asia – and so it remains. It lacks strength and appeal to the region’s political players.
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Asst. Prof. Dr. Imtiyaz Yusuf
Lecturer and Director
Center for Buddhist-Muslim Understanding
College of Religious Studies
Mahidol University
Salaya, Phutthamonthon
Nakhorn Pathom 73170
Thailand