There is a history of persecution of Muslims in Myanmar that continues to the present day. Myanmar is a Buddhist majority country, with significant Christian and Muslim minorities. While Muslims served in the government of Prime Minister U Nu (1948–1963), the situation changed with the 1962 Burmese coup d'état. While a few continued to serve, most Christians and Muslims were excluded from positions in the government and army. In 1982, the government introduced regulations that denied citizenship to anyone who could not prove Burmese ancestry from before 1823.Human Rights Watch, "The government could have stopped this", August 2012, pg. 5, https://www.hrw.org/sites/default/files/reports/burma0812webwcover_0.pdf This disenfranchised many Christians and Muslims in Myanmar, even though they had lived in Myanmar for several generations.
The Rohingya people are a large Muslim group in Myanmar; the Rohingyas have been among the most persecuted group under Myanmar's military regime, with the Kachin, who are predominantly U.S. Baptists, a close second. The United Nations states that the Rohingyas are one of the most persecuted groups in the world. Since 1948, successive governments have carried out 13 military operations against the Rohingya (including in 1975, 1978, 1989, 1991–92, 2002). During the operations, Myanmar security forces have driven the Rohingyas off their land, burned down their mosques and committed widespread looting, arson and rape of Rohingya Muslims. Outside of these military raids, Rohingya are subjected to frequent theft and extortion from the authorities and many are subjected to forced labor. In some cases, land occupied by Rohingya Muslims has been confiscated and reallocated to local Buddhists.
History
Muslims have lived in Myanmar since the 11th century AD. The first Muslim documented in Burmese history (recorded in Hmannan Yazawin or Glass Palace Chronicle) was Byat Wi during the reign of a Thaton king, circa 1050 AD.Pe Maung Tin and G. H. Luce, The Glass Palace Chronicle of the Kings of Burma, Rangoon University Press, Rangoon, Burma, January 1960 The two sons of Byat Wi's brother Byat Ta, Shwe Hpyin Naungdaw and Shwe Hpyin Nyidaw, were executed as children either because of their Islamic faith, or because they refused forced labour.Yegar, Moshe The Muslims of Burma: a Study of a Minority Group, Otto Harrassowitz, Wiesbaden, 1972; p. 2, paragraph 3 In the Glass Palace Chronicle, they were recorded to have served King Anawrahta as special agents and were later executed for a misunderstanding regarding missing bricks for a stupa. They were later deified into nats.Pe Maung Tin and G. H. Luce, The Glass Palace Chronicle of the Kings of Burma p. 83 paragraph 3, lines 2&3 During a time of war, King Kyansittha sent a hunter as a sniper to assassinate Nga Yaman Kan and Rahman Khan.Yegar Muslims; p. 2, lines 1&2Pe Maung Tin and G. H. Luce, The Glass Palace Chronicle of the Kings of Burma, p. 103, paragraph 3
Pre-modern persecution The Burmese king Bayinnaung (1550–1581 AD) imposed restrictions upon his Muslim subjects, but not actual persecution.Yegar Muslims; p. 10, lines 11&12 In 1559 AD, after conquering Pegu (present-day Bago), Bayinnaung banned Islamic ritual slaughter, thereby prohibiting Muslims from consuming halal meals of goats and chicken. He also banned Eid al-Adha and Qurbani, regarding killing animals in the name of religion as a cruel custom.Yegar Muslims; p. 10, lines 10–16Hmanan Yazawin (The Glass Palace Chronicle) Vol II p.312
In the 17th century, Indian Muslims residing in Arakan were massacred. These Muslims had settled with Shah Shuja, who had fled India after losing the Mughal war of succession. Initially, the Arakan pirate Sandathudama (1652–1687 AD), who was the local pirate of Chittagong and Arakan, allowed Shuja and his followers to settle there. But a dispute arose between Sandatudama and Shuja, and Shuja unsuccessfully attempted to rebel. Sandathudama killed most of Shuja's followers, though Shuja himself escaped the massacre.Yegar Muslims; p. 21, paragraph 2; pp. 22–24.
King Alaungpaya (1752–1760) prohibited Muslims from practicing the Islamic method of slaughtering cattle.Yegar Muslims; p. 10, line 21
King Bodawpaya (1782–1819) arrested four prominent Burmese Muslim Imams from Myedu and killed them in Ava, the capital, after they refused to eat pork.Yegar Muslims; p. 12, paragraph 3 According to the Myedu Muslim and Burma Muslim version, Bodawpaya later apologised for the killings and recognised the Imams as saints.Siddiq Khan, M., "Captain George Sorrel's Mission to the court of Amarapura, 1793–4", Journal of the Asiatic Society of Pakistan (Dacca); II (1957), pp. 132–140
British rule In 1921, the population of Muslims in Burma was around 500,000.Yegar Muslims; p. 29 paragraph 1 and footnote 1; p. 31 lines 1, 2, 11 During British rule, Burmese Muslims were seen as "Indian", as the majority of Indians living in Burma were Muslims, even though the Burmese Muslims were different from Indian Muslims. Thus, Burmese Muslims, Indian Muslims and Indian Hindus were collectively known as "kala" (black or dark-skinned).Collis, Maurice, Trials in Burma
After World War I, there was an upsurge in anti-Indian sentiments.Yegar Muslims; p. 32 There were several causes of anti-Indian and anti-Muslim sentiments in Burma. In India, many Buddhists had been persecuted by the Mughal Empire. There was significant job competition between Indian migrants, who were willing to do unpleasant jobs for low income, and the native Burmese. The Great Depression intensified this competition, aggravating anti-Indian sentiment.Yegar Muslims; p. 111, paragraph 4, lines 8–15; p. 27, paragraph 4, lines 5–7; p. 31, paragraph 2; p. 32, paragraph 4
On 22 May 1930, anti-Indian riots were sparked by a labor issue at the Yangon port. After Indian workers at the port went on strike, the British firm Stevedores tried to break the strike by hiring Burmese workers. The Stevedores and Indian workers reached a settlement on May 26 the Indians returned to work. Stevedores then laid off the recently hired Burmese workers. The Burmese workers blamed Indian workers for their loss of jobs, and a riot broke out. At the port, at least 200 Indian workers were massacred and dumped into the river. Another 2,000 were injured. Authorities fired upon armed rioters who refused to lay down their weapons under Section 144 of the Criminal Procedure Code. The riots rapidly spread throughout Burma, targeting Indians and Muslims.
In 1938, anti-Muslim riots again broke out in Burma. Moshe Yegar writes that the riots were fanned by anti-British and nationalistic sentiments, but were disguised as anti-Muslim so as not to provoke a response by the British. Nevertheless, the British government responded to the riots and demonstrations. The agitation against Muslims and the British was led by Burmese newspapers.Democratic Voice of Burma, Media conference (19–20 July, Oslo) Burmese Media: Past, present and future by U Thaung (Mirror/Kyae Mon news paper Retired Chief Editor)Yegar Muslims; p. 32, paragraph 4; p. 36, paragraph 1, lines 6, 7, 8, 9, 11, 12, 14, 15
Another riot started after a marketplace scuffle between Indians and Burmese. During the "Burma for Burmese" campaign, a violent demonstration took place in Surti Bazaar, a Muslim area.Yegar Muslims; p. 36, paragraph 3. When the police, who were ethnically Indian, tried to break up the demonstration, three monks were injured. Images of monks being injured by ethnically Indian policemen were circulated by Burmese newspapers, provoking riots.Yegar Muslims; p. 36, paragraph 4; p. 37 lines 1, 2 Muslim properties, including shops and houses were looted. According to official sources, 204 Muslims were killed and over 1,000 were injured. 113 mosques were damaged.Yegar Muslims; p. 37, paragraph 2.
On 22 September 1938, the British Governor set up the Inquiry Committee to investigate the riots.Yegar Muslims; p. 38, line 1 It was determined that the discontent was caused by the deterioration in the sociopolitical and economic condition of the Burmese.Yegar Muslims; p. 38, paragraph 2 This report itself was used to incite sectarianism by Burmese newspapers.Yegar Muslims; p. 38, paragraph 2, lines 12–14
Japanese rule Panglong, a Chinese Muslim town in British Burma, was entirely destroyed by the Japanese invaders in the Japanese invasion of Burma. The Hui Muslim Ma Guanggui became the leader of the Hui Panglong self defense guard created by Su who was sent by the Kuomintang government of the Republic of China to fight against the Japanese invasion of Panglong in 1942. Panglong was razed by the Japanese, forcing out over 200 Hui households and causing an influx of Hui refugees into Yunnan and Kokang. One of Ma Guanggui's nephews was Ma Yeye, a son of Ma Guanghua, and he narrated the history of Panglong which included the Japanese attack. An account of the Japanese attack on the Hui in Panglong was written and published in 1998 by a Hui from Panglong called "Panglong Booklet". The Japanese attack in Burma caused the Hui Mu family to seek refuge in Panglong but they were driven out again to Yunnan from Panglong when the Japanese attacked Panglong.
During World War II, the Japanese passed easily through the areas under Rohingyas. The Japanese defeated the Rohingyas, and 40,000 Rohingyas eventually fled to Chittagong after repeated massacres by the Burmese and Japanese forces.
Muslims under General Ne Win The issue of Indian migration to Burma during British rule was a significant issue around the time of independence. Ultimately, Indian Muslims were denied citizenship, being seen as foreigners. Divisions grew internally as many Indian Muslims, especially in Upper Burma, attempted to assimilate into Burmese culture wanting to be "Burmese in public and Muslims in their homes". Despite these divisions and the prominence of unrelated Muslim minorities, the Burmese Buddhist majority increasing saw all Muslims as foreigners who needed to be dealt with to end the country's civil war in the 1960s.
After the coup d'état of General Ne Win in 1962, Muslims were expelled from the army and were rapidly marginalised. The generic ethnic slur of "Kalar" used against perceived "dark-skinned foreigners" gained especially negative connotations when referring to Burmese Muslims during this time. Accusations of "terrorism" were made against Muslim organisations such as the All Burma Muslim Union, causing Muslims to join armed resistance groups to fight for greater freedoms. Ne Win targeted Burmese Indian and nationalised their businesses, causing mass emigration.
1997 Mandalay riots Tension grew between Buddhists and Muslims during the renovation of a Buddha statue. The bronze Buddha statue in the Maha Muni pagoda, originally from the Arakan, brought to Mandalay by King Bodawpaya in 1784 was renovated by the authorities. The Mahamyat Muni statue was broken open, leaving a gaping hole in the statue, and it was generally presumed that the regime was searching for the Padamya Myetshin, a legendary ruby that ensures victory in war to those who possess it.Houtman, Gustaaf. Mental Culture in Burmese Crisis Politics: Chapter 5 Study of Languages and Cultures of Asia and Africa Monograph Series No. 33. Tokyo University of Foreign Studies, Institute for the Study of Languages and Cultures of Asia and Africa, 1999, 400 pp.