Krystal Thomas

ePortfolio
World Religion
Section 501

Rohingya are an ethnic minority in Myanmar. They are predominately Muslim. They are

considered one of the most persecuted people in the world. Rohingya are considered stateless,

as they are not recognized by the government of Myanmar. Myanmar denies them citizenship.

Strict restrictions have been put upon their freedom, medical assistance, education and most of

their basic services. (Ratcliffe)

For decades the majority of Myanmar’s Buddhist have been discriminating and subjecting

the Rohingya people to violence. Because of this persecution they flee their countries in search

of a Muslim majority place to live such as Malaysia and Indonesia (Shams). There was a major

clash between the Rohingya and Buddhist nationalist in 2012 that led to violence and scores of

deaths. This forced more people out of their homes and since then they have been living in camps

in Rakhine (Shams).

Myanmar is about 90% Buddhism, with about 400,000 Muslim Rohingya coming into

Bangladesh and settling in Rakhine, Buddhist are feeling threatened. Buddhist feel that they have

suffered for their tolerance of other faiths. (Hunt)

The issues between the Muslim Rohingya and Buddhist go against both religions’

teachings. Both religions are peaceful religions that teach against violence. There is a verse in the

Dhammapada, a Buddhist text, that reads, “All tremble before violence. All fear death. Having
done the same yourself, you should neither harm nor kill (Rosenthal).”1 There is a massive human

rights violation going on in Rakhine right now and there are many Buddhist that are troubled with

the situation since it does goes against the teachings (Rosenthal).

There are rumors and some evidence though not enough to suggest that genocide of the

Rohingya people is happening. There are groups of Buddhists led nationalist that are preaching

about the importance of Buddhist values, history, education, sacred sites and ceremonies

(Rosenthal). However, at the same time they are insisting on stopping threats to their own

religion which they say is coming from the Muslims.

In this particular situation the term “Buddhist” is being used as a cultural identity and not

for a religious belief like it is supposed to be. Just like any religion someone who identifies as a

Buddhist doesn’t necessarily follow the teachings of the Buddha (Rosenthal). The military

government of Myanmar is using the Buddhism religion and/or it’s people to manipulate its

country and the religions followers to behave with violence and hatred. The Buddhist religion is

based on compassion, generosity and non-violence.

If we look back on where this feud started and where it has come since then, the

government has been involved since day one. It might be time to start looking at this as a cultural

issue rather than a religious issue. (Rosenthal) This is because based on evidence that is seen the

eruptions of violence were organized and planned. It also looks like some of the monks who lead

1
See https://www.lionsroar.com/what-does-buddhism-have-to-do-with-the-ethnic-cleansing-in-myanmar/ for
more verse on non-violence.
the rebel groups work for the government. Since the violence is so out of the ordinary for both

of these religions maybe it is time to look at this differently.

Bibliography
Hunt, Katie. "How Myanmar's Buddhists actually feel about the Rohingya." 20 September 2017. CNN. 09
December 2018. <https://www.cnn.com/2017/09/19/asia/myanmar-yangon-rohingya-
buddhists/index.html>.

Ratcliffe, Rebecca. "Who are the Rohinya and what is happening in Myanmar?" 11 September 2018. The
Guardian. December 9 2018. <https://www.theguardian.com/global-
development/2017/sep/06/who-are-the-rohingya-and-what-is-happening-in-myanmar>.

Rosenthal, Randy. "What's the connection between Buddhism and ethnic cleansing in Myanmar?" 13
November 2018. Lion's Roar. 09 December 2018. <https://www.lionsroar.com/what-does-
buddhism-have-to-do-with-the-ethnic-cleansing-in-myanmar/>.

Shams, Shamil. "Rohingya people in Myanmar: What you need to know." 09 December 2017. DW Made
for minds. 09 December 2018. <https://www.dw.com/en/rohingya-people-in-myanmar-what-
you-need-to-know/a-40340067>.