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Protests shutdown Islamic schools near Yangon

'Temporary' move has Muslim leaders worried about freedom of religion in Myanmar
Protests shutdown Islamic schools near Yangon

A Muslim boy wearing "thanaka," or traditional facial cosmetics, waits for alms while praying outside the Narsapuri mosque to mark Eid al-Fitr in Yangon on July 7, 2016 as Myanmar's Muslims celebrated the end of the Islamic holy fasting month of Ramadan. Recent protests by Buddhist monks and their supporters have led to the temporary closure of two Islamic schools just outside Yangon. (Photo by Romeo Gacad/AFP)

Published: May 02, 2017 06:34 AM GMT
Updated: May 02, 2017 06:34 AM GMT

Leaders of Myanmar's Muslim minority are concerned after hard-line Buddhists forced two Islamic schools near Yangon to close on April 28.

Some 150 hard-line Buddhist monks and their supporters gathered near two Islamic schools in Thaketa township to demand local officials close the buildings as they are used for worship and built illegally.

Under pressure from the protesters, who call themselves the Patriotic Network, the two schools were sealed off temporarily by the local authorities in a bid to prevent further conflict.

Kyaw Khin, secretary of the All Myanmar Muslim Federation in Yangon, said he was worried about the lack of religious freedom in the country even though it is constitutionally guaranteed.

"It is not acceptable for the majority to bully minorities so we must raise the question of our protection with the government," Kyaw Khin told ucanews.com.

The Muslim leader said that he and other Islamic organizations will send a letter to the government to solve the issue.

Kyaw Nyein, secretary of the Ulama Islamic Organization, said he was alarmed because Islamic schools in Thaketa township have been targeted repeatedly since anti-Muslim sentiment rose erupting in religious violence in 2012.

"As local authorities failed to act against the mob we must raise the issue as matter of the rule of law," Kyaw Nyein, who is also a lawyer, told ucanews.com. How long will the "temporary" closure last? he asked.

There are nine madrasas in the township but one has been closed since 2013 after rumors spread that it was being converted into a mosque. Authorities have not allowed mosques to be built in the township since 1962.

As of publishing, both schools remained closed and there was no information available on when they will be allowed to reopen.

Recently, Cardinal Charles Bo of Yangon strongly condemned hatred against minorities in the ethnically diverse nation.

"There are times when religion and culture can be abused by unscrupulous elements to kindle hatred among people. We need to resist hate speech against any people. Hatred has no place in religion," Cardinal Bo said in a keynote speech at an interfaith peace conference in Yangon on April 26.

The predominately Buddhist country has seen several bouts of religious violence since 2012, much of it targeting the Rohingya Muslims in Rakhine State.

Hard-line Buddhist monks from the Committee for the Protection of Race and Religion, known as Ma Ba Tha, encouraged anti-Muslim violence in 2012 which left more than 200 people dead and forced tens of thousands to flee their homes. An estimated 120,000 people in the state still live in temporary camps for displaced people.

Muslims account for 4.3 percent of the population in the Buddhist-majority country, according to the 2014 census. They arrived in the ninth century and most are of Indian, Chinese or Pathi descent.

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