Buddhism and State Power in Myanmar
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Buddhism and State Power in Myanmar
Buddhism and State Power in Myanmar Asia Report N°290 | 5 September 2017 Headquarters International Crisis Group Avenue Louise 149 • 1050 Brussels, Belgium Tel: +32 2 502 90 38 • Fax: +32 2 502 50 38 [email protected] Preventing War. Shaping Peace. Table of Contents Executive Summary ................................................................................................................... i I. Introduction ..................................................................................................................... 1 II. Buddhist Nationalism in Myanmar and the Region ........................................................ 3 A. Historical Roots in Myanmar .................................................................................... 3 1. Kingdom and monarchy ....................................................................................... 3 2. British colonial period and independence ........................................................... 4 3. Patriotism and religion ......................................................................................... 5 B. Contemporary Drivers ............................................................................................... 6 1. Emergence of nationalism and violence .............................................................. 6 2. Perceived demographic and religious threats ...................................................... 7 3. Economic and cultural anxieties .......................................................................... 8 4. -
NEW from “Barbet Schroeder Has Made Yet Another Compelling Documentary That Demands to Be Seen.”
NEW FROM “Barbet Schroeder has made yet another compelling documentary that demands to be seen.” “GENUINELY HORRIFYING!” – Film Comment “There’s an ever-present sense of rage and despair burbling beneath the placid surface of Barbet Schroeder’s film.” – Slant Magazine WINNER! OFFICIAL SELECTION FREEDOM AWARD CANNES, CPH:DOX BEST DOCUMENTARY LOCARNO INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL, JERUSALEM FILM FESTIVAL TELLURIDE FILM FESTIVAL Barbet Schroeder is one of the world’s most accomplished and prolific directors of our time. Some of his most popular films includeSingle White Female, Kiss of Death, and Murder by Numbers. He has been nominated for the Academy Award for Best Director, and for the Palme d’Or for his 1987 film Barfly starring Mickey Rourke and Faye Dunaway “This is an important documentary that Evil comes in many forms. In Myanmar, it manifests in the casual racism and Islamophobia of influential, charismatic Burmese Buddhist monk not only illuminates the rank underbelly Ashin Wirathu. Through interviews with international journalists and of Theravada Buddhism in Myanmar, but community leaders who protest against Wirathu’s views, activist footage also captures one of the first major tests of Rohingya persecutions, and through powerful storytelling, acclaimed faced by the new political order.” director Barbet Schroeder (Reversal of Fortune, Koko: A Talking Gorilla, and Barfly) slowly, but inexorably, builds his case. Perhaps most damning – The New York Review of Books of all are the interviews with the man himself; couching his rhetoric in nationalist fervor. THE VENERABLE W. A film by Barbet Schroeder • From Distrib Films • An Icarus Films Release Established in 2013, Distrib Films brings the latest 2017 • 100 min • Color • in English, French, Spanish, Burmese (with English subtitles) • Not Rated SRP: $26.98 • UPC # 8-545-6500316-3 French and European movies to the US. -
Islamaphobia and Anti-Muslim Hate in Sri Lanka Note
Islamaphobia and anti-Muslim hate in Sri Lanka Note: The structure of this submission follows the guiding questions raised in the concept note for the online consultation. It provides a synopsis of concepts and a snap shot of issues and includes a number of references to more detailed information and analysis. Definitions Islamaphobia is used in Sri Lanka mainly by Muslim commentators, scholars, a few Islamic scholars and a handful of non-Muslim intellectuals to describe the hatred and fear of Islam by non-Muslims and/or as one of the root causes of anti-Muslim hatred. It is often used in online platforms though not limited to it. Anti- Muslim hate is used to refer to hate campaigns and messaging by non-Muslims targeting Muslims. There is more usage of the term anti-Muslim hate than Islamaphobia and the latter is at times used to describe the former. Historical/political context affecting usage of terms: There are number of factors that influence and affect the usage of these terms. They include: a) Muslim’s historical ethnic claims – pre-independence Muslim political representatives fearing they would be a ‘minority within a minority’ fought hard to establish their own ethnic identity. The British enabled this through a problematic and weak classification titled ‘Moor’ (Ceylon and Coastal). There were also other Muslim ethnic groups such as the Malays. Based on weak ethnic markers (Arab origin, distinct culture) and as they were conversant in both local languages (Tamil and Sinhalese), Muslims became less ethnically distinctive and more commonly identified as a religious group, or as ‘Muslims.’ Nevertheless, claiming an identity distinct from the two larger ethnic groups and seeking recognition as a separate group remains critically important to community representatives and leaders.1 Consequentially, both from outside and inside the community hate, attacks and violence are framed as against ‘Muslims’ rather than ‘Islam’ and renders to the more frequent reference of ‘anti-Muslim’ violence/hate/attacks over Islamaphobia. -
Ideational Function with Systemic Functional Linguistics Approach
Meaning beyond the Clause in Critical Discourse Analysis: Ideational Function with Systemic Functional Linguistics Approach Chalimah1, Riyadi Santosa1, Djatmika1, Tri Wiratno1 1Universitas Sebelas Maret, Jl. Ir. Sutami No. 36A, Jebres, Surakarta 57126, Indonesia Keywords: Meaning beyond the clause, Critical discourse analysis, Systemic functional linguistics, Transitivity Abstract: Critical discourse analysis in the religious context is now a significant issue to be investigated through the linguistic way because the discourse shows the strength of language. The aim of this research is to make the world understand and reject the discrimination in religion. This study used descriptive qualitative method to describe the ideational function by using transitivity analysis to analyze the experiential realities in a phenomenal speech delivered by one of the religious leaders in Myanmar, Ashin Wirathu, who put a pressure on Islam. This research drew on finding from a study of verbal social process through Systemic Functional Linguistics (SFL) to look at discourse critically. The research finding shows that the speech created the discrimination by showing Buddhist’s insecurity, dissatisfaction, and hatred signs to Muslim through processes in transitivity. This discrimination is clearly shown from the data: using 62% of verbs with negative meaning about Muslim in material process; using negation as much as 43% in mental process about Muslim,; 100% verbal process from Wirathu indicated that all information taken from Wirathu’s only; using 92% of behavioral process to complain about Muslim ideology; using 61% of relational process to describe negative value about Muslim. 1 INTRODUCTION he could convince that war was the right thing to do to get honor in the God’s side. -
Persecution of the Rohingya Muslims
OCTOBER 2015 PERSECUTION OF THE ROHINGYA MUSLIMS: IS GENOCIDE OCCURRING IN MYANMAR’S RAKHINE STATE? A LEGAL ANALYSIS PREPARED FOR FORTIFY RIGHTS ALLARD K. LOWENSTEIN INTERNATIONAL HUMAN RIGHTS CLINIC, YALE LAW SCHOOL OCTOBER 2015 PERSECUTION OF THE ROHINGYA MUSLIMS: IS GENOCIDE OCCURRING IN MYANMAR’S RAKHINE STATE? A LEGAL ANALYSIS Prepared by the ALLARD K. LOWENSTEIN INTERNATIONAL HUMAN RIGHTS CLINIC, YALE LAW SCHOOL for FORTIFY RIGHTS ACKNOWLEDGMENTS This paper was written by Alina Lindblom, Elizabeth Marsh, Tasnim Motala, and Katherine Munyan of the Allard K. Lowenstein International Human Rights Clinic at Yale Law School. The team was supervised and the paper edited by Professor James Silk, director of the Lowenstein Clinic, and Soo-Ryun Kwon, formerly the Robert M. Cover - Allard K. Lowenstein Fellow in International Human Rights at Yale Law School. Former clinic member Veronica Jordan-Davis contributed to the initial research for the paper. The team would like to thank the students in the Fall 2015 Lowenstein Clinic for helping to check the paper’s citations. CONTENTS I. SUMMARY ................................................................................................ 1 II. METHODOLOGY ......................................................................................4 III. HISTORY OF HUMAN RIGHTS ABUSES AGAINST ROHINGYA IN MYANMAR ...........................................................................................5 A. ROHINGYA UNDER MILITARY RULE: FROM MYANMAR’S INDEPENDENCE THR OUGH 2011 ..............................................................5 -
Rohingya Briefing Report
ROHINGYA BRIEFING REPORT October 2015 2 WARZONE INITIATIVES TABLE OF CONTENTS 3 INTRODUCTION 4 HISTORY OF MYANMAR Colonialism Buddhism Ethnic Conflict 7 HISTORY OF THE ROHINGYA 10 CURRENT SITUATION 11 INTERNATIONAL RESPONSE Neighboring Countries Western Countries 12 LEGAL IMPLICATIONS Burma/Myanmar Laws International Laws Crimes Against Humanity? Ethnic Cleansing? Genocide? 15 TIMELINE 16 REFERENCES ROHINGYA BRIEFING REPORT 3 INTRODUCTION The controversy surrounding Myanmar’s Rohingya people is evident in conflicting stories about the ethnic group’s origin. The Burmese government and Burmese historians argue that the Rohingya are actually Bengali Muslims, refusing to recognize the term “Rohingya.” They claim that the Rohingya migrated to Rakhine state in Myanmar from Bengal during and after the British colonial era of 1824-1948. However, most experts outside of Myanmar agree that the Rohingya have been living in Rakhine state since at least the 15th century, and possibly as early as the 7th century. Claims that the Rohingya are recent immigrants from Bangladesh are simply untrue. There are between 800,000 and 1,100,000 CHINA BANGLADESH Rohingya in Myanmar today, 80% of whom live in Rakhine state. The Rohingya primarily reside in the two northern townships in INDIA Rakhine state--Maungdaw and BURMA VIETNAM Buthidaung--along the border with LAOS Bangladesh. Rakhine Buddhists are the major RAKHINE population group residing in Rakhine state. Tensions leading to violence between these two groups is a regular occurrence. THAILAND WHO ARE THE ROHINGYA? Sunni Muslims Make up 1/3 of Rakhine state’s population 1,100,000 in Myanmar Significant population in Saudi Arabia, Bangladesh, Pakistan, Thailand, and Malaysia Government claims they are illegal immigrants from Bangladesh, and rejects them as one of the nation’s 135 official ethnic groups Most live in Maung Daw and Bu Thi Daung townships While the government has played a significant role in the oppression of the Rohingya, it has not been without the help of Burmese citizens. -
Buddhists' Perceptions of Islam and Muslims in Sri Lanka
BUDDHISTS’ PERCEPTIONS OF ISLAM AND MUSLIMS IN SRI LANKA: AN EMPIRICAL STUDY IN THE CONTEXT OF DAÑWAH BY HAMEED LEBBE MOHAMED HARIS A thesis submitted in fulfilment of the requirement for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in UÎul al-dÊn & Comparative Religion Kulliyyah of Islamic Revealed Knowledge and Human Sciences International Islamic University Malaysia APRIL 2010 ABSTRACT This study discusses Buddhists’ perceptions of Islam and Muslims in Sri Lanka, a multiracial, multi-religious and multilingual country in which Buddhists are the majority. Muslims are the second largest minority, following the Hindus. Muslims and Buddhists lived for more than thousand years in peaceful coexistence and ethnic harmony, but a few decades back this situation seems to have changed. Ethnic conflict began to simmer; some books and articles were published against Islam and Muslims. Some Buddhist individuals and groups work to propagate extreme thoughts against Muslims. But the question has been to what extent this anti-Islam and anti- Muslim attitude have affected the whole Buddhist society. Does represent commonly held views or are they restricted to a few individuals? To find out proper answers to those questions, an empirical study has been much needed in order to know what actions to take to preserve peaceful coexistence. A peaceful environment and ethnic harmony are essential in order for any society to survive or develop. Field research on this topic was done from January to June, 2007. 1200 questionnaires were distributed among Sri Lankan Buddhists in seven provinces. Of that amount, fifty percent were returned back. 25 individuals were interviewed. Some anti-Muslim literature was also collected. -
Non-Violence, Asceticism, and the Problem of Buddhist Nationalism
genealogy Article Non-Violence, Asceticism, and the Problem of Buddhist Nationalism Yvonne Chiu 1,2 1 Strategy and Policy Department, U.S. Naval War College, Newport, RI 02841, USA; [email protected] 2 Hoover Institution, Stanford University, Stanford, CA 94305, USA; [email protected] Received: 19 February 2020; Accepted: 25 August 2020; Published: 16 September 2020 Abstract: Contemporary Buddhist violence against minority Muslims in Myanmar is rightfully surprising: a religion with its particular moral philosophies of non-violence and asceticism and with its functional polytheism in practice should not generate genocidal nationalist violence. Yet, there are resources within the Buddhist canon that people can draw from to justify violence in defense of the religion and of a Buddhist-based polity. When those resources are exploited in the context of particular Theravada¯ Buddhist practices and the history of Buddhism and Buddhist identity in Burma from ancient times through its colonial and contemporary periods, it perpetuates an ongoing tragedy that is less about religion than about ethno-nationalism. Keywords: nationalism; Buddhism; Theravada;¯ non-violence; asceticism; polytheism; Burma; Myanmar What accounts for a non-violent religion’s turn to nationalist violence? This question is prompted by persistent and shocking genocidal violence by Buddhist groups in Myanmar (Burma) against minority Muslim Rohingya over the past decade. In the West, the virulence with which religion and nationalism converge is associated primarily with the fervor of Abrahamic religions, which only heightens the incongruence of Buddhism’s teachings of and reputation for non-violence with grotesque uses of force in its name. I argue that Buddhist nationalist1 violence in Myanmar should be both more and less surprising than it is, and address two major elements of Buddhist philosophy at the root of this incongruity: non-violence and asceticism. -
RELIGION, RITUAL and EVERYDAY LIFE Intercollegiate Sri Lanka Education Program (ISLE) Program
COURSE SYLLABUS RELIGION, RITUAL AND EVERYDAY LIFE Intercollegiate Sri Lanka Education Program (ISLE) Program Suggested US semester credit hours: 4 Contact Hours: 60 Course Code: RL282-06 and PACS282-06 Course Length: Semester Delivery method: Face to Face Language of Instruction: English Suggested cross-listings: Religious Studies; Peace and Conflict Studies COURSE DESCRIPTION This course provides insights into the religious life of various ethnic communities in Sri Lanka: Sinhala Buddhists, Tamil Hindus and Muslims of different orientations. Indeed, the question of how and when religious identity intersects with ethnic identity—and ritual’s role in articulating those politically significant relationships—will undergird our lectures and discussions. It will include an examination of different forms of worship at home and in religious shrines, healing rituals as well as rites of passage. The main objective of the course is to help students understand the perspectives of practitioners through the study of the context in which each of the rituals considered in this course are observed. The overarching theme of the course is to explore the complex relationship between canonical understanding of religion and its popular practice as it is reflected in the practice of Buddhism, Hinduism and Islam in Sri Lanka. Sustained consideration will be given to the historical and contemporary dynamics of religious borrowing, appropriation, and interaction. Students will leave the course with a command over not only basic religious concepts in Sri Lanka, -
The Controversial Article 18 of the UDHR in Myanmar
Paw 1 Sha Paw Human Rights Essay Contest The Controversial Article 18 of the UDHR in Myanmar Article 18 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) was adopted by the United Nations in 1948, which states that “everyone has the right to freedom of thought, conscience and religion; this right includes freedom to change his religion or belief, and freedom, either alone or in community with others and in public or private, to manifest his religion or belief in teaching, practice, worship and observance.” This article 18 guarantees everyone, whether male or female and are minority or majority to have the freedom of thought, conscience and religion. However, the article The Politics of Article 18: Religious Liberty in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights states that “article 18 never addresses the difficult questions of how the relation between states and religious institution should be regulated; it leaves terms like “teaching,” “practice,” “worship,” and “observance” undefined; and it never clarifies under which circumstances religious liberty can and cannot be curtailed” (Lindkvist, 429). Lindkvist also claims in his article that those actors who formed the Article 18 were “subtly but importantly transformed the way religious liberty was framed in international affairs.” In the article The right to freedom of religion or belief and its intersection with other rights, it states that “none of the international instruments guaranteeing the freedom of religion and belief provides a definition of these terms” (Donald, Howard, 2). The word “religion” itself has a variety of meaning because different people understand religion differently. Even the terms like “teaching,” “practice,” “worship,” and “observance” can be understood differently. -
“One and a Half Human Beings” How Buddhist Monks Construct the Muslim Other in Myanmar
“One and a Half Human Beings” How Buddhist Monks Construct the Muslim Other in Myanmar Ingrid Johannessen Supervisor Dr. Iselin Frydenlund, Associate Professor in Religious Studies This Master’s Thesis is submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the MA degree at MF Norwegian School of Theology, 2018, spring AVH5035: Master's Thesis (60 ECTS) Master in Religion, Society and Global Issues Word count (ex. front page, content list, bibliography, attachments): 35 104 words 2 Acknowledgments and Gratitude First of all I would like to thank my supervisor Professor Iselin Frydenlund for introducing me to this topic and to Myanmar, a country I have grown to love. I want to thank you for your guidance, knowledge and sense of humor. Your enthusiasm is infectious and your drive inspiring. I also need to thank my support network: my family, friends, classmates and flat mates. Thank you for supporting and pushing me, and thank you for tolerating me while I was living and working in this little bubble. I also want to thank my new Burmese friends, both in Myanmar and in Norway, for being so generous and helpful. Especially to Duh Tawng Lian and Thiri Nandar for helping me with the Burmese translation. I would like to thank NORPART and MF as well, for giving me the grant and opportunity to do my fieldwork in Yangon in November 2017 and then for allowing me to go back to Myanmar in January 2018. These experiences were life changing and I am forever grateful. Lastly I want to thank God for making this all come together and for having a plan for me to follow. -
Managing Group Grievances and Internal Conflict: Sri Lanka Country Report
Working Paper Series Working Paper 13 Managing Group Grievances and Internal Conflict: Sri Lanka Country Report G.H. Peiris and K.M. de Silva Netherlands Institute of International Relations ‘Clingendael’ Conflict Research Unit June 2003 Netherlands Institute of International Relations ‘Clingendael’ Clingendael 7 2597 VH The Hague P.O. Box 93080 2509 AB The Hague Phonenumber: # 31-70-3245384 Telefax: # 31-70-3282002 Email: [email protected] Website: http://www.clingendael.nl/cru © Netherlands Institute of International Relations Clingendael. All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without the prior written permission of the copyrightholders. Clingendael Institute, P.O. Box 93080, 2509 AB The Hague, The Netherlands. Foreword This paper has been written within the framework of the research project ‘Managing Group Grievances and Internal Conflict’*, executed at the request of the Netherlands Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The project focuses on the process of, and motives for, (violent) group mobilisation and aims at the development of an analytical tool to assist policy-makers in designing conflict-sensitive development activities. In the course of the project, a preliminary assessment tool has been developed in cooperation with Dr. Michael Lund, and discussed with the researchers who carried out the assessment in four country cases: Ghana, Mozambique, Nicaragua and Sri Lanka. On the basis of this testing phase, the tool has been substantially amended and refined**. The present report, which was finalized in September 2002, results from the testing phase and reflects the structure of the analytical tool in its original form.