The Stateless Rohingya Blog

Muslims gather at a mosque in Rangoon after praying as part of the Ashura religious festival in November 2012. (Photo: Reuters / Minzayar) By Lawi Weng  Irrawaddy News October 11, 2013 RANGOON — Muslims hiding out in Rangoon say they are among more than 100 followers of Islam who fled religious violence in Arakan State’s Thandwe Township last week to seek refuge in Burma’s biggest city. An argument between an Arakanese Buddhist and a Muslim in Thandwe spiraled out of control on Sept. 29 and eventually led to the spread of violence in surrounding villages over the next three days. Five Muslims were killed and more than 100 houses were burned to the ground. Zaw Moe Win, a Kaman Muslim, was among those who fled Thandwe last week. He told The Irrawaddy that he booked a flight out of the coastal town, opting not to take the cheaper overland route from Thandwe to Rangoon for fear of his safety. “There are at least 100 of our Muslims who fled from Thandwe and came t

By KPN News  October 10, 2013 Maungdaw, Arakan State: Security force – Hluntin – from Oodaung outpost demanded money from a foods carrying vehicle of World Foods Program –WFP – while its carrying foods to Maungdaw south to distribute on September 9 evening, said a transport owner from Maungdaw.  Six Hluntin personnel from Oodaung outpost camp demanded 10,000 kyats from driver Syed Alam who was driving vehicle number 5E/6176 and the vehicle owned by Islam, a Rohingya. So, the Hluntin asked money from the vehicle as usual as collecting money from Rohingya owned vehicle, the transport owner said. But, the driver explained the security force-Hluntin- that the vehicle was under WFP and carrying the foods for aids program to poor people from Maungdaw south, so he can’t able to pay the demanded money. After hearing the refused to pay demanded money, the six Hluntin personnel started to beat the driver till the driver become unconscious, said a driver who play on this road. The comm

Myanmar Conflict: An Apathetic Government Gives Little Hope to Threatened Muslims © AP By  Usaid (Muneeb) Siddiqui  PolicyMic October 10, 2013 A fresh outbreak of violence in the troubled Rakhine state of Myanmar  claimed the lives of five Muslims  in the town of Thandwe earlier this month. In addition to that, nearly a thousand Buddhist protestors torched nearly 50 homes of belonging to Muslim residents including a neighbourhood mosque. A general anti-Muslim sentiment  has proliferated in post-military Burma . The Rohingya Muslim sect in particular has been at end of extreme violence from the majority Buddhist population of Rakhine. Coupled with the institutionalized discrimination faced by the Rohingya on a daily basis, their place in Burmese society remains precarious at best. Condemnation from  around the world  has been profound, where even the highest Buddhist authority, the Dalai Lama, has called for an immediate end to Muslim bloodshed. On a more worrisom