God and Government: Myanmar’s Religious Freedom Crisis

This week on Interfaith Voices:

Colonial legacy fueling Myanmar’s anxiety over national identity

Myanmar’s ethnic cleansing and the use of rape as a weapon of war has generated global condemnation. Yet not long ago Myanmar was hailed for its transition from a military junta to a fledgling democracy. At the center of this conflict is the question of national identity, which was heavily influenced by the independence movement in response to colonization by the British Empire.

Pastor Bob Roberts Jr., founder of NorthWood Church in Keller, Texas
Harrison Akins, research fellow at the University of Tennessee’s Howard Baker Center for Public Policy

Myanmar’s rising Islamophobia

n recent years, several mosques around Myanmar have been attacked and Buddhist nationalists have pressured authorities to close down Muslim religious schools — or madrassas — in  Thaketa township in Yangon, the country’s largest city. We hear from a journalist tracking how other, non-Rohingya Muslims in Myanmar are faring amid this growing nationalism and he gives us an update on what’s happening today. Produced by Axel Kronholm.

Axel Kronholm, independent journalist 

How Buddhism fits into Myanmar’s nationalist narrative

The extreme violence at the hands of Buddhist nationalists in Myanmar contradicts popular western stereotypes of this faith tradition. In Myanmar, Theraveda Buddhism — a more literalist, conservative tradition – is dominant. Our guest tells us that like all religions, Buddhism is not immune to extremism. And in Myanmar it’s inspiring support for nationalism – and violence against perceived “outsiders.”

Susan Hayward, senior adviser of religion and inclusive studies at the U.S. Institute of Peace

Web Bonus: What can you do?

Pastor Bob Roberts, of Northwood Church in Texas, offers a few suggestions of how to help the Rohingya refugees in the Cox’s Bazar district in Bangladesh, including sending money through reputable organizations on the ground like USAID to plant bamboo ahead of expected flooding.

 


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