Persecution of Muslims in Myanmar

There is a history of persecution of Muslims in Myanmar that continues to the present day.^[2] Myanmar is a Buddhist majority country, with significant Christian and Muslim minorities. While Muslims served in the government of Prime Minister U Nu (1948–63), the situation changed with the 1962 Burmese coup d'état. While a few continued to serve, most Christians and Muslims were excluded from positions in the government and army.^[3] In 1982, the government introduced regulations that denied citizenship to anyone who could not prove Burmese ancestry from before 1823.^[4] This disenfranchised many Muslims in Myanmar, even though they had lived in Myanmar for several generations.^[5]

The Rohingya people are a large Muslim group in Myanmar; the Rohingyas have been among the most persecuted group under Myanmar's military regime, with the Kachin, who are predominantly U.S. Baptists, a close second.^[6] The UN states that the Rohingyas are one of the most persecuted groups in the world.^[7][8][9] Since 1948, successive governments have carried out 13 military operations against the Rohingya (including in 1975, 1978, 1989, 1991–92, 2002).^[10] During the operations, Myanmar security forces have driven the Rohingyas off their land, burned down their mosques and committed widespread looting, arson and rape of Rohingya Muslims.^[11][12] Outside of these military raids, Rohingya are subjected to frequent theft and extortion from the authorities and many are subjected to forced labor.^[13] In some cases, land occupied by Rohingya Muslims has been confiscated and reallocated to local Buddhists.^[13]