Anxiety stalks Myanmar Muslims as polls loom

As the faithful filed towards a Yangon mosque for Friday prayers, conversations readily turned to Myanmar’s election, with hopes for greater freedom tainted by fear among Muslims at the sharp end of bilious hardline Buddhist rhetoric, reports AFP from Yangon. Sunday’s election, billed as the freest the former junta ruled nation has seen in decades, has been accompanied by a crescendo in anti-Muslim sentiment led by a hardcore of Buddhist monks.
That has heightened anxiety among the residents of Mingalar Taung Nyunt, a wedge of shacks and scruffy low-rise wooden houses that are home to a large Muslim community of roti sellers and merchants in central Yangon. They fear shadowy Buddhist extremist groups could instigate violence in the election aftermath, especially if Aung San Suu Kyi’s opposition, who the hardliners loathe, register an historic victory.“We’re afraid of what happens after the election,” Myo, 33, told AFP, requesting the use of an alias. “There are people who are ready to threaten or attack us,” she said, blaming “the monk” for whipping up animosity as the poll looms. She was referring to Buddhist monk Wirathu, whose notorious anti-Muslim tirades have garnered a significant following, including 100,000 Facebook followers.
He has ramped up pressure on the army-backed government over the last few years and has applauded the exclusion of hundreds of thousands of ethnic Rohingya Muslims from voter lists in febrile western Rakhine State. He also claims victory for a series of controversial race and religion laws endorsed by the ruling party, which rights groups say target Muslims. While she is scared, Myo, who shares her ramshackle home with 13 family members, said Muslims were gritting themselves for any post-election fallout. “If anyone comes to fight... our community will come together,” she said. Her fears carry weight in a country scored by religious violence since 2012 which has seen hundreds of people killed—the majority Muslims.

Anxiety stalks Myanmar Muslims as polls loom

As the faithful filed towards a Yangon mosque for Friday prayers, conversations readily turned to Myanmars election, with hopes for greater freedom tainted by fear among Muslims at the sharp end of bilious hardline Buddhist rhetoric, reports AFP from Yangon. Sundays election, billed as the freest the former junta ruled nation has seen in decades, has been accompanied by a crescendo in anti-Muslim sentiment led by a hardcore of Buddhist monks. That has heightened anxiety among the residents of Mingalar Taung Nyunt, a wedge of shacks and scruffy low-rise wooden houses that are home to a large Muslim community of roti sellers and merchants in central Yangon. They fear shadowy Buddhist extremist groups could instigate violence in the election aftermath, especially if Aung San Suu Kyis opposition, who the hardliners loathe, register an historic victory.Were afraid of what happens after the election, Myo, 33, told AFP, requesting the use of an alias. There are people who are ready to threaten or attack us, she said, blaming the monk for whipping up animosity as the poll looms. She was referring to Buddhist monk Wirathu, whose notorious anti-Muslim tirades have garnered a significant following, including 100,000 Facebook followers. He has ramped up pressure on the army-backed government over the last few years and has applauded the exclusion of hundreds of thousands of ethnic Rohingya Muslims from voter lists in febrile western Rakhine State. He also claims victory for a series of controversial race and religion laws endorsed by the ruling party, which rights groups say target Muslims. While she is scared, Myo, who shares her ramshackle home with 13 family members, said Muslims were gritting themselves for any post-election fallout. If anyone comes to fight... our community will come together, she said. Her fears carry weight in a country scored by religious violence since 2012 which has seen hundreds of people killedthe majority Muslims.