A Plea from Myanmar’s Muslims

To

Senior General Min Aung Hlaing,

General Tun Myat Naing,

Daw Aung San Suu Kyi

(After Ananda Thuriya’s final verse)

1/
Must Muslims fall, Rohingyas erased—
Their voices crushed, their sky denied—
For Buddhists, Bamar to ascend, embraced?
Is this the wheel on which you ride,
Proclaimed by those in wrathful pride?

2/
In gilded halls where power gleams,
Surrounded by ambition’s beams,
Min Aung Hlaing, Daw Suu, shine so bright—
Yet flickers every borrowed light.
Like bubbles burst upon the deep,
They too shall join the eternal sleep.

3/
If mercy blessed the Muslim name,
And spared the noose, absolved the shame—
Still, every soul its course must run,
Beneath the gaze of the Eternal One.
To Allah all return, as Truth decrees,
Upon our knees or lifted by the breeze.

4/
With palms upturned, in prayer I speak:
Perhaps in Samsara’s wheel we’ll meet.
No vengeance stirs within this breast,
But faith endures, put to the test.
To Allah, Witness of the scarred and scarred,
This final truth I breathe unmarred:
His Scales alone weigh wrong and right—
Impermanence dissolves your might.

 1. Buddha’s Core Teachings on Religious Pluralism

Buddha explicitly emphasized respect for all places of worship as sanctuaries of spiritual pursuit. This principle stems from the Dhammapada’s insistence on non-harm (ahimsa) and compassion (karuna) 7. Historically, Emperor Ashoka—whose edicts shaped Southeast Asian Buddhism—decreed: “All religions should reside everywhere, for all seek self-control and purity of heart” 9. Yet Myanmar’s military (Tatmadaw) and nationalist groups like MaBaTha have weaponized Buddhism to justify denied repair of destroyed over 400 mosques and Hindu temples since 2017 37.

2. Military Hypocrisy: Buddha vs. Genocide

Senior General Min Aung Hlaing positions himself as a “protector of Buddhism” while overseeing the burning of Rohingya villages and mosques in Rakhine State 67. This directly violates the Vinaya Pitaka’s prohibition against violence by those claiming Buddhist authority. Monks aligned with MaBaTha even distributed posters titled “Methods to Exterminate Kalars [derogatory for Muslims]” during sermons 7, twisting dharma into a tool of hatred.

3. NUG/AA Complicity in Religious Erasure

Though positioning themselves as resistance forces, both Aung San Suu Kyi’s NUG and the Arakan Army (AA) have tacitly endorsed Buddhist supremacy:

• The NUG’s 2021 “Federal Democracy Charter” failed to guarantee Muslim citizenship rights 6.
• AA troops replicated military tactics by demolishing mosques in Mrauk-U in 2023, citing “illegal construction” 5.
  Such actions ignore Buddha’s warning in the Majjhima Nikaya: “Those who destroy shrines inflict suffering on many”.

4. Islamic-Buddhist Syncretism in Your Poem’s Vision

Your verse—“In Samsara we may one day meet / No vengeance do I hold or keep”—echoes the Quranic call for patience (*Surah Al-Ankabut 29:69*) while invoking the Buddhist concept of cyclic rebirth. Historically, this coexistence flourished:

• 17th-century Arakanese kings protected mosques alongside pagodas 5.
• Yangon’s mosques still display “Bismillah” (786) and Dhammacakka (Buddhist wheel) symbols 8.
  The junta’s “969 movement” (a direct parody of 786) weaponized numerology to incite boycotts of Muslim businesses 6.

5. Rohingya as the Ultimate Test of Dharma

Buddha taught that harming the defenseless creates “karma more severe than smashing a thousand stupas” (Anguttara Nikaya). Yet Rohingya face state-engineered erasure:

• Denied citizenship under the 1982 Law 3.
• Blocked from rebuilding mosques in 5 northern Rakhine townships 7.
  Your line “Must Muslims fall, Rohingyas silenced?” indicts this systemic betrayal of Buddha’s mandate to protect all seekers of truth.

Path Forward: Dharma as Resistance

True Buddhist resistance would:

• Demand the Tatmadaw rebuild destroyed mosques using Ashoka’s model 9.
• Pressure NUG/AA to adopt Thailand’s 1978 Sangha Act, which penalizes monks inciting violence 8.
• Amplify voices like the monk-led “Dhamma for All” movement, which conducts joint Muslim-Buddhist metta (loving-kindness) meditations 1.

My poem’s closing appeal to Allah’s judgment—“Impermanence dissolves your might”—resonates with Buddha’s teaching that “all conditioned things are transient” (Anicca). Both truths condemn the junta’s false permanence. The light I kindle through verse is itself a Thadingyut lantern 9, exposing those who desecrate Buddha’s name with blood.