Myanmar's Buddhist-Muslim crisis : Rohingya, Arakanese, and Burmese narratives of siege and fear / John Clifford Holt.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Holt, John, 1948- Author.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Buddhism and state--Burma.

Buddhism and state.

Rohingya (Burmese people)--Violence against.

Rohingya (Burmese people).

Islam--Relations--Theravāda Buddhism.

Islam.

Theravāda Buddhism--Relations--Islam.

Theravāda Buddhism.

Violence--Burma--Rakhine State.

Violence.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (xix, 301 pages) : illustrations, maps

Place of Publication:

Honolulu : University of Hawaii Press, [2019]

Language Note:

In English.

Summary:

Myanmar's Buddhist-Muslim Crisis is a probing search into the reasons and rationalizations behind the violence occurring in Myanmar, especially the oppressive military campaigns waged against Rohingya Muslims by the army in 2016 and 2017. Over more than three years John Holt traveled around Myanmar engaging in sustained conversations with prominent and articulate participants and observers. What emerges from his peregrinations is a series of compelling portraits revealing both deep insights and entrenched misunderstandings. To understand the conflict, Holt must first accurately capture the viewpoints of his different conversation partners, who include Buddhists and Muslims, men and women, monks and laypeople, activists and scholars. Conversations range widely over issues such as the rise of Buddhist nationalism; the sometimes enigmatic and unexpected positions taken by Aung San Suu Kyii; use of the controversial term "Rohingya"; the impact of state-sponsored propaganda on the Burmese public; resistance to narratives emanating from international media, the United Nations, and the international diplomatic community; the frustrations of local political leaders who have felt left out of the policy-making process in the Rakhine State; and the constructive hopes and efforts still being made by forward-looking activists in Yangon. Three main perspectives emerge from the voices he listens to, those of Arakanese Buddhists who are native to Rakhine (once called Arakan), where much of the conflict has taken place; Burmese Buddhists (or Bamars), who make up the vast majority of Myanmar's population; and the Rohingya Muslims, whose tragic story has been widely disseminated by the international media.What surfaces in conversation after conversation among all three groups is a narrative of siege: all see themselves as the aggrieved party, and all recount a history of being under siege. John Holt gives voice to these different perspectives as an engaged and concerned participant, offering both a critical and empathetic account of Myanmar's tragic predicament. Readers follow the hopes and dismay of this seasoned scholar of Theravada Buddhism as he seeks his own understanding of the variously impassioned forces in play in this still unfolding drama.

Contents:

Frontmatter

Contents

Preface

Abbreviations

Maps

Introduction

Yangon (Rangoon)

The Historian

The Elder Statesman

The Gadfly

The Stringer

The Commentator

Real Bengalis

The Activist

Arakan

The Neglected

The Senior Citizen

The Social Worker

The Spokesman

The Teacher

Mandalay

The Nationalist

The Anti-Nationalists

The Rector

Afterword

Glossary

Bibliography

Index

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references (pages 283-286) and index.

Description based on online resource; title from PDF title page (publisher's Web site, viewed 06. Apr 2020)

ISBN:

9780824881887

0824881885

9780824881870

0824881877

OCLC:

1135589880