Irrawaddy-Sept 25
The Jameh Mosque in downtown Maungdaw—a frontier town near the Bangladeshi border in western Myanmar’s Rakhine State—reopened on Sept. 12 after being closed since communal violence erupted in the area in 2012. The reopening, which was marked by a ceremony attended by Rohingya Muslims, local administrators, Rakhine Buddhists and Hindus, allows local Muslims to once again worship daily in the town’s largest and oldest mosque. The event was organized by the Maungdaw Muslim Affairs Council, mosque trustees and community elders. Built in 1818 by a donor family, the Jameh Mosque has for centuries been a central place of worship for Muslims in Maungdaw. It had been sealed since Aug. 6, 2012, when violence between Rakhine Buddhists and Rohingya communities engulfed the town. Local leaders said the decision followed a request made by Rohingya representatives during an Aug. 30 meeting with Arakan Army (AA) chief Tun Myat Naing, who granted permission for the reopening. “This is a historic day,” said U Aung Thaung Shwe, district administrator under the Arakan People’s Revolutionary Government, the AA’s administrative body. The mosque’s reopening reflects the AA’s vow to uphold religious freedom and equality in Rakhine, he said. “I hope all the people in Rakhine, whether Muslim, Hindu or Buddhist, can live peacefully together, and I hope to see more peaceful gatherings like this,” he said. The Jameh Mosque was once a flashpoint. In May 2012, a Rakhine woman was raped and murdered in Kyauk Ni Maw Village, Ramree Township. A week later, 10 Muslim men traveling through Taungup were randomly killed in an act of retaliation. Authorities failed to contain the unrest, and hate speech and incitement spread rapidly. Read more at:
