Habib Siddiqui

The Rohingya Muslims of Myanmar are the worst persecuted people of our time. The Buddhist government and people there, aided by racist monks, are committing genocidal crimes against them. You can learn their latest situation by clicking here .

In its July 1 issue, the Time magazine has covered the recent genocidal activities against the Muslims of Myanmar. In this, reporter Hannah Beech has done an excellent job analyzing the role played by Wirathu, a Buddhist monk, who has become the face of Buddhist terrorism. Her report has stirred up a hornet’s nest among the Buddhists. They are very upset. Unlike OBL, whose views had forced him to settle for a life of refuge outside the country, Wirathu who likes to call him ‘the Burmese bin Laden’ is quite popular inside Myanmar. He is an abbot who has a significant following not just within the Sangha but also within the government, military, and civilian population of his Buddhist-majority country. Soon after the publication of the Times issue, President Thein Sein came to his defense and said, "Buddhist monks, also known as Sanghas, are noble people who keep the 277 precepts or moral rules, and strive peacefully for the prosperity of Buddhism.” From such testimonials, it is n...

Samir Jeraz, a British journalist, has done an excellent job reviewing the religious extremists in Myanmar, Sri Lanka and India. You can read his piece by clicking here . He has provided many links which help to understand the current pogroms in those countries.

Here is an old report from the Reuters describing the connection of Wirathu's 969 Movement with the anti-Muslim pogrom in Meikhtila.

Here is an excellent article by author Pankaj Mishra that should be an essential reading for anyone trying to understand the communal riots in India. This article, written for the Guardian in 2002 in the aftermath of the destruction of historical Babri Mosque provides answers to many questions on this problematic issue. You will notice the common element within Hindutva and 969 Movement: an admiration for fascism, Mussolini's Italy and Hitler's Germany by their pujaris or devotees. Last year, Mishra revisited the subject of communal riots in India with updated information. You can read his piece by clicking here . As you may know that in the anti-Muslim pogrom of Gujarat, February 2002, where more than a thousand Muslims were butchered to death, BJP leader Narendra Modi, who remains the Chief Minister of the state, explicitly instructed civil servants and police not to stand in the killers' way. The pogrom was extensively televised by India's innumerable – and th...

Here is a link to an old article in the BBC to understand about ethnic divide in Sri Lanka, which is recent years has seen Buddhist skinhead monk-directed and state supported pogroms against Hindu, Muslim and Christian minorities there. The other link here (click here ) shows the remarkable similarity between the 969 Movement of Wirathu in Myanmar, and anti-Muslim activities of Bodu Bala Sena (BBS) and Sinhala Echo in Sri Lanka. These groups are led by skinhead Buddhist monks who want to drive out the Muslims. Interestingly, Defence Secretary Gotabhaya Rajapaksa who is brother of the Sri Lankan President said monks are there to protect country, religion and race, something that was recently echoed by President Thein Sein of Myanmar when it came to describing the criminal monk Wirathu. He said, "No one should doubt these clergy. We're here to give you encouragement." Just as in Myanmar, the BBS has top-level support inside Sri Lanka, from president down to an ordinary...

Here is an excellent article from the Atlantic on the subject of the 969 movement, which has rightly been described as fascist that has led to the genocidal campaigns against the Muslim minorities in Burma/Myanmar. Although written in April of this year, it is a good piece to understand the basis of this fascist movement that continues to be led by a skinhead monk Wirathu.

While I appreciate the much needed response from Mizzima opposing bigotry and racism which have become the all too familiar trademarks of Buddhist terrorism inside Myanmar, it should understand that for years, before even the Thein Sein regime came to power, the Rohingya and other Muslim communities have been asking for integration and not segregation in a national reconciliation dialogue. Such calls only met deaf ears from the ultra-racist and bigot elements within the political spectrum of ENC and  ANC where the Rohingya and minority Muslim participation was simply disallowed. The so-called Democracy movement had nothing democratic about it; it was as fascist as it could be. The minority views/voices were simply ignored with no place to share within such Diaspora groups that were interested in a federal Burma with democracy being the system of government. This arrogant attitude, in spite of the fact that Rohingya Muslims were almost half the total population inside Arakan, was ...

The Time magazine has covered the recent genocidal activities against the Muslims of Myanmar in its July issue. You can read the piece by clicking here . In it, reporter Hannah Beech has done an excellent job analyzing the role played by Wirathu, a Buddhist monk, who has become the face of Buddhist terrorism.

I came across  newsclip s from the Standard (Hong Kong) and Bangkok Post which say that Myanmar deplores Time for insulting Buddhists and for ignorance of its reporter. In his statement, President Thein Sein said, "Buddhist monks, also known as Sanghas, are noble people who keep the 277 precepts or moral rules, and strive peacefully for the prosperity of Buddhism." Of course, Myanmar and its majority Buddhists that are guilty of committing genocide against the minority Muslims there are upset with Time magazine and its brilliant reporter Hannah Beech who hit the hornet's nest. They and other supporters of genocidal practices against the minority Muslims hate being on the spotlight for their monstrous crimes against humanity. They will try to tarnish the image of a brave reporter like Hannah for laying out the facts for all to see. So, I am not surprised by Standard's ridiculous one-sided piece to whitewash crimes of Myanmar and its notorious son Wirathu. For too l...

In recent months, anti-Muslim pogroms have rocked many parts of Burma (Myanmar) and have left scores of Muslims killed and thousands displaced, while thousands of homes were destroyed. Ultra-nationalist, RACIST AND BIGOT monk U Wirathu, 46, has been stirring up this unrest through his nationwide ‘969’ campaign, which calls on Buddhists to shun Muslim-owned businesses and to “think in a nationalist way.” The 969 symbol has also been found painted on the walls of destroyed Muslim-owned buildings, suggesting that Buddhist rioters were motivated by his words. His controversial campaign has attracted widespread media attention. Last week, Time magazine Asia ran a cover story on the movement and placed a photo of U Wirathu on their July issue, which labeled the monk “The Face of Buddhist Terror”. Wirathu was interviewed by Irrawaddy recently to comment on the Time magazine. You can read his hateful remarks here . I sent the comments below for Irrawaddy. Although I am not...

The video clip here from RT shows the on-going violence by Buddhist people and government of Myanmar against the Rohingya and Kachin people. As in other parts of Myanmar, rape is used as a weapon of ethnic cleansing of these unfortunate peoples whose only crime is that they are different from the Buddhist majority in this den of intolerance called Myanmar.

[Here is the revised version of what I originally posted last week.] For years I have been complaining about the gung-ho, trigger-happy mentality of the Israeli security forces in the occupied territories of Palestine. The latest episode on Friday involving the murder of an unarmed Israeli, who happens to be Jewish, once again highlights the problem. Doron Shlus, a 46-year old Jewish visitor at Jerusalem's Western (Wailing) Wall, the holiest Jewish site where Jews can pray, came out of public restrooms and was heard shouting 'Allahu Akbar', which in Arabic means - Allah (God) is Great. The security guard drew his weapon and fired several shots - and not one - at the visitor suspecting him to be a Palestinian militant. The Jewish visitor died from his wounds a few moments later. No one knows why Doron Shlus had shouted 'Allahu Akbar.' The shooting took place a few minutes before 8 am (0500 GMT) as the plaza in front of the Wall was filled with worshippers for m...

I first visited Bangkok, Thailand nearly 35 years ago as a transit passenger on my way to Canada to pursue my studies. I stayed in a local hotel, courtesy of the Thai Airways, for one night. After taking a shower in the hotel in the late afternoon, I thought of taking a walk outside the hotel. Hardly have I gone outside the lobby of the hotel when I was approached by a pimp trying to allure me to a massage parlor. He tried to show pictures of naked Thai girls. After brushing him away, I tried to walk outside the hotel compound. Soon a taxi cab stopped by and its driver wanted to know if I wanted to go to a massage parlor. To allure me he tried to show me pictures of nude girls. Like before, I told him that I had no interest. And this type of nuisance continued a few times during my half an hour walk outside the hotel. At one point, frustrated and angry, I thought I had enough of my walk and decided to return to my hotel. Near the lobby there was a ball room lit wit...

Here below is an excerpt from the Irrawaddy covering Burma. RANGOON— A Burmese court has imprisoned two Muslim women for sparking communal violence earlier this year in the town of Okkan, near Rangoon, in the latest conviction of minority Muslims while Buddhist suspects have yet to face trial. The two women were blamed for sparking the violence in April after they were involved in an altercation with a Buddhist monk that angered local Buddhists, leading to anti-Muslim rioting in the city about 100 kilometers from Rangoon. One Muslim man was killed and nine were injured in the unrest, while 81 homes and a mosque were burned to the ground. “The court gave them a sentence of two years each in prison and hard labor on June 5,” an official from the court in Taik Kyi Township, where Okkan is located, told The Irrawaddy. Burma has seen clashes between Buddhists and Muslims in several states this year, but so far only Muslims have been imprisoned. Muslims make up only about 5 percent...

The BBC in its report back in April showed how the Police and security forces in Myanmar were complicit in the Buddhist attacks against Muslims. Here is the link for the report. The footage showed a mob destroying a Muslim gold shop and then setting fire to houses. It was filmed in March 2013, when at least 43 people were killed in Meiktila. The video from Meiktila, in Mandalay Region, is remarkable both for the comprehensive way it documents the violence and because much of it was shot by the Burmese police themselves. In the sequence where policemen look on as a man rolls on the ground having been set on fire, someone in the watching crowd is heard to say: "No water for him - let him die." Another sequence shows a young man attempting to flee and getting caught, after which he is beaten by a group of men which includes a monk. Finally he is struck with a sword strikes him and left on the ground, apparently dead. The footage corroborates eyewitness testimony. A r...

Here is a link to Dr Maung Zarni's interview, which has appeared in the Tricycle. Dr. Zarni has been an outspoken critic of the government of Myanmar, and has chided his fellow Buddhists for their criminal silence and worse yet, endorsement of the genocide of Muslims in that country.

Iran had a presidential election last week. The voter turnout was nearly 73%. That is, more than 36 million of nearly 50 million of eligible voters had cast their votes. The results are out. More than half the voters opted for the 64-year-old Hasan Rowhani – the only cleric to run in this presidential election. He, thus, narrowly cleared the margin that would have forced a two-candidate runoff. Tehran Mayor Mohammad Bagher Qalibaf and nuclear negotiator Saeed Jalili came in distant second and third, respectively. Two weeks ago no one gave any chance to Rowhani. But with the endorsements coming from former presidents Hashem Rafsanjani and Mohammad Khatami, others joined in to rally behind him. In the closing days, Rowhani was drawing huge crowds and the race was suddenly transformed to give him the victory. Only in a true democracy such an outcome is possible! The election results once again proved the fairness of the election system in Iran. There was no vote-rigging – neither this...

I was in Erie, Pennsylvania last week. The city is named after the famous lake and the Native American tribe that lived along its southern shore. In the middle of a meeting on Friday I got a recorded voice message from the US Airways stating that my return flight to Philadelphia had been cancelled because of an anticipated storm hitting the area in the evening. I called the America Express travel agent to find out if there were any other flights I could take to return home. She said that I could fly from Buffalo, New York at night. This arrangement would, however, require driving all the way from Erie to Buffalo, which would take nearly two hours and hoping that the flight from there would leave on time. Since there was no such guarantee and that there was no other flight leaving Erie for Philadelphia until Sunday, I surmised that I was probably better off driving all the way to Philadelphia, which is nearly 400 miles away. After returning the rental car at the airport, I rented ano...

Long time ago I learned never to say ‘never again’ when it comes to Myanmar’s savagery. The latest mayhem against the Muslims in the Shan state, far away from the western Rakhine state – bordering Bangladesh, once again shows that for this religious minority Myanmar is proving to be hell on earth. Seemingly, there is no conscientious Buddhist living inside this den of hatred and intolerance that is bold enough to challenge this status quo. Daw Suu Kyi, once darling of the West, has long shown her despicable hypocrisy when she tried to ignore the monumental crimes of her Buddhist people and the government against the Rohingyas of Myanmar, considered the worst persecuted people on earth. For years the Rohingya people living in the western Myanmar state of Rakhine, formerly known as Arakan, have been subjected to ethnic cleansing practices, and denied every right enshrined in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Now that racial hatred and religious bigotry is spreading like a can...