One of the most important problems of the Muslims in Burma is cultural problem, which is generally termed as identity crisis. A community is recognised not only by its belief and ideology but also by the physical manifestation of the ideals it holds. Thus it constitutes a separate and distinct culture of its own.
The appearance is as important as the reality itself. Prophet Mohammed's (peace be up on him) own attitude towards this problem– his emphasis on the outer manifestations of Muslim Ummah and a deliberated attempt to attain a distinctive way of living– testifies this fact. In the case of Burma the problem retaining one's cultural identity is more complex and sensitive. Burma is like a vast ocean which receives a number of streamlets of various races, cultures and religions and in the process deprives them of their respective identity, the concept of 'Burmanisation' played a vital role in absorbing various cultures and religions in the popular Burman religion and culture. In today Burma, in fact only a few religious communities have been able to be recognised by their names. Further, some of them though retaining their religious identity in a restricted sense, have almost lost their separate existence. Those who are more Burmanised are more acceptable to Burmese. It is the Muslim particularly the Rohingya community which has been unwilling to get absorbed in the popular Burma culture and is still fighting for this idealistic issue.
After independence the problem took a different shape, for now the Muslims not only lost political patronage, but also have to encounter a strong pressure of the majority culture. They have to confront ideological insult from all directions. Deliberate and persistent attempts have been made to impose the majority culture on the Muslim and this effort has become more and more vigorous in recent years.
All this, however, has been done in the name of Burmese nationalism, Burmese secularism, Burmese culture and Burmese Way to militarism particularly by the military regime the latest manifestation of which is present State Peace and Development Council State Peace and Development Council (SPDC). The ruling military are of the opinion that, Burmans being majority, Burmanisation is not communalism. For the all other culture and religious are foreigners since they have no origin in Burma. Especially Muslims are considered foreigners practising a foreign way of life and anti-Burman culture. Burma for them is for Burman nation and their one supreme goal is to bring to life the all-round glory and greatness of their military pride. Thus nationalist patriots are only those who glorify the Burman military and their practices. Others are traitors and enemies to the nation. The only way out for the Muslims and other nationalities in Burma, as it has been suggested, is to adopt the Burman culture and language, and entertain no ideas but those of the glorification of the Burman race and culture.
The question is whether Muslims should adopt the Burman life-style, which obviously implies their ceasing to be a Muslim or should they be very rigid in their way of living. The latter results in conflicts and riots for the narrow, petty minded, parochial bigots who are totally in capable of even thinking in terms of the world of this multi-national, multi-culture, multi-lingual and multi-religious country. The question remains 'unsolved'; neither the ruling Burmans or the military show a tolerant attitude towards the sensitive issue of the nationalities nor the national groups, particularly the Rohingyas are not willing to discard their religious and cultural identity.
Burma is home of the many different people, but the state or SPDC encourages the national culture of Burma. This of-course is a conspiracy against the minorities. The fact that in such multi-cultural country, the national culture remains un-definable. Burma is a country of various cultures and these cultures have their separate identities. Choosing Buddhism as a national religion in a country of various religious groups is an offence. Similarly we can not choose a national culture without doing offence to Burmese secularism. Religion and culture cannot be separated. The notion of the Burman culture implies rejection of the multi-cultural and multi-religious nature of Burmese society. Such a concept of national culture ignores not only the hundreds of years of the Muslim rule in Arakan and the contribution they made to the Burmese societies, but it also negates the true composite nature of Burmese culture. This is in fact a great crime against this country. Muslim has been told to discard Islamic names. Those who do not adopt Burman names are despised and discriminated against. The very term national is anti-national in Burma context. For its fails to recognise the composite and synthetic nature of Burma and discards various Burmese elements from the Burmeseness. It also ignores Burma's variety and richness– religious, cultural or linguistic. Those who talk of the nationalism, national culture national language deserve to be corrected for they are anti-national in the truest and fullest sense of the word.
Muslim culture, Muslims relics and monuments have been destroyed. Everywhere Muslim and Islamic, including mosques and religious schools, are razed to the ground. The Muslim names of the places have been changed such as names of Arakan and Akyab are changed to Rakhine Pray and Sittwe which are unknown to history. There are instances that many monasteries and pagodas have been built on the Wakf land of the mosques throughout the country.
Language is one of the important aspects of culture and religion is in the most cases it has its origin in some early religious documents. The cycles of religious, culture and language interact one another at various points. In Israel, the replacement of Aramaic by Hebrew is a case in point. Though for more than twenty centuries Hebrew has been a language, now it is supposed to be Jewish culture. The official languages used in Arakan for many centuries- such as Bangla, Persian- have been banished from this country. Also Urdu was widely used by the Muslims in Burma. Thus the people of Arakan, both Rohingyas and Rakhines, lost their languages.
The children of the national groups have been kept unaware of their primary education in their own mother tongues. Particularly the Muslim students have been brainwashed in primary schools. Where anti-Islamic materials are being taught to them in the nature of cultural heritage and Burmese nationalism. It is generally been said that the Muslims or the Rohingyas in preserving their cultural languages do not only cut themselves away from the mainstream but also this extra burden hinders their way in competitive education system. This view also suggests that Muslims should forget their past, feel satisfied with present condition and stop talking about their culture and language. This attitude simply ignores the fact that a community ceases to be a community when its religious, cultural and linguistic identity is at stake.
It is also desirable to note the way in which Islam and Islamic culture are being projected through the media. The cultural issues like personal law, status of women in Muslim society, Muslim way of worship and Islamic missionary's activities and projection of all this present different picture of Muslims from what actually it is. Either it is TV film, radio or the press, Islam has to be presented in distorted form.
Nevertheless, the Muslims– specially the Rohingyas of Arakan want to retain their cultural identity so as to be Muslim in every sense of the word; but they meet with scores of difficulties in practising Islam in a society with state policy of national integration or de-Muslimisation.
By N. Islam
(May 2000)
(May 2000)