White roses offer Eid solidarity to Muslims in Myanmar

[waz]

Buddhists give white roses to Muslims as they attend prayers during Eid al-Fitr in Thanlyin Township on the outskirts of Yangon on June 5. (AFP)

Thursday, June 06, 2019
AddThis Sharing Buttons
Share to Facebook
FacebookShare to TwitterTwitterShare to MessengerMessengerShare to WhatsAppWhatsAppShare to ViberViberShare to LinkedIn
LinkedIn
Mail
By AFP

YANGON — Buddhists handed out white roses to Muslims heading to pray Wednesday to mark the end of Ramadan – the culmination of a rare show of solidarity in a country where Islam is often vilified.

Volunteers lined up outside Dargah mosque in eastern Yangon, giving flowers to scores of devotees heading inside to mark the Eid festival, weeks after a mob of hardliners had tried to shut down Ramadan prayers.

Muslim motorbike courier U Tin Myint, 42, said the gesture had raised spirits in the Muslim community.

"Some Buddhists really helped protect us," he said.

The white rose campaign started three weeks ago, after a mob of some 200 ultra-nationalists descended on three sites hosting Ramadan prayers in Yangon, forcing them to stop.

Police responded in the following days by offering protection to the shocked worshippers and an arrest warrant was issued for one protest leader.

Respected moderate monk Seindita also came to plead for their patience, handing out white roses in solidarity and triggering the campaign.

The team of some 100 volunteers gave out around 15,000 flowers to Muslims at 23 locations across the country during Ramadan.

Ko Thet Swe Win, 33, explained the roses were a "warning to extremists that many in Myanmar don't share their unjust views".

About three to four percent of Buddhist-majority Myanmar's population is Muslim although the religion traces its roots in the country back centuries.

U Wunna Shwe, joint-secretary of the Islamic Religious Affairs Council Myanmar, said the white rose campaign had really helped after years of degradation of their rights.

"We used to live like brothers and sisters with each other [alongside Buddhists]," he said, adding the problems were created for "political purposes".

A lovely gesture, thank you to the clergy and people who show the true manifestation of the great Buddha.

By the way just a little side point, how much of a factor is that these Muslims speak Burmese and in one case one of the largest groups 'Bama' are also culturally and racially Burmese.

@MINN as well please.

 

[Menthol]

Religion is just a religion.

Just like ideology, gym club member, faculties, etc.

It's stupid if people are fighting over it.

Your religion is not allowing you to drink poison, but you do it anyway. How stupid!!!

Your religion is not allowing you to hate and kill, but you do it anyway. This perhaps is not stupid..., Not.

 

[MINN]

A lovely gesture, thank you to the clergy and people who show the true manifestation of the great Buddha.

By the way just a little side point, how much of a factor is that these Muslims speak Burmese and in one case one of the largest groups 'Bama' are also culturally and racially Burmese.

@MINN as well please.

Burmese is the main langue of Myanmar everyone in Myanmar knows at least basic Burmese and the Muslims that have been in Myanmar for a long time speak Burmese well as any other in Myanmar. Burmese is the oldest langue in Myanmar and some languages in Myanmar derives from Burmese so speaking Burmese is the main factor in being a person from Myanmar