Helping Rebuild Mosques in Myanmar (Burma)

Sep 3, 2016
3 min read

Media often focuses on countries affected by "Islamic" terrorism but rarely, or close to never, focus on Muslims attacked by others. Many Muslims worldwide have been targeted because of the fact that they are Muslim. Muslim men and women are are tortured and attacked in Kashmir, India and sadly, they are also attacked in my home country, Myanmar, previously known as Burma.

Myanmar is a small country in Southeast Asia bordered by Thailand, India, and China. Majority of its population is Buddhists and Muslims make up less than ten percent of this population. In 2012 and 2013, part of the Buddhist majority started attacking Muslims and Mosques in villages around the country. This movement, called 969, spread all over the country affected many people. People were killed, homes looted, mosques left in pieces.

The leader of this movement, named Wirathu, has stated multiple times that Myanmar should be a Buddhist country with no other religions and often refers to muslims as "dogs". His words influenced many and this movement grew. However, as this grew worse, more people were growing aware of it. Times used his face on their cover for the magazine on June 20, 2013 and titled it "The Face of Buddhist Terror".

Many muslims villagers all around the country were affected greatly. Some were left with little to no family, their homes were destroyed and their places of worship were left in rubbles.

After talking to some survivors, I was horrified of the stories. Families ran for their lives, often getting split. They turned their cellphones off because they feared for their fate if someone were to hear a vibration or ringtone. People had no idea who had survived and who had been killed. They relied on the forests behind their homes for shelter and food. They were often alone and had no idea whether it was safe or not to come back to their homes.

Talking about this at the mosque and to my peers in MSA, I raised the idea to raise money for the cause. The mosque organized a night for us to sell dinner to everyone along with some sweets and drinks. By the end of the night, We had raised over $1200. Then, in December of last year, I got to visit Myanmar. I was only there for a short period of time but on one day, we went to a small village called Oakphoe. This village in particular was special to me because this is where my grandparents were born and raised. Their homes were still there and they still had relatives and friends that still lived there. The mosque was very important to my grandfather and his siblings as they lived right next to the mosque and grew up going to the mosque everyday for all five prayers. When hearing the news that the mosque had been destroyed, minarets crushed, tiles removed, it was heartbreaking to see their second home that they loved crushed to practically nothing. However, by the time I got to visit this mosque, it had already been rebuilt and restored inside. Glass doors with new carpets and a new pulpit carved from a beautiful coffee colored wood.

From rubbles, it had been turned into something beautiful. Although small, it is one of my favorite mosques I have ever been to. We told the administration of the mosque that we had raised all this money for the mosque. They told us that they had fixed everything but they still did not have a sound system in the mosque and hearing the prayers were harder for those in the back. The money we raised is now taking the form of a sound system. Everyday, five times a day, this system is helping many muslims thanks to us but more importantly, everyone that came out that night on November 20, 2015 buying cookies, rice with curry, and Baklava.

To see an idea evolve into a plan and then into reality give me confidence everyday showing that anything is possible. To be able to say that I along with my colleagues helped a group of people and their place of worship warms my heart every day of my life. To know that we have an impact on the world no matter how old we are or big the cause is gives me hope for the future of the world.