Analysis, Featured, South Asia

Muslim Rohingya Refugees

Amnesty International admits that Muslims in the Rakhine or Arakan, Burma have continued to face many acts of violence and massacres by the extremist Buddhists while Burmese government remains idle.

Rohingya Muslims who have lived in Rakhine or Arakan region since the 8th century, now have no state becoming a stateless people. The Burmese government continues to take repressive actions against the Rohingya Muslims: restricts their movement, denies their right to own land, and prevents their access to education and public services. The UN refugee agency, UNHCR, said tens of thousands Muslims were killed, and hundreds of thousands were forced to flee to different countries such as Bangladesh, Malaysia, Thailand and Indonesia. According to the UNHCR, about one million Rohingya Muslims are now forced to live outside Myanmar, but there are no countries willing to accept them permanently. Clearly, the Burmese government with these brutal policies is intending to expel and kill Muslim Rohingya akin to Muslim cleansing.

This is a deplorable situation. The Rohingya have been an inseparable part of the Muslim world which now consists of more than 1.6 billion people. How is it possible that so many Muslims were not able to protect their brothers who are being brutally persecuted? Where is the izzah or the pride of Muslim brotherhood? This fact, along with similar calamities suffered by Muslims in Pattani, southern Thailand, Moro, Southern Philippines as well as Iraq, Afghanistan and Palestine, have demonstrated one thing: Muslims are weak and helpless after the collapse of major Islamic political institution, i.e. the Ottoman Caliphate in 1924.

In light of these events, Hizb ut Tahrir Indonesia states:

  1. To condemn barbaric acts of violence, destruction of properties, massacre and expulsion carried out by Buddhist extremists, backed by the priests and the Burmese government against the Rohingya Muslims in Arakan region of Burma. Any civilized man cannot carry out these horrible actions.
  2. To urge the Burmese government to immediately stop the tyrannical actions. And also it must be put to an end to any policy that aims to remove the existence of the Rohingya Muslims of the Arakan region. Rohingya Muslims whose existence in the Arakan region predated the birth of the Burma itself should be recognized as legitimate residents of the region with their full rights.
  3. To urge the Indonesian government to take effective action to curb the violence against the Rohingya Muslims. Also it must provide protection and proper treatment to the Rohingya Muslim immigrants who have arrived in Indonesia, instead of pushing them out to the sea.
  4. To call upon the Muslim Ummah to take immediate action in showing solidarity to Rohingya Muslims, it is upon all those who are capable to help their fellow Muslims in Rohingya fulfill their needs. Members of Hizb ut Tahrir in Indonesia have donated from what they were able to of funds and stressed for others to help the Rohingya Muslims, especially those who arrived in the region of Indonesia. Helps, goods and funds have been distributed by members of HTI DPD Langsa to refugees in Kuala Langsa Port area on Wednesday, May 17.
  5. To call upon the Muslim Ummah in earnest, hand in hand, to strive together for the reestablishment of the Shariah and Khilafah. Only in the shade of the Khilafah State can only 1.6 billion Muslims come together and be strong, so that the Muslim Ummah in various areas remain protected and dignified, including the Rohingya Muslims. Thus, horrible oppressions will be averted in the future, Insha Allah.

Hasbunallah wa ni’mal wakiil, ni’mal mawla wa ni’man nashiir.

Mohammed Ismail Yusanto

Official Spokesman of Hizb ut Tahrir in Indonesia

Hp: 0811119796 Email: [email protected]

Wednesday 1st Sha’ban 1436 AH

19/05/2015 CE

Issue No: 273