Myanmar
Myanmar, a Southeast Asian country, is located on the Andaman Sea and Bay of Bengal border between Bangladesh and Thailand. The ethnic distribution of the country's population is 68% Bamar, 9% Shan, 7% Karen, 4% Arakanese, 3% Chinese, 2% Indian, 2% Mon, and 5% others.
The history of Islam in Myanmar is quite old. It is known that Muslim merchants of Arab and Persian origin reached this region by sea as early as the 8th century and left a good impression on the region with their honest trade practices. It is known that Muslims became settled in the region from the 12th century onwards and that the people, especially in Bengal, converted to Islam at a great pace. Since then, Rakhine Muslims have maintained their existence under the rule of different states.
It is not possible to give clear information about the number of Muslims in the country. In recent years, Rohingya in the Rohingya region of Rakhine, where most of the Muslims in the country live, have been forced to migrate to neighboring countries due to the genocide policies of the government of Myanmar. However, it is estimated that 1 to 2 million Muslims lives in the country. It is also estimated that there are 3 million Rohingya diaspora Muslims.
Today, although it is possible to talk about the existence of a Muslim community living in different parts of the country, especially in the capital and its surroundings, and their integration into the country's system, Muslims, the majority of whom are in Rakhine, face a severe humanitarian crisis due to the genocidal policies of the state administration and Buddhist gangs. Global actors' conflicts of interest over the region jeopardize the existence of Rakhine Muslims in Myanmar. If the intense waves of migration continue in this way, it would not be possible to talk about a Muslim presence in the Rakhine region in the coming years.