Omar Suleiman – Rohingya Genocide Explained Myanmar Muslim Massacres

Just imagine that right in front of you,

your house is on fire. There's smoke everywhere.

Gunshots are being fired at you while your

own daughter is being burned alive right in

front of your eyes.

This might sound like a nightmare,

but this is actually an ongoing reality for

our brothers and sisters from the Rohingya.

7 years ago today, the military of Myanmar,

also known as Burma, launched a brutal campaign

against the Rohingya, a Muslim minority in Rakhine

state.

This campaign destroyed villages, killed 1,000,

and forced over 700,000

Rohingya to flee to Bangladesh, targeting them solely

for their ethnic and religious identity.

Villages were systematically

burned to the ground and families were torn

apart

with countless men executed in cold blood,

women and girls subjected to unspeakable sexual violence,

and children mercilessly killed.

The military's actions were the culmination of decades

old calculated policies aimed at erasing the Rohingya

from the very fabric of that society.

Insidious propaganda painted them as outsiders and threats

from the 19 sixties onwards.

Draconian laws restricted every aspect of the Rohingya's

lives, marriage, childbearing,

and citizenship,

stripping them of their humanity

and turning them into ghosts in their own

lands.

In August 2017,

the military of Myanmar killed over 25,000

native Rohingya

and then forced over

700,000 of them to become refugees that now

find themselves scattered across the world in places

like Thailand, India, Bangladesh, and Malaysia.

The atrocities are staggering. An estimated

18,000

Rohingya women and girls were raped

and 36,000

were thrown into blazing fires.

The Rohingya were not only murdered, they were

subjected to acts of barbarism intended to instill

terror and hopelessness in them forever

so that they never find peace again.

We cannot let human displacement

that disproportionately targets Muslims become the norm of

the world. The coastal shores of Cox's Bazar

in Bangladesh holds over a 1000000 Rohingya living

in terrible conditions.

They are dependent on humanitarian

aid for survival.

They lack adequate shelter,

clean water, and access to education.

This area is climate vulnerable,

meaning all of the global impacts on climate

change has made this refugee zone even more

dangerous.

The area itself is prone to cyclones,

wildfires, and landslides.

And displaced Rohingya are on the front lines

of climate crisis.

Imagine their shelters being scraped together with tarps

and bamboo trying to fend off strong winds,

rains, and cyclones.

The refugees, already intense with bare belongings, now

have to flee from rising water and sudden

fires,

a constant dread they live with every moment

of their lives.

The influx of refugees has led to the

loss of over 8,000 acres of forest in

Bangladesh,

causing deforestation and erosion.

Their future remains shrouded in uncertainty,

and the world's response

has often lacked the substantive action needed to

bring about real change.

We must not treat this like an isolated

incident. The Rohingya,

like others that are suffering around the world

today, are certainly connected to the Palestinians

who have faced decades decades long military occupation,

displacement,

and discriminatory

policies.

Both groups are subjected to systematic efforts to

erase their cultural and national identities,

while also enduring the severe consequences

of environmental degradation

driven by cruel human actions.

In Palestine, long before October 7th, the Israeli

occupation has been guilty

of numerous climate related crimes with settlers trying

to remove us from our land one olive

tree at a time.

And for the climate activists that claim to

care, think about what havoc settlement expansion

wreaks upon the environments,

deforestation,

water depletion,

and soil degradation.

These actions directly contribute to a worsening global

climate crisis, undermining the ability of Palestinians in

particular

to sustain their land and livelihood.

These interconnected crises highlight the urgent need to

address not only human rights abuses,

but also the deliberate environmental harm that compounds

the suffering of these communities.

It is no surprise then to recognize that,

as we draw comparisons between the Rohingya and

the Palestinians,

they both happen to be betrayed by the

exact

same

country. The 2000 year old dream of a

Jewish state in Palestine

was born out of violence and bloodshed,

suffering and tragic death. The partitioning of Palestine

under the British mandate rule had been the

signal for open warfare.

Just as the British betrayed the Palestinians by

giving away their homeland,

they also betrayed the Rohingya.

During the period of World War II, Myanmar

was invaded by the Japanese.

The Burmese Buddhist majority had aligned with the

Japanese,

while the Rohingya

had actually stayed loyal to the British.

The British had in turn made promises to

the Rohingya with regards to land and autonomy

because of their loyalty during this conflict.

However, after the war ended, the promises were,

of course, not honored.

In the aftermath of World War 2, tensions

between the Burmese majority and the Rohingya became

intensified

due to what the Burmese viewed as conflicting

loyalty

on the part of the Rohingya.

Of course, today it wouldn't be hard to

find a statement of condemnation from the United

Kingdom of the human rights abuses of the

Rohingya. But does it sound familiar to you?

The international community has shown a pattern of

condemnation without consequence,

of promise without fulfillment.

We must recognize that the cycle of suffering

is perpetuated by dishonesty from the West, inaction

from global organizations,

and the pervasive shadow of Islamophobia.

Systemic dehumanization,

insidious propaganda, draconian laws, ethnic slaughter, burnt villages,

sexual violence, displacement,

all while enduring the roughest end of the

climate crisis.

The Rohingya crisis is indeed overwhelming,

but there are sparks of resilience.

In 2019, in the face of global impotence,

the Gambia, a small nation with a big

heart, led the charge under His Excellency Abubakr

Tambadu

by filing a case against Myanmar

at the International Court of Justice seeking justice

for the Rohingya.

Similarly of course, South Africa brought a case

against Israel at the ICJ in December of

2023.

These legal battles are a collective cry for

justice

and while they're not enough, they serve as

a testament

that hope still exists.

But as we wait for humanity to find

itself,

the Rohingya, like the Palestinians have been wondering

where are the Muslims? And so it's incumbent

upon every single Muslim that is supposed to

feel the pain of every single part of

this ummah to rise up and do what

it can for the Rohingya,

for the Palestinians,

and for every other suffering group of this

Ummah.

There are 4 things everyone should do to

help our brothers and sisters. Number 1, educate

ourselves.

Number 2, raise awareness.

Number 3, donate generously.

And number 4, make sincere du'a.

The Rohingya should not become another forgotten people.

The power of our united conscience paired with

decisive action and heartfelt prayer is the force

that can turn the tide towards justice.

The Prophet SallAllahu Alaihi Wasallam said that the

parable of the believers in their affection, mercy,

and compassion for one another is that of

a single human body.

When any limb aches, the whole body reacts

with sleeplessness and fever.

Oh Allah, relieve us of our pain

and bring victory and relief to our brothers

and sisters from the Rohingya,

the Palestinians,

the people of Sudan,

the people of Yemen and around the world.

Amin.