Religious Strife Risks Future Myanmar Violence

Two new reports suggest that violence in western Myanmar fueled by tensions between the Buddhist ethnic Rakhine community and Rohingya Muslims both reflects and reinforces broader anti-Muslim sentiment, and could result in more violence in the country.

The International Crisis Group, a Brussels-based think tank, said in a report on “Buddhism and Politics in Myanmar” that the crisis triggered by Rohingya insurgent attacks on police posts and massive retaliation by the army has boosted anti-Muslim sentiment nationwide, opening the possibility of even more religious violence.