Rohingya Oppression: A Reminder for the Ummah

As-Salamu Alaikum. I wanted to share something heavy on my heart because I feel a lot of people don’t know about it or have forgotten. The Rohingya brothers and sisters are facing some of the worst treatment on earth, and we need to talk about it. They live in Rakhine State, in Burma, and say their families have been there since around the 8th century, when Muslim Arab traders came and settled. Others say they’re just Bengali workers from the British colonial time. But honestly, they’ve been there for ages, building lives and communities in Rakhine, no matter what anyone says. Anyway, things got really bad starting in the 19th century. The Burmese government started pushing this idea that Rohingyas are illegal from Bangladesh, to stir up anti-Muslim hate among nationalist Buddhist groups. That left them without any country. In 2016, the military went into Rohingya villages and took anything sharp-kitchen stuff, farm tools-so they couldn’t arm themselves. They broke down fences to get clear shots at homes. They gave weapons and training to extremist groups to attack Rohingyas. They blocked aid from reaching them. They sent like 11,000 soldiers, 27 battalions, all around the area. Then in August 2017, some Rohingya fighters hit police posts and an army base. The response was fast and brutal-in a few months, 354 villages were burned. In just 30 days, around 6,700 Rohingyas were killed. So many women and girls, our own sisters, were gang-raped by soldiers. People ran into the jungles to get to Bangladesh. The military used helicopters to shoot at them and put landmines near the border to hurt them as they fled. Over 700,000 refugees ended up in Bangladesh in just weeks, mostly in camps in Cox’s Bazar. But that’s not the end. In these camps, there’s a lot of violence. Meth and other drugs are everywhere, and it’s so dangerous. Since 2017, there are about 35 killings in the camps every year, sometimes up to 57, from drug deals and fights. And it’s not just Burma. Some Rohingyas went to Malaysia, hoping for peace, but the racism there is awful. From what I’ve seen, it’s like nothing else. People were so hostile that Rohingya renters got kicked out and had to sleep on the streets. Then the Malaysian police started detaining refugees and asylum seekers-over 22,000 people are stuck in detention centers for years with no legal help. Even the ones with papers live in totally separated areas. It breaks my heart because both Malaysians and Rohingyas are Muslims. At first, Malaysians were supportive, but then nationalist ideas spread and they started putting security and the economy above Islamic brotherhood. They say Rohingyas practice Islam wrong and that they don’t fit in. I’ve seen videos of Rohingya kids just walking to school and being chased and cursed at for existing. This is exactly why our beloved Prophet Muhammad PBUH warned against tribalism. It’s so painful-a whole life of suffering just because of how you were born. May Allah protect them and soften all our hearts. Wa Alaikum As-Salam.