myanmar | Pandaemonium

DEMOCRACY AND THE ROHINGYA

February 24, 2021 by Kenan Malik

This essay, on how the failure to defend the Rohingya has undermined the democracy movement in Myanmar, was my Observer column this week. (The column included also a short piece on the controversy over the interview of Zara Muhammad on BBC Radio 4’s Woman’s Hour.) It was published on 21 February 2021, under the headline “Where were the protesters when the Rohingya were being murdered?” For almost three weeks there have been mass protests on the streets of Myanmar. On 1 February, the […]

Categories: International, Justice & Liberties • Tags: aung sang suu kyi, democracy, ethnic cleansing, genocide, myanmar, myanmar coup, rohingya

RELIGIOUS VIOLENCE, BUDDHISM AND ISLAM

May 20, 2014 by Kenan Malik

My latest column in the International New York Times. There is perhaps no religion that Western liberals find more appealing than Buddhism. Politicians fawn over the Dalai Lama, celebrities seek out Buddhist meditation, and scientists and philosophers insist that Buddhism has much to teach us about human nature and psychology. Even some of the so-called New Atheists have fallen for Buddhism’s allure. For most of its Western sympathizers, Buddhism is a deeply humanist outlook, less a religion than a philosophy, […]

Categories: Atheism & Religion, International, Justice & Liberties • Tags: buddhism, islam, myanmar, religion, religious violence, rohingya

BUDDHIST POGROMS AND RELIGIOUS CONFLICTS

November 21, 2013 by Kenan Malik

There is perhaps no religion that Western liberals find more amenable than Buddhism. Politicians fawn over the Dalai Lama, celebrities seek out Buddhist meditation, many scientists and philosophers insist that Buddhism has much to teach us about human nature and human psychology. Even many of the so-called New Atheists have fallen for Buddhism’s allure, albeit as a philosophy rather than as a faith. For most of its Western sympathisers, Buddhism is a deeply humanist outlook, less a religion than a […]

Categories: Atheism & Religion, International • Tags: aung sang suu kyi, buddhism, islam, myanmar, religion, religious violence, rohingya, sri lanka