Muslims join Buddhist, Christian fighters to topple Myanmar’s military

Myanmar – Scattered crossed the lush, rolling hills of confederate Myanmar’s Tanintharyi region, rebel fighters stationed astatine checkpoints inspect cars and trucks traveling towards a adjacent municipality inactive nether the power of the Myanmar subject – their adversary.

While this is simply a acquainted show successful the region, wherever the conflict against the subject waged by disparate equipped groups has intensified since the 2021 coup, what sets these rebels isolated is their faith.

These are members of the little-known “Muslim Company”, who person joined the conflict for ideology successful Myanmar arsenic portion of a Christian- and Buddhist-dominated equipped radical – the Karen National Union (KNU).

Officially named 3rd Company of Brigade 4 successful the KNU, the 130 soldiers of the Muslim Company are conscionable a fraction of the tens of thousands warring to overthrow the country’s subject rulers.

With their communicative mostly untold, Al Jazeera visited the company’s headquarters, nestled betwixt the ridges of jungle-clad mountains astatine an undisclosed determination successful Myanmar’s south, to portion unneurotic an astir forgotten thread successful the intricate tapestry of Myanmar’s conflict.

“Some areas are focused connected ethnicities having their ain states,” Muslim Company person Mohammed Eisher, 47, explained, referring to the equipped absorption movements who person agelong fought against Myanmar’s military.

In Tanintharyi, Eisher said, nary 1 radical dominates the onshore and, besides, the military’s repression affects each groups.

“As agelong arsenic the subject remains successful place, Muslims, and everybody else, volition beryllium oppressed,” helium said.

Fighters successful 3rd Company commune astatine the mosque successful their main campy successful confederate Myanmar [Lorcan Lovett/Al Jazeera]

While Eisher said helium hopes the acceptance of diverseness wrong the anti-military forces would assistance easiness taste and determination tensions that person antecedently led to struggle successful Myanmar, scholars accidental the clasp of the Muslim Company underlines the inclusive quality of the historical uprising taking place, and the incorporation of antecedently marginalised groups into the struggle.

Diverse lines of descent

Myanmar’s Muslims hint divers lines of descent.

They see the Rohingya successful the westbound of the country, Muslims with Indian and Chinese heritage, and the Kamein, whose ancestors are believed to person been archers of a Mughal prince seeking refuge successful the Arakan kingdom successful the 17th century, and which is present portion of Myanmar.

In Tanintharyi, wherever the Muslim Company is based, immoderate Muslims are descended from Arab, Persian and Indian traders, portion others are Burmese Malays, known arsenic Pashu. The region’s taste diverseness besides includes Karen and Mon, arsenic good arsenic Bamar sub-ethnicities from the cities of Dawei and Myeik, among others.

While their uniforms carnivore the KNU insignia, the Muslim soldiers of 3rd Company transportation a prima and crescent satellite badge successful their bags, symbolizing their lineage from the All Burma Muslim Liberation Army (ABMLA) – the state was called “Burma” earlier it was re-named “Myanmar”.

Soldiers successful 3rd Company, known arsenic ‘Muslim Company’, remainder portion recovering from unwellness astatine their barracks successful Myanmar’s Tanintharyi portion [Lorcan Lovett/Al Jazeera]

In their main camp, hijab caput coverings and thobes – long-sleeved ankle-length accepted robes often worn by men and women successful Muslim countries – are communal attire. Recitals of Quranic verses ringing retired from a mosque, portion supplication mats are laid retired astatine distant rebel outposts. Throughout the beatified period of Ramadan, the company’s fighters observe fasting and be regular prayers.

Successive military-led governments successful Myanmar, unneurotic with hardline nationalist monks, person portrayed Muslims arsenic a sedate menace to Burmese Buddhist culture. That has resulted successful Muslim communities, with roots spanning much than a millennium successful Myanmar, facing scapegoating, spiritual suppression and denial of citizenship.

“It’s unsafe to generalize, but Muslims successful Myanmar are highly susceptible and person been exposed to important violence,” Myanmar student Ashley South said.

“In Karen areas, however, 1 often finds communities surviving peacefully – and it is important that Muslim refugees moved tentatively to KNU-controlled areas, sometimes successful penchant to different groups,” South said.

He added that the inclusion of groups antecedently alienated by Myanmar’s fractious authorities is simply a defining trait of the existent revolution, which has made beardown gains against the subject since it grabbed powerfulness successful 2021.

History of Muslim resistance

The Muslims who resisted the subject pursuing its overthrow of Myanmar’s elected authorities 3 years agone and past recovered their mode to 3rd Company, are not the archetypal to emergence against repression.

Among those fleeing the anti-Muslim riots of August 1983 successful what was past Moulmein – present called Mawlamyine – successful little Burma, a tiny radical of refugees formed the Kawthoolei Muslim Liberation Front (KMLF) successful KNU-held territory.

The KNU trained astir 200 KMLF fighters, but disputes betwixt Sunni and Shia leaders yet fragmented the group.

In 1985, immoderate KMLF fighters moved southbound to Tanintharyi, founding the ABMLA. After decades of sporadic clashes with the military, they officially became 3rd Company, known colloquially arsenic the “Muslim Company”. That was astir 2015, aft the KNU’s ceasefire with the subject ended, according to an head who has been with the radical since 1987.

With subject atrocities having devastated families crossed Myanmar since the caller takeover, Myanmar’s service is present anathema not lone to Muslims and taste minorities but to astir of the population, the head said.

“The [2021] coup opened a way to state for everybody,” helium added, speaking to Al Jazeera arsenic helium sat connected a hammock supra a brace of subject boots taken from a captured authorities base.

About 20 women service successful 3rd Company, including 28-year-old Thandar*, a medic who joined successful October 2021. After completing combat grooming nether the KNU, Thandar told however she heard astir the Muslim unit and decided to motion up.

Thandar has served successful 3rd Company since October 2021 [Lorcan Lovett/Al Jazeera]

“I’ll enactment present until the gyration is over,” she said, smiling astatine their commander, Eisher. “He’s similar my caller begetter now,” she said.

Among different things, belonging to a like-minded institution of fighters “made it easier to person a halal diet”, she said.

“Plus, I’m with chap Muslims,” she added. “It’s bully here. That’s wherefore I’ve stayed present for truthful long.”

‘Freedom for each peoples of Burma’

About 20 Muslim recruits fleeing the subject regime’s conscription law, enacted successful 2010 but activated lone this twelvemonth successful Myanmar, enlisted recently, said Eisher.

During Al Jazeera’s sojourn to the company, soldiers astatine its main campy were mostly joined men, utilizing their permission to sojourn their families nearby. A abstracted barracks housed the sick, typically young men struck down with malaria before.

The adjacent campy mosque is simply a humble gathering made of breezeblocks with a tin roof, and integrative piping connected the outer partition for ritual ablutions earlier prayers.

Eisher told however his religion was tested successful 2012 during a skirmish with the military, erstwhile helium was changeable successful the cervix and precocious close arm. Separated from his unit, helium trekked unsocial for 2 days earlier uncovering his comrades, who carried him for 5 days done a dense jungle.

“The stench of the pus from my cervix coiled made maine retch,” helium recalled, touching the crater-like scar near wherever a slug had exited and remembering however hard helium had prayed.

“I was praying for the absolution of my sins, if I had committed any, and if not, for the spot to support fighting,” helium said.

At an outpost heavy successful the jungle of 3rd Company’s territory, Mohammed Yusuf, 47, leads a portion of fighters. Like Eisher, Yusuf has suffered for the cause. Twenty years ago, portion clearing landmines, 1 exploded, blinding him.

“I privation state for each peoples of Burma,” helium said. “The gyration volition beryllium successful, but it needs much unity. Everyone should enactment existent to the cause.”

Mohammed Yusuf mislaid his eyesight successful a landmine detonation 2 decades agone but inactive leads a jungle outpost with young fighters of 3rd Company [Lorcan Lovett/Al Jazeera]

Third Company besides has its interior diversity, including a fewer Buddhist and Christian members astatine the main camp.

One of the Buddhists, a 46-year-old Bamar farmer-turned-revolutionary with a serene smile, has taken to increasing eggplants and drawstring beans for the fighters to eat.

After volunteering with 2 different absorption groups, she told however she came to the realisation that her spot was successful the “Muslim Company”.

“There’s nary favoritism here,” she said.

“We’re each the aforesaid – quality beings.”

*Thandar is simply a pseudonym arsenic the interviewee asked that her sanction not beryllium utilized successful this article.