Islam in Burma

Islam is a religion in Myanmar, practised by 4% of the population, according to the Myanmar official statistics.

In early Bagan era (AD 652-660) Arab Muslim merchants landed at the ports such as Thaton, Martaban etc. Arab Muslim ships sailed from Madagascan island to China and they used to go in and out of Burma. Arab travellers visited the Andaman Islands in the Bay of Bengal south of Burma. The Muslims arrived in Burma's Ayeyarwady River delta, on the Tanintharyi coast and in Rakhine in the 9th century, prior to the establishment of the first Burmese empire in 1055 AD by King Anawrahta of Bagan. The sea posts of Burma such as Kyaukpyu, Bassein, Syriam, Martaban, Mergui, etc. are rife with the legendary accounts of early shipwrecks in their neighbourhood: of Kular shipwrecked sailors, traders and soldiers. At first Muslims arrived on the Arakan coast and moved into the upward hinterland to Maungdaw. The time when the Muslims arrived in Burma and in Arakan and Maungdaw is uncertain. These early Muslim settlements and the propagation of Islam were documented by Arab, Persian, European and Chinese travelers of the 9th century. Burmese Muslims are the descendants of Muslim peoples who settled and intermarried with the local Burmese ethnic groups. Muslims arrived in Burma as traders or settlers,military personnel, and prisoners of war,refugees, and as victims of slavery. However, many early Muslims also as saying goes held positions of status as royal advisers, royal administrators, port authorities, mayors, and traditional medicine men.