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{{Multiple issues|disputed=October 2011|expert=October 2011|POV=October 2011|date=December 2011}}
{{Infobox ethnic group|
|group=Rohingya ( Bangali ) people
|image=]
|poptime= About 729,000 (United Nations estimate 2009)
|popplace= ] (]), ], Saudi Arabia, Pakistan,Thailand, Malaysia
|langs=]
|rels= ]
}}
{{islam by country}}

The '''Rohingya( Bangali ) ''' ({{lang-my|ရိုဟင်ဂျာ}}) are a Muslim people who live in the Arakan region.

==Etymology==
The origin of the term "Rohingya" is disputed. Some Rohingya historians like Khalilur Rahman contended that the term Rohingya is derived from Arabic word 'Raham' meaning sympathy.<ref name=chowdhury>{{harv|MA Chowdhury|1995|pp=7–8}}</ref> They trace the term back to the ship wreck in 8th century AD. According to them, after the Arab ship wrecked near Ramree Island, Arab traders were ordered to be executed by Arakanese king. Then, they shouted in their language, 'Raham'. Hence, these people were called 'Raham'. Gradually it changed from Raham to Rhohang and finally to Rohingyas.<ref name=chowdhury /><ref>{{harv|Khin Maung Saw|1993|pp=93}}</ref> However, the claim was refuted by Jahiruddin Ahmed and Nazir Ahmed, former president and Secretary of Arakan Muslim Conference respectively.<ref name=chowdhury /> They argued that ship wrecked Muslims are currently called 'Thambu Kya' Muslims and currently residing along the Arakan sea shore. Should the term Rohingya derive from these Muslims, "Thambu Kyas" would have been the first group to be known as Ruhaingyas. According to them, Rohingyas were descendants of inhabitants of Ruha in Afganistan.<ref name=chowdhury /> Another historian, MA Chowdhury argued that among the Muslim populations, the term 'Mrohaung' (Old Arakanese Kingdom) is corrupted to Rohang. And thus inhabitants of the region are called Rohingya.<ref name=chowdhury /> These claims are categorically rejected by Burmese historians.

Burmese historians like Khin Maung Saw asserted that the term Rohingya has never appeared in history before 1950s.<ref>{{harv|Khin Maung Saw|1993|p=90}}</ref> According to another historian, Dr. Maung Maung, there is no such word as Rohingya in 1824 census survey conducted by the British.<ref>{{cite web | url=http://www.irrawaddy.org/article.php?art_id=16946&page=2 | title=A Historian Looks at Rohingya | publisher=The Irrawaddy | accessdate=November 1, 2011 | author=Dr. Aye Kyaw}}</ref> Historian Aye Chan from ] noted that the term Rohingya was created by descendants of Bengalis in 1950s who migrated into Arakan during colonial area. He further argued that the term cannot be found in any historical source in any language
before 1950s. However, he stated that it does not mean Muslim communities have not existed in Arakan before 1824.<ref>{{harv|Aye Chan|2005|p=396}}</ref>

==Language==
{{Main|Rohingya language}}
]
The Rohingya language is the modern written language of the Rohingya people of ] (Rakhine) State of Burma (Myanmar). It is linguistically similar to the ] spoken in the southernmost part of ] bordering Burma. Rohingya scholars have successfully written the Rohingya language in different scripts such as ], Hanafi, ], Roman and Burmese, where Hanifi is a newly developed alphabet derived from Arabic with the addition of four characters from Latin and Burmese.

More recently, a ] has been developed, using all 26 English letters A to Z and two additional Latin letters Ç (for retroflex R) and Ñ (for nasal sound). To accurately represent Rohingya phonology, it also uses five accented vowels (áéíóú). It has been recognized by ISO with ISO 639-3 "rhg" code.<ref></ref>

==History==

Although Muslim settlements have existed in Arakan since the arrival of Arabs there in the 8th century AD, there is no clear connection between these early Arabs and the Rohingya, especially since the Rohingya are in many ways more Bengali. The direct descendants of Arab settlers live in central Arakan near ] and ] townships, not in the ], the present day Rohingya populated area.<ref>{{harv|Aye Chan|2005|p=397}}</ref>

The British census of 1891 reported 58,255 Muslims in Arakan. By 1911, the Muslim population had increased to 178,647.<ref>{{harv|Aye Chan|2005|p=401}}</ref> The waves of immigration were primary due to the requirement of cheap labor from the ] to work at the paddy fields. Exactly why these increases in Muslim population are assumed to be the result of migration and not conversion of people in Arakan is an issue that Burmese historians seem to ignore more than address.

In 1939, The British authorities, who were wary of the long term animosity between the ] Buddhists and the Rohingya Muslims, formed a special Investigation Commission led by ] and U ] to study the issue of Muslim immigration into the Rakhine state. The commission recommended securing the border, however, with the onset of World War II, the British retreated from Arakan.<ref name=kzt/>

===World War 2 Japanese Occupation===
{{main|Rohingya massacre}}
On 28 March 1942, some thousands of Muslims (about 5,000) in ] and ]s were killed by Rakhine nationalists and Karenni. On the other side, the Muslims from Northern Rakhine State massacred around 20,000 Arakanese including the Deputy Commissioner U Kyaw Khaing who was killed while trying to settle the dispute.<ref name=kzt>{{cite journal | title=Background of Rohingya Problem | author=Kyaw Zan Tha, MA | year=2008 | month=July | pages=1}}</ref>

During ], ]ese forces invaded ], then under ]. The British forces retreated and in the power vacuum left behind, considerable violence erupted. This included communal violence between ] Rakhine and Muslim Rohingya villagers. The period also witnessed violence between groups loyal to the British and Burmese ]s. The Rohingya supported the Allies during the war and oppose the Japanese forces, assisting the Allies in reconnaissance.

The Japanese committed atrocities toward thousands of Rohingya, the Japanese engaged in an orgy of rape, murder and torture.<ref>{{cite book|url=http://books.google.com/books?id=jIxCUXI38zcC&pg=PA263&dq=rohingya+japanese&hl=en&ei=kASlTamKAdGi0gHRyaHlCA&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=2&ved=0CCwQ6AEwAQ#v=onepage&q=rohingya%20japanese&f=false|title=Genocide and gross human rights violations: in comparative perspective|author=Kurt Jonassohn|year=1999|publisher=Transaction Publishers|location=|page=263|isbn=0765804174|pages=|accessdate=12 April 2011}}</ref> In this period, some 22,000 Rohingya are believed to have crossed the border into ], then part of British India, to escape the violence.<ref>{{cite book|url=http://books.google.com/books?id=oyzfkz1gcVsC&pg=PA86&dq=rohingya+japanese&hl=en&ei=kASlTamKAdGi0gHRyaHlCA&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=3&ved=0CDEQ6AEwAg#v=onepage&q=rohingya%20japanese&f=false|title=Protracted displacement in Asia: no place to call home|author=Howard Adelman|year=2008|publisher=Ashgate Publishing, Ltd.|location=|page=86|isbn=0754672387|pages=|accessdate=12 April 2011}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|url=http://books.google.com/books?id=gIOFAAAAMAAJ&q=Independence,+and+Rohingya+Flight+In+1942,+Japanese+forces+invaded+Burma+and+during+the+British+retreat+communal++22000+refugees&dq=Independence,+and+Rohingya+Flight+In+1942,+Japanese+forces+invaded+Burma+and+during+the+British+retreat+communal++22000+refugees&hl=en&ei=XCClTZbrE4TUgQfZqoSdCg&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=1&ved=0CCoQ6AEwAA|title=Burma/Bangladesh: Burmese refugees in Bangladesh: still no durable solution|author=Human Rights Watch (Organization)|year=2000|publisher=Human Rights Watch|location=|page=6|isbn=|pages=|accessdate=12 April 2011}}</ref>

40,000 Rohingya eventually fled to Chittagong after repeated massacres by the Burmese and Japanese forces.<ref>{{cite book|url=http://books.google.com/books?id=tdMtAQAAIAAJ&q=The+Burmans,+in+collaboration+with+the+Japanese,+massacred+many+Rohingyas+and+kicked+out+40000+refugees+to+Chittagong.11+In+the+post-colonial+period,+in+between+l959+and+l978,+there+were+multiple+major+Burmese+military+operations&dq=The+Burmans,+in+collaboration+with+the+Japanese,+massacred+many+Rohingyas+and+kicked+out+40000+refugees+to+Chittagong.11+In+the+post-colonial+period,+in+between+l959+and+l978,+there+were+multiple+major+Burmese+military+operations&hl=en&ei=wASlTYSFE4630QG25PWGCQ&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=1&ved=0CC4Q6AEwAA|title=Asian profile, Volume 21|author=|year=1993|publisher=Asian Research Service|location=|page=312|isbn=|pages=|accessdate=12 April 2011}}</ref>

===2012 Rohingya riots===
{{main|2012 Rohingya riots}}
'''2012 Rohingya riots''' are a series of ongoing ]s, ] and ]s perpetrated by groups of ] in northern ], ]. Although the riots came after weeks of sectarian disputes between ethnic Rakhine and Burmese Muslims, most ]s have condemned the riots.<ref>{{cite web | url=http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/06/08/us-myanmar-violence-idUSBRE85714E20120608 | title=Four killed as Rohingya Muslims riot in Myanmar: government | publisher=Reuters | date=June 08, 2012 | accessdate=June 09, 2012}}</ref>

The immediate cause of the riots is unclear. The commonly cited reason is the killing of ten Burmese Muslims by ethnic Rakhine in response to rape and murder of a Rakhine woman. As of June 09, over three hundred houses and a number of public buildings have been razed with casualty figures ranging from 7<ref>{{cite web | url=http://news.bostonherald.com/news/international/asia_pacific/view/20120609myanmar_calm_restored_after_rioting_that_killed_7/srvc=home&position=recent | title=Myanmar: Calm restored after rioting that killed 7 | publisher=Associated Press | date=June 09, 2012 | accessdate=June 09, 2012}}</ref> to 30.<ref name="11-1">{{cite web | url=http://eversion.news-eleven.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=576%3Adozens-killed-hundreds-of-buildings-burnt-down-by-bengali-rohingya-mobs-in-border-town-of-maungdaw&catid=42%3Aweekly-eleven-news&Itemid=109 | title=Dozens killed, hundreds of buildings burnt down by Bengali Rohingya mobs in border town of Maungdaw | publisher=Eleven Media Group | date=June 9, 2012 | accessdate=June 09, 2012}}</ref> The government has responded by imposing curfews and by deploying troops in the regions. On June 10, ] was declared in Rakhine, allowing military to take over administrative control of the region.<ref>{{Cite news
| first = Fergal
| last = Keane
| authorlink = Fergal Keane
| author =
| title = Old tensions bubble in Burma
| url = http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-18402678
| format =
| work =
| publisher = ]
| date = 2012-06-11
| accessdate = 2012-06-11
| language =
| quote =
}}</ref>

==Religion==
Religion is particularly important to the Rohingya people, who are predominantly ]s. ]s and ] occupy most villages. Traditionally, men pray in congregation and women pray at home.

==See also==
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==Notes==
{{reflist|2}}

==References==
*{{cite journal | url=http://asiapacific.anu.edu.au/newmandala/wp-content/uploads/2009/02/khin-mg-saw-on-rohingya.pdf |title=Khin Maung Saw on Rohingya|author=Khin Maung Saw| year=1993|month=May| ref=harv}}
*{{cite conference | url=http://karnafuli.angelfire.com/articles/ArakanandRohingyas.pdf | title=The advent of Islam in Arakan and the Rohingyas | publisher=Arakan Historical Society | accessdate=October 31, 2011 |author=MA Chowdhury|year=1995| month=December 31 | conference=Chittagong University | ref=harv}}
*{{cite web | url=http://www.soas.ac.uk/sbbr/editions/file64388.pdf | title=The Development of a Muslim Enclave in Arakan (Rakhine) State of Burma (Myanmar) | publisher=SOAS | year=2005 | accessdate=November 1, 2011 | author=Aye Chan| ref=harv}}
*{{cite web|title=Myanmar, The Rohingya Minority: Fundamental Rights Denied|work=Amnesty International|url=http://web.amnesty.org/library/Index/ENGASA160052004?open&of=ENG-MMR|accessdate=August 2005}}
*
* , the ] of the ] in Burma including ], ], White Lotus Press editor, Bangkok, Thailand, published in 2008. ISBN 9744801263, 9789744801265.

==External links==
* ''Arakan Rohingya National Organisation''

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Revision as of 04:16, 13 June 2012