缅甸政治转型过程中的宗教冲突探析

Religious Conflict in Myanmar's Transition to Democracy

缅甸目前正处于从军人执政向民选政府过渡时期。然而,在这一转型过程中,佛教徒与穆斯林之间的暴力冲突却越来越严重。宗教冲突首先是在缅甸西部若开地区爆发,然后扩大到缅甸的其他地方。众所周知,缅甸是一个佛教为主的国家,穆斯林仅仅是少数。而且,一般认为,缅甸国内的穆斯林是东南亚地区最不激进的群体之一,而佛教教义的核心理念之一也是和平与非暴力。那么,到底是什么因素造成了缅甸佛教徒与穆斯林的暴力冲突?笔者认为英国殖民统治政策造成的佛教徒与穆斯林之间根深蒂固的不信任是缅甸宗教冲突的根本原因,缅甸政治转型过程中日益高涨的佛教民族主义是重要原因之一。

Myanmar is undergoing a historical transition from military rule to democracy. However, religious conflict between Buddhists and Muslims is becoming more and more serious during this process of transformation. While the religious violence originally broke out in Rokhine state in 2012, it has spread to other parts of Myanmar. As is well known, Myanmar is a Buddhist-majority society and also comprises a minority of Muslims. It is generally thought that Myanmar＇s Muslims population is one of the least radicalized in Southeast Asia and one of central concepts of Buddhism teachings is peace and non-violence. So, what factors caused the violence between Muslims and Buddhists in Myanmar？ This paper argues that the ingrained mistrust between Buddhists and Muslims caused by the British colonial rule policy is the fundamental cause of religious clashes in Myanmar and the rising Burman-Buddhist nationalism in the process of political transition is one of the important reasons.