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July 18th, 2012 
FAKE NEWS for the Zionist agenda The Imam of Washington’s Masjid al-Islam mosque has praised Tehran and Ankara for standing up for the Rohingya Muslims in Myanmar who are being oppressed in the Buddhist-majority country.
The comment comes as Iran has called on Myanmar’s government to recognize the rights of Rohingya Muslims in the country, calling for an international move to stop the violence against the minority group.
“We strongly advise Myanmar’s government to recognize the rights of its minority groups. The Muslim community is an inseparable part of the country and the civil rights have to be recognized,” Iranian Foreign Ministry Spokesman Ramin Mehmanparast said at his weekly press conference on Tuesday.
“We also urge Muslim countries, international organizations and the Organization of Islamic Cooperation to take serious measures to stop the violence,” he added.
Myanmar’s President Thein Sein insists that Rohingya Muslims must be expelled from the country and sent to refugee camps run by the United Nations.
According to recent reports, Muslims in Myanmar are in a tragic human plight. Reports say 650 of nearly one million Rohingya Muslims have been killed as of June 28 during clashes in the western region of Rakhine. This is while 1,200 others are missing and 80,000 more have been displaced.
Myanmar’s current government, run by military figures and accused of massive rights abuses, refuses to recognize Rohingya Muslims, which the UN calls one of the world’s most prosecuted people.
They are deprived of basic rights including education and employment and are subject to force labor, extortion and other coercive measures.
Myanmar claims the Rohingya are not native and classifies them as illegal migrants although they have lived in the country for generations.
Press TV has conducted an interview with Imam of Washington’s Masjid al-Islam, Abdul Alim Musa, to further talk over the issue.
The following is an approximate transcript of the interview.
Press TV: Mr. Musa, thank you for joining us on Press TV’s world news. The world has ignored the killing and displacement of Muslims in Myanmar, what does that tell you?
Musa: You know this problem shows that such things as the UN who is in Syria now; the UN that was so worried about Libya, the UN that was so worried about everything except let’s say, number one, the uprising in Saudi Arabia; number two, the Eastern Province of Saudi Arabia.
This problem in Burma, Myanmar for these people has been going on I know myself for 30 years, maybe even longer. But it shows that if it’s not a concern of the West or its institution it’s not a concern for the rest of the people, not even the Muslims around the world are not speaking out on behalf of these Muslims who are a small minority.
What it shows us is that the life and values, the family, the people’s culture and heritage is not important unless it’s wrapped around what’s valuable to the West or oil or gold or some other resource.
Another thing that calls attention to is for several decades now Aung San Suu Kyi has been clamoring for civil rights and human rights in Myanmar herself; as soon as she has sensed the power; she has been given the Nobel price; she has just received it recently; she herself has not spoken out at all; she has not jeopardized her position; she has not challenged her people to rise up and for them to give the same civil and human rights for people that she has been crying for all of the time.
The main thing this shows us is that we Muslims around the world are proud of Iran and Turkey for standing up- but we have to, the whole Muslim community has to stand up for the rights of other Muslims whether its Hazars [Afghanistan’s oppressed Shi’a Muslims], Pakistan, whether it’s the Shi’a in [Saudi] Arabia, in Bahrain. We have to stand up for the rights of Muslims all over the world.
Press TV: Mr. Alim Musa, one thing you mentioned is that the issue is not a concern of the West. I want to piggy back on that when it comes to my second question. There are nearly a million human beings who continue to suffer in the absence of media coverage. What makes Myanmar’s Muslims different for Western media and governments when it comes to human rights?
Musa: Well, what makes it different is human rights; they haven’t even been giving its own people human rights but what makes it different is, is this the same people who have been clamoring for human rights themselves all this time, from the military dictatorship now that they have some seats in parliament, now that they have some international recognition, they refuse to give the same thing to others and what happens is they consider most of them as illegal aliens, as people who’ve made it across the border or they’re trying to say that they’re considered like Mexicans are considered in the United States- not full citizens.
So they seem to have no value that is because we don’t give them value. We have to give value to our own people that will force the rest of the world to give value to them- as long as we do give value to our own people and … we as Muslims to stand up for justice and the rights of human beings all over the world but especially the ‘mostaz’afin’- the weak and deprived, the immigrants…
VG/MA
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