STUDY GUIDE APRIL 13, 2016 MUSLIM MINORITIES

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1 STUDY GUIDE APRIL 13, 2016 MUSLIM MINORITIES A Muslim minority is a small group of Muslims who live in a larger non-muslim community which is ruled by a non-muslim government. Nearly a quarter of the Muslims in the world live in such minorities, mostly in Asia. Examples of Muslim Minorities in the world: Country No. of Muslims % of Population (million) China % India % Europe 44 6% USA % Different Kinds of Persecution of Minorities Religious persecution: Fear of growing populations of minorities like Muslims in some countries means that majorities try to oppress them. They try to stop them from practicing their religion or teaching it freely and try to stop it from growing and spreading. Legal: Country laws and customs are made by the majorities and not always suitable for minorities so minorities have to live by laws that may not be good for them or their way of life. Economic: May Muslim minorities, particularly in Africa and Asia don t have access to jobs and live in poverty. Muslim countries need to offer the assistance. Health: because of poverty and persecution many Muslim minorities have health problems that are not treated due to lack of hospitals and clinics. Majorities will take care of their own people before caring for minorities. Education: Because of their difficult conditions many Muslim minorities don t get education. Many are taught in small rooms to keep Islam and knowledge of the Quran alive and to preserve Islamic culture. Schools don t teach Islam and children in public schools have to study what the majority government wants them to learn.

2 Three Cases of Muslim Minorities in the World: 1. JAMMU AND KASHMIR Kashmir is a Muslim majority province in the between India and Pakistan What is todays India and Pakistan were once one a single British colony In 1947 when the British withdrew from India, the country was split in two parts Majority Hindu (and other religions) formed India in the South Majority Muslims formed the new country of Pakistan in the North Kashmir lay in the middle, it had Hindu ruler (maharaja) but majority Muslim population The ruler wanted to join majority Hindu India The Majority population of Muslims wanted to join Muslim Pakistan The people were promised that they would vote to decide but the vote was never done Civil war broke out India interfered to support the Hindu ruler, Pakistan interfered to support the Muslim population The United Nations became involved to stop the fighting and the province was divided About a third was and is still held by Pakistan About two thirds are administered by India Muslims in India controlled Kashmir are deprived of their rights because they are part of a Hindu majority country (India) Many Muslims still protest against Indian rule in Kashmir There have been many conferences and calls by Islamic country to hold a referendum to allow the people of Kashmir to vote on where they want to belong There have been many conferences and calls by Islamic countries and organizations to hold a referendum to allow the people of Kashmir to vote on where they want to belong No such vote has yet been held because India fears the majority Muslim population would vote to leave India and join Pakistan

3 2. Kosovo Yugoslavia used to be a single country composed of 6 different ethnic groups It started to break up in 1991 with different ethnic groups declaring independence. By 2003 it was divided into six (then seven) independent courtiers. Serbia was a State in the former Yugoslavia Kosovo was a Province in Serbia Kosovo has been inhabited by Muslims as part of the Ottoman Empire since % of its 2.1 million population are ethnic Albanian Muslims Since 1991 the Kosovar Muslims complained that the Serbian government persecuted them The government closing their schools, suppressing their language, ignoring their political right and restricting their rights to freely practice Islam In 1992 Kosovars overwhelmingly voted to leave Serbia and join neighbouring Muslim Albania A small group of Kosovar men formed the Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA) While most Kosovars wanted simple change the KLA wanted more radical change They wanted complete independence from Serbia (Yugoslavia) Because the group was small it was not taken seriously until In 1997 when they started attacking and killing Serb police and others who worked with Serbs They also drove many Serbs out of some areas of Kosovo In 1998 the Serb government sent troops and attacked Kosovars killing 80, including women and children This caused the Kosovars to riot and many joined the KLA swelling its ranks The KLA and the Serb army started to fight with each other and soon the fighting intensified In 1999 the problem grew and Serb army occupied the whole of Kosovo The Serb government authorized its forces to conduct ethnic cleansing

4 Thousands of Kosovars were forced to flee to neighboring countries and live in refugee camps in very difficult condition Thousands more were arrested and/or killed in This made NATO (North Atlantic Treaty Organization Europe and USA) interfere and bomb the Serb army to stop their policy of attacking Muslim Kosovars After much bitter fighting the Serb government agreed to withdraw its army from Kosovo and stop the ethnic cleansing In 1999 The United Nations sent troops to Kosovo enforce the peace In 2008 Kosovars declared their independence and are now an independent Muslim country 3. Bosnia Herzegovina Bosnian Muslims have a similar history to Kosovo Muslims Islam introduced by the Ottomans in 1480 AD Population of Bosnia Herzegovina: 4.5 million Of whom 44% are Muslims, 32% are Serbian and 15% are Croat With the breakup of Yugoslavia in 1991 Croatia and Slovenia declared independence and left Yugoslavia In 1992 Bosnians also voted for independence The Serbs in Bosnia and Serbia objected to Bosnian independence They declared war and tried ethnic cleansing all non Serbians from Bosnia Fighting broke out between the Serbs, Croats and Muslims of Bosnia-Herzegovina The United Nations and NATO intervened to stop the fighting They provided food, medicines and multinational soldiers to keep the peace After a lot of bloody fighting and thousands of deaths the Serbs and Bosnian Muslims finally made peace They agreed to live together and currently they share power peacefully

5 DEFINITIONS Accord: an agreement between two or more parties Engage: to attract and consume the attention of someone Policy: a plan of action adopted by an individual or group Appoint: assign a duty, or position of responsibility to someone Commission: a group of people formed to consider a specific matter or issue Riot: a violent disturbance of the peace by a crowd Martial law: suspending ordinary law due to extraordinary circumstances (usually use military) Apartheid: (in South Africa) a policy segregation or discrimination on grounds of race Segregation: setting someone or something apart from others Partition: dividing or being divided into parts (especially with reference to a country with separate areas of government) State: a nation or territory considered as an organized political community under one government Nation: a large body of people united by common descent, history, culture, or language usually but not necessarily inhabiting a particular state or territory