Forefathers
The first
Muslims landed in
Myanmar / Burma’s
Ayeyarwady River delta,
Tanintharyi coast and
Rakhine as seamen in the
ninth century, prior to the establishment of the first Myanmar (Burmese) empire in 1055 AD by King
Anawrahta of
Bagan (or Pagan).
[2][3][4][5][6]The dawn of the Muslim settlements and the propagation of
Islam was widely documented by the
Arab,
Persian,
European and
Chinese travelers of
ninth century.
[7][8]The current population of Myanmar Muslims are the descendants of
Arabs,
Persians,
Turks,
Moors,
Indian-Muslims,
Pakistanis,
Pathans,
Bengalis,
Chinese Muslims and
Malays who settled and intermarried with local Burmese and many
ethnic Myanmar groups such as the
Rakhine,
Shan,
Karen, and
Mon.
[9][10]The population of Muslims in Myanmar increased during the
British rule of Burma because of new waves of
Indian Muslim
immigration.
[11]This sharply declined in the years following 1941 as a result of the Indo-Burman Immigration agreement,
[12] and was officially stopped following Burma's (Myanmar) independence on
4th January, 1948.
Muslims arrived in Burma as travelers, adventurers, pioneers, sailors, traders,
[13] military personnel (voluntary and mercenary),
[14] and prisoners of war.
[15] Some were reported to have taken refuge from wars,
Monsoon storms, shipwreck,
[16] and other circumstances. Some were victims of slavery
[17]but many early Muslims were professionals and skilled personnel such as royal advisers and administrators. Still others were port authorities, mayors, and traditional medicine men.
[18]Persian Muslims traveled over land in search of China and arrived in northern Burma at the
Yunnan (Chinese) border. Their colonies were recorded in the Chronicles of China in 860 AD.
[19][20] Myanmar Muslims were sometimes called Pathi.
[21], a name widely believed to be derived from Farsi (Persian).
Bago / Pegu, Dala, Thanlyin / Syriam,
Taninthayi /Tenasserim,
Mottama / Martaban,
Myeik / Mergui and
Pathein /Bassein were full of Burmese Muslim settlers and Muslims often outnumbered the local Burmese by large margins. In one record, Pathein was said to be populated with Pathis.
[22] In Kawzar 583 (13th Century), Bassein or Pathein was known as Pathi town under the three Indian Muslim Kings.
[23][24][25] Arab merchants arrived Martaban, Margue. Arab settlement in the present Meik’s mid-western quarters.
[26]During Bagan King,
Narathihapate, 1255-1286, in the first Sino Burman war, Kublaikhan’s Muslim
Tatars attacked and occupied up to Nga Saung Chan.
Mongols under
Kublai Khan invaded the Pagan Kingdom. During this first Sino Burman war in 1283, Colonel Nasruddin’s Turks occupied up to Bamaw. (Kaungsin)
[27] (Tarek)
Turk were called, Mongol,
Manchuria, Mahamaden or
Panthays.
[28][
edit] Muslims in Bagan (Pagan) Period
Byat Wi and Byat Ta
The first evidence of Muslim landing in Burma’s chronicle was recorded in the era of the first Burmese Empire of Pagan (
Bagan) 1044 AD. Two Arab Muslim sailors of BYAT family, Byat Wi and Byat Ta, arrived Burmese shores, near
Thaton.
[29][30](There are people in
Iraq, Arabia and some Surthi Northern Indian Muslims with the same sir name even at present. See
Byat and
Bayt) After their ship wrecked, they managed to use a plank to swim to the shores. They took refuge and stayed at the monastery of the
monk in
Thaton. Thaton king became afraid of them and killed the elder brother.
[31] The younger brother managed to escape to
Bagan and took refuge to king Anawratha.
[32] He married a girl from Popa and got two sons, Shwe Byin brothers.
[33]