Muslims make up just over two per cent of Myanmar's population, government census figures showed on Thursday (Jul 21), undercutting claims by Buddhist hardliners that Islam poses a threat to the dominance of their faith.
Full details from the 2014 count, the first of its kind in decades, was withheld for almost a year to avoid stirring tensions in the Buddhist-majority nation ahead of elections that propelled Aung San Suu Kyi's pro-democracy party to power.
Islamophobia has rippled across Myanmar in recent years, with Buddhist nationalists sending alarmist messages about the growth of the Muslim population. (Courtesy of channelnewsasia.com)
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