Episode 184 – What happens when Buddhist and Islamist extremists meet?
The Muslims living in the northwestern Rakhine state of Myanmar (also known as Burma) are called the Rohingya. They have resided in the area for centuries but are seen as ‘outsiders’ by the largely Buddhist state currently under military rule. The last few decades has seen massive violence against them and many have fled to neighbouring countries, especially Bangladesh, where they languish in crime-ridden refugee camps. To complicate matters, an Islamist terrorist group called the Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army (ARSA – Arakan is another name for Rakhine state) has arisen in the camps. Borealis talks to a Rohingya activist about the situation.
BANGLADESH ARSA accused of killing a Rohingya pacifist leader in Cox’s Bazar (asianews.it)
About my guest
Rezuwan Khan is a Rohingya activist living in Cox’s Bazar who covers the refugee crisis on social media.
Canadian Intelligence Eh
In a world of multiple voices and opinions it can be very hard to know where to turn. One choice is to look to those who actually worked in counter-terrorism in the national security world. In these half-hour podcasts, 30-year Canadian intelligence veteran Phil Gurski is joined by a fascinating array of individuals with something meaningful to say about these issues as they provide insight into what they mean and what we need to do about them.
About Phil Gurski
Phil Gurski is the President and CEO of Borealis Threat and Risk Consulting Ltd. He worked as a senior strategic analyst at CSIS (Canadian Security Intelligence Service) from 2001-2015, specialising in violent Islamist-inspired homegrown terrorism and radicalisation, and as a multilingual analyst at CSE (Communications Security Establishment) from 1983-2001. He is the author of six books on terrorism, including the second edition of The Peaceable Kingdom: A history of terrorism in Canada from Confederation to the present, published by Double Dagger in February 2023.
