Towards Buddhist and Islamic Coexistence: Indigenous Thought as a Conduit for Conflict Transformation
Valérie E. Nguyen
Volume 13, Number 2 (2025) 13 (2): 29-55
Keywords militarization of Buddhism, ecological economics, conflict transformation, ethnic genocide, non- dualism, transindigenous alliance (interethnic solidarity), Fourth World, globalization, hegemony, economic land concession, Islamic environmental ethics, United Nations Declaration of the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP)
Abstract
This paper seeks to answer the question: “What optional steps may Rohingya leaders take to resolve their troubled relations with the Burmese government through conflict transformation and relations normalization while meeting the health and nutritional needs of the population at risk?” Short and long-term recommendations, towards opening channels of communication are discussed through the dual lens of ecology and food justice, based on the weaving of an indigenous “Fourth World” transnational network that emphasizes the importance of traditional sacred space. Its goal is to remediate the alienating perception of Rohingya people specifically as “invasive land-grabbers” by proposing a shift of emphasis that could potentially unify all stakeholders: a deepened concern about the land and the environment as a basis on which government, religion, and enterprise can mutually move forward.
Valérie E. Nguyen
Published August 13, 2025
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.
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