誰是緬甸人？──緬甸佛教民族主義與佛穆衝突

Abstract

緬甸自1948年獨立以來，族群衝突一直是嚴重的內部問題，之後又經歷數十年的軍政府專制鎖國，近年來才逐漸自威權統治走向開放及民主化，但民主化並沒有立刻帶來太平盛世，而是讓更多問題浮出檯面，其中佛教與伊斯蘭教間宗教仇恨的升高，引起國際社會的高度關注。在緬甸經歷政經轉型的當下，由僧侶領導、強調捍衛佛教價值和傳統的佛教勢力躍上舞臺中心，而他們的首要敵對目標，就是緬甸的穆斯林。僧侶與支持者宣稱穆斯林──特別是羅興亞族群──威脅佛教在緬甸的地位，且敗壞緬甸社會的傳統價值。 佛教是在討論緬甸政治發展和社會文化時不可忽略的要素，為了解佛教在緬甸國家認同與實際政治活動上的角色與影響力，本文以宗教的角度切入，梳理緬甸宗教發展的脈絡及對政策的影響，思考宗教信仰和國族認同間的交互作用，並以南亞社群主義理論探詢佛穆衝突背後的原因以及意義，進一步推論這樣強烈的宗教社群意識如何影響政策及社會關係，以及佛穆關係在民主轉型中的緬甸，可能掀起怎樣的波瀾。

Since the independence in 1948, the ethnic conflicts have remained critical in Myanmar, and after several decades of military dictatorship, the regimes have transformed gradually from authoritarianism towards liberalization and democratization. However, the nation is still not at peace. The hidden problems come to the surface, and among them, the increasing hatred between the Buddhists and Muslims calls the attention of the international community. During the political and economic transition, the main bloc led by monks that defends the Buddhist values and traditions targets the Muslims in the country as the primary enemy. The Buddhist monks and their followers claim that the Muslims – especially the Rohingyas – threaten the status of Buddhism and deteriorate the traditional social values within Myanmar. Buddhism is a key element which can not be neglected in the deliberations of political development and socio-culture in Myanmar. Moreover, to understand the role of Buddhism and its influence in the Burmese national identity and political activities, this article sheds light on following aspects. First, the context of religious development and its impacts on the policies within the country. Second, the Communalism theory that takes the interactions between religion and national identity into concern to account for the potential causes and the essence of the conflict. Lastly, the further inference on how such intense mentality of religion affects the political policies, social relations, the Buddhist-Muslim relationship during the country’s democratization, and the potential fluctuations within Myanmar.