Junta seals off earthquake-damaged mosque in Sagaing

Myanmar’s military regime has sealed off a century-old mosque in the city of Sagaing after it was damaged by the powerful earthquake that struck the country on March 28. The Gattan Mosque, located next to the city’s main police station, was closed on Tuesday after the township police chief ordered that it be demolished due to damage that it sustained in the 7.7-magnitude quake, a mosque official told Myanmar Now. “According to our religion, we’re not allowed to destroy religious buildings with our own hands. Since we don’t have the right to give, take, or transfer [the mosque] according to our will, we told the police to do as they please with it, so they have now closed it,” the official said. The Sagaing Regional Police Force and the mosque committee have been engaged in a dispute over the mosque since 2021, the official added. Despite its age, no documentation exists to prove its ownership, he explained. Regarding its closure, the official said that appeal letters would be submitted to the junta's Ministry of Home Affairs and various organisations. At least 50 mosques were damaged or destroyed across central Myanmar by the earthquake, which coincided with the last Friday of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan. As a result, hundreds of Muslims gathered for prayers were killed. The news about the Gattan Mosque has added to the grief felt by many Muslims in the wake of the disaster, according to one Sagaing resident. “During this time of suffering, Muslims now have another reason to mourn. We are in a situation of grief upon grief,” he said. Since military rule was first imposed on Myanmar in 1962, successive regimes have severely restricted the construction and repair of mosques. However, the country’s current dictator, Senior-General Min Aung Hlaing, said at a meeting of senior junta officials held in Naypyitaw on April 5 that it was necessary to allow the reconstruction of religious buildings, including mosques, Buddhist monasteries, and churches. According to official figures released by the regime, the earthquake destroyed more than 50,000 houses, 10,000 government buildings, 700 hospitals and clinics, and 2,500 schools across affected areas. In addition, nearly 5,600 monasteries, nunneries, and other religious buildings were destroyed, state media reported on Friday.

Junta seals off earthquake-damaged mosque in Sagaing

The move comes amid a dispute with local police authorities over ownership of the mosque

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