Junta seals mosque compound and bans religious gatherings in Mandalay

Myanmar’s military junta has arbitrarily ordered the immediate sealing of temporary prayer halls within the historic Miba Zay Mosque compound in Mandalay, alongside sweeping restrictions prohibiting collective worship, religious sermons and access to the site.

According to an administrative directive (Order 1/2026) issued on 13 September by the Aungmyethazan Township General Administration Department under Section 144 of the 1898 Code of Criminal Procedure, a colonial-era public order provision routinely weaponised by the military, authorities officially sealed two separate structures inside the Miba Zay Mosque compound on 9th Street, between 73rd and 74th Streets, in U Bote Taw Quarter, Aung Myay Thar Zan Township. The order targets an ongoing construction structure on Plot No. 89 / Kwin No. 23 alongside a four-storey building on Plot No. 51/5 designated by authorities as an unpermitted temporary prayer hall.

The sealing follows campaign movements and persistent pressure initiated by radical Ma Ba Tha nationalist Buddhist monks, who have long targeted minority Muslim infrastructure across Mandalay. The directive imposes stringent prohibitions across designated boundaries in the township, strictly forbidding all communal prayer services, religious lectures, sermons and public mobilisation. Furthermore, the order prohibits any entry to or exit from the site, as well as any repair, modification or reconstruction on the premises without official authorisation.

The recent administrative action reflects a long-standing pattern in Myanmar where military authorities and General Administration Department (GAD) officials systematically misuse Section 144. Section 144 was designed to be a temporary emergency mechanism for urgent public safety threats, but has instead been weaponised to enforce indefinite closures of non-Buddhist places of worship, outlaw communal religious assemblies, and appease nationalist monk networks.

CSW’s Founder President Mervyn Thomas said: ‘The arbitrary sealing of the Miba Zay Mosque compound and the outright ban on collective prayer in Aungmyethazan Township represent a direct assault on the fundamental freedom of religion or belief. Shutting down places of worship, criminalising communal prayer and restricting physical access for believers under pressure from nationalist agitators is a blatant misuse of administrative power designed to intimidate and marginalise minority Muslim communities in Mandalay.’

Mervyn Thomas continued: ‘CSW stresses that all religious communities in Myanmar have the right to assemble, worship and maintain their sacred sites without state coercion, extremist pressure or discriminatory administrative bans. We call on the military authorities to immediately revoke Order 1/2026, unseal the Miba Zay Mosque compound, and cease all interference in legitimate religious practice. Furthermore, we urge the international community to maintain robust pressure on the junta by enforcing stringent targeted sanctions, restricting resources used to enforce domestic repression, and strengthening support for international accountability mechanisms to address ongoing human rights violations across Myanmar.’