“The Religious Council personnel and police officers from the police station went to the mosque and ordered no more work to be done with the construction.”

‘You have only a verbal order from an authority, not a written order. What you have done is too much. Please stop the work,’ said an official from the religious council. ‘We want the authority concerned with this mosque to come to our office.’

“The order was issued from Town Administration Head Officer U Aung Kyaw Htun to our office to check the construction work and to summon the concerned authorities of the mosque to the Religious Council office.”

However, the work of construction is carried out by the Union Solidarity and Development Party (USDP) where the party received permission for construction work. The Religious Council of Maungdaw had stopped the work in March, and this second time, it is stopped again, said an elder from Maungdaw.

“The Regional Development Association (RDA) with People’s Parliament member U Aung Zaw Win (USDP) is taking responsibility for the construction work of the mosque.”

The construction work includes building a toilet and a prayers washroom, which the devotees need for the praying process.