Chit Tin, a 55-year-old Muslim man has prayed at the same madrassa in eastern Yangon his whole adult life, most of it spent under a junta that crushed opposition, ruined Myanmar's economy and turned it into an international pariah state.

But even as the father of four endured poverty and isolation, the Muslim religious school, which doubles as a mosque, had remained a focal point of his community until a month ago, when Buddhist nationalists raided it and forced authorities to shut it down on the grounds it did not have a permit to operate as a place of worship.

When Ramadan, the Muslim holy month, started some three weeks ago, hundreds of residents braved the monsoon rains to join prayers organized in the street nearby. Local authorities banned the event and threatened those attending with jail.