In Maungdaw town, the historic Jamae Mosque—founded in 1818 by Ali Hussain (also known as Munshi)—has long owned a 198-acre property that was donated for the use and welfare of the mosque and the families involved in its management and maintenance, according to local sources.
Previously, the Jamae Mosque management committee had overseen the collection of shop rental fees from stores built on mosque-owned land, while paying regular taxes to successive Myanmar governments.
However, since October 5, 2025, when Maungdaw town fell under the control of the Arakan Army (AA), the group reportedly dissolved the old mosque committee and appointed a new 15-member committee under its own supervision. The newly installed committee was instructed to collect rental income from 22 shops and transfer it to the AA/ULA administration, charging 200,000 kyats per shop per month, sources said.
AA forces have also directly taken over rent collection from 44 mosque-owned shops near Minbar Gyi Street, including those with and without identifiable owners, according to reports.
The previous mosque committee was composed of descendants of the original founder Munshi, but the AA/ULA has now restructured the committee at will and is managing the mosque’s affairs entirely on its own terms. As a result, the 200-year-old Jamae Mosque, a historic and religious landmark, has come under full AA control.
Locals said that while previous Myanmar governments occasionally closed and reopened the mosque for political reasons, none had ever confiscated its property or collected rent. By contrast, under AA rule, the group is now unlawfully seizing mosque property and extorting inflated rental payments.
Similarly, the AA/ULA has also confiscated properties belonging to Rohingya who fled to other parts of Rakhine State or to Bangladesh due to the ongoing conflict, labeling these properties as “ownerless.”
