20 BHRN also documented other factors contributing to delays, including incomplete applications, expired endorsements, lack of funds or technical expertise, and limited follow-up by some mosque committees. A former trustee said some mosques with relatively minor damage eventually stopped waiting for approval and carried out repairs themselves.56 The trustee said the repair permissions issued in Mandalay required work to conform to the buildings’ original condition.57 The experience documented at a mosque in Bago Region, was different. The community member told BHRN that the mosque received an official demolition order two months after the earthquake but later obtained a construction permit. The community member added that, as far as he knew, Township Administrators in Yedashe and Phyu had also issued official written permission orders, although he did not know the status of the other earthquake-damaged mosques in Bago Region.58 The community member said the written permit required reconstruction without changing the mosque’s original dimensions. The community obtained recommendations from ward and villagetract administrators, municipal and Immigration Department no-objection letters, and approvals through township, district, and regional offices. Regional officials required the work to proceed under a five-member supervisory team headed by the Township Administrator, although the vicechairperson said the team had not actually visited the site during reconstruction.59 The community member said that, in his understanding, the phrase “without changing the original dimensions” appeared in “the orders for all the mosques.” BHRN did not independently verify the scope of that broader statement.60 Lack of Engineering and Reconstruction Support More than a month after the earthquake, a construction professional who visited affected mosques said debris remained uncleared at many sites while Muslim communities built temporary prayer spaces themselves. At Bone Oh, he said the central mosque had still not undergone debris clearance. “I have not seen any systematic effort to design and reconstruct them in a way that would make them resistant to earthquakes, strong winds, and other natural hazards,” he told BHRN.61 At sites where repairs had begun, the construction professional said work was proceeding without adequate structural engineering. At a mosque in Amarapura Township, he said masons and metalworkers were inserting steel bars and pouring concrete without proper structural calculations. “The resulting structures are also irregular and poorly executed, which may compromise their structural integrity,” he told BHRN.62 56 BHRN Interview 16, Myanmar, 13 September 2026. 57 BHRN Interview 17, Myanmar, 13 September 2026. 58 BHRN Interview 18, Myanmar, 15 September 2026. 59 BHRN Interview 18, Myanmar, 15 September 2026. 60 BHRN Interview 18, Myanmar, 15 September 2026. 61 BHRN Interview 10, Myanmar, 13 May 2025. 62 BHRN Interview 10, Myanmar, 13 May 2025.