14 II. Restrictions on Mosque Recovery After the Earthquake Deaths and Destruction at Mosques The earthquake struck during Friday prayers, when mosques across the affected areas were crowded with worshippers. BHRN documented at least 670 deaths among Muslims when mosques and other Islamic religious buildings collapsed, with many others injured.30 Researchers cross-checked casualty information through interviews with survivors, relatives, witnesses, and mosque trustees, as well as available hospital records, burial records, and community casualty lists. Communications failures, restricted access, and incomplete records prevented BHRN from establishing a definitive death and injury toll. BHRN documented 180 earthquake-affected Islamic religious buildings, including 149 in Mandalay Region, 16 in Naypyidaw Union Territory, seven in Bago Region, six in Sagaing Region, and two in southern Shan State. Historical and building records show that a number of the damaged mosques were more than a century old, including brick-masonry structures. Casualty records document collapses in areas where worshippers had gathered to pray. Early interviews conducted in Yamethin and Sagaing documented substantial loss of life at mosques. A lawyer interviewed in Yamethin two days after the earthquake said four mosques there had completely collapsed and approximately nine mosques had been affected in total, although damage assessments were still underway. He said more than 40 people had been killed at a Jamae Mosque in Pyawbwe, where Friday prayers drew worshippers from surrounding areas, and described old buildings collapsing so quickly that people had little or no time to escape. Describing the immediate aftermath, he told BHRN, “People thought it was the Day of Judgment. Everyone was shouting. It felt like a small-scale Qayamat.”31 In Sagaing, a community member told BHRN that more than 100 people had been killed at three mosques. Another community representative described mosque-level records documenting 60 deaths at one mosque, 58 at another, and 37 at a third. He said most of the recorded deaths occurred at mosques rather than in homes. Mosque communities recorded names, photographs of people who had died, and contact information for relatives, but some names were missing because families removed bodies directly to their villages before information could be recorded. At Myothit, the same representative said 32 people were included in the records, while another 28 people were seen being taken away without their names being provided.32 A community source in Bone Oh Village, Amarapura Township, told BHRN that the women’s prayer hall of one mosque collapsed while the men’s prayer hall remained standing, and reported that 42 BBC Burmese, “Earthquake Kills More Than 670 Muslims,” 13 April 2025. Reuters, “Myanmar quake struck mosques as minority Muslims gathered for Ramadan prayers,” 29 March 2025. 31 BHRN Interview 1, Myanmar, 30 March 2025. 32 BHRN Interview 2, Myanmar, 1 April 2025. BHRN Interview 3, Myanmar, 1 April 2025. 30