Muslims arrived in Burma as travelers, adventurers, pioneers, sailors, traders, military personnel (voluntary and mercenary), and a number of them as prisoners of wars.
Some are victims of forced slavery but many of them are professionals and skilled personnel such as advisors to the kings and at various ranks of administration whilst others are port-authorities and mayors and traditional medicine men.
Saya Gyi U Nu (Great Teacher or Guru; 1762–1822) Mayor of Yammar Watti, Shwe Taung Thargathu also known as Mohamed Kassim was a very famous Burmese Muslim writer during King Bodawpaya.
[1] Bodawpaya appointed him as the head of the mission to India to collect and bring back books and Scriptures in Sanskrit, Hindi, Urdu and Persian.
[2] Saya Gyi U Nu was appointed as the Mayor of Yammar Wati with the Shwe Taung Tharga title.
Ah Ba means old man or father in Burmese) which was one of the pioneer films of Myanmar movie history about rural life.
[7][8] Colonel Ba Shin a noted historian was later a member of The Myanmar History Commission, UTC and Islamic Religious Affairs Council.
[9] Kyar Ba Nyein was a Burmese Muslim Lethwei fighter who represented Burma in the 1952 Summer Olympic Games in Boxing.
Win Nyein is a prominent writer and chief editor of the long-lasting Myanmar Literary Magazine "Shwe Ahmhutay".
He was the first general secretary of the Rangoon University Students’ Union in 1931 together with prominent Myanmar political leaders: Aung San, U Nu, U Kyaw Nyein, U Ba Swe etc.
U Nu was the first president of the Rangoon University Students Union (RUSU)in 1935-1936 with Mr. M. A. Rashid as Vice-President and U Thi Han as the General Secretary.
Kan Chun @ Mohamad Omar is a Satirist, Journalist, Novelist, Cartoonist and Artist (Painter) from Mandalay, Burma.
Wealthy and influential Myanmar Muslim, Sultan Mahmood was the political secretary in U Nu's government and later was appointed as Health Minister.
During King Thibaw's reign, he was the Captain on the Sekyar Ngwezin Thulu ship which went to Bhamo to fight in the Sino-Burmese War.