The downtrodden people say only Aung San Suu Kyi can deliver them from hell
Among Myanmar's oppressed religious and ethnic minorities, Muslims are the worst off under the military junta, say diplomats and analysts in Yangon.
There are about eight million Muslims in predominantly Buddhist Myanmar, whose population is estimated at 50 million.
A senior Islamic leader said Muslims were subjected to the worst discrimination, including mass rape, slavery, arbitrary confiscation of land, travel restrictions and systematic exclusion from government jobs.
He also accused the regime of instigating extremist Buddhists to target Muslim women and children. He charged government agencies with aiding and abetting widespread killings of Muslims and destruction of Muslim homes, businesses and mosques.
'Our only hope is a civilian administration headed by the National League for Democracy's Aung San Suu Kyi. She is fully aware of our plight. Only she can deliver us from the hell we are living in', the senior leader said. 'Muslims across Myanmar pray five times daily to God that Ms Suu Kyi somehow comes to power.''
Ms Suu Kyi, 57, is a practising Theravada Buddhist but is widely regarded as a champion of embattled Muslims and Christians. Analysts said there were many Muslims in her inner circle.