In September 2025, the world marks a remarkable milestone: the 1,500th anniversary of the birth of the Prophet Muhammad. For many, this commemoration is primarily religious, honouring the life of Islam’s final prophet. Yet beyond faith and devotion, Muhammad was also a political leader, strategist, and resistance figure whose legacy speaks directly to today’s global aspirations for peace, justice, and inclusive institutions, as envisioned in Sustainable Development Goal 16. His leadership offers enduring lessons for societies grappling with oppression, conflict, and fragmentation, which remain especially relevant for Myanmar’s struggle to overcome authoritarian rule and build a just, inclusive future.
Muhammad as a Resistance Leader
Muhammad began his mission in a hostile environment. Mecca’s elite families, guardians of the Kaaba and beneficiaries of the city’s trade monopoly, viewed his message as threatening their religious authority and economic order (Armstrong, 2006). For thirteen years in Mecca, he and his followers endured persecution, social boycott, and violence. Yet he chose a path of patient endurance, strategic alliances, and calculated steps rather than outright confrontation.
When survival in Mecca became impossible, Muhammad planned the Hijra, the migration to Medina in 622 CE. This was not a retreat but a deliberate act of resistance: preserving his community, avoiding annihilation, and repositioning himself in a new political space. In Myanmar’s terms, it mirrors the relocation of activists, students, and leaders to liberated areas or across borders, ensuring continuity of struggle even under existential threat.
The Constitution of Medina: Building Alliances
Upon arriving in Medina, Muhammad became a spiritual guide and a political architect. The Constitution of Medina (622 CE) was a groundbreaking charter that united Muslims, Jews, Christians, and polytheists into a single political community. It recognised their distinct identities but bound them under mutual obligations, defence, and justice.
For Myanmar’s resistance, this is a striking lesson. The Spring Revolution has mobilized diverse actors: Bamar pro-democracy forces, ethnic armed organizations (EAOs), students, and grassroots communities. Yet fragmentation remains a critical challenge. Muhammad’s model demonstrates that unity does not require uniformity. Alliances can be built on shared survival, mutual respect, and common defence, while differences are acknowledged rather than erased.
In contemporary Myanmar, a “Charter of Resistance” modelled on this principle could formalise alliances between EAOs and People’s Defence Forces (PDFs), ensuring commitments to protect civilians, respect diversity, and prevent internecine conflict.
The Treaty of Hudaybiyyah: Strategic Diplomacy
Perhaps one of Muhammad’s most profound political moves was the Treaty of Hudaybiyyah (628 CE). At first glance, it didn't seem very comfortable, granting concessions to the Quraysh, including delaying the Muslims’ right to pilgrimage. Yet Muhammad accepted it, recognising the long-term advantages of peace and legitimacy (N. Sk, 2024). Within two years, the truce enabled unprecedented outreach, conversion, and political strength.
For Myanmar, the parallel is clear: strategic pauses and negotiations can serve resistance, not betray it. Diplomatic engagement with regional actors, ASEAN, or even military factions at the local level may appear as a compromise. Yet, if framed carefully, such diplomacy can expand legitimacy, buy time, and weaken the enemy’s political stranglehold. The key lesson is patience and vision: not every setback is defeat; sometimes, restraint is a strategy.
Ethics of Resistance: Restraint and Mercy
Even in conflict, Muhammad emphasised moral boundaries. Traditions record his instructions to armies: do not kill non-combatants, destroy crops, or harm religious figures (Time, 2016). When he eventually re-entered Mecca as a victor in 630 CE, he chose forgiveness over revenge, granting amnesty to those who had once persecuted him (Sultan, 2014).
For Myanmar’s armed resistance, these ethics are crucial. Reports of abuses by both the junta and some resistance elements risk undermining the moral legitimacy of the revolution. Myanmar’s struggle is not only military but also psychological and moral. Just as the Prophet’s mercy transformed enemies into allies, the resistance must embed justice and restraint to win trust among communities, including those still hesitant or fearful.
Lessons for Myanmar’s Armed Resistance
Muhammad accepted armed struggle when it became necessary. At Badr (624 CE), Uhud (625 CE), and the Battle of the Trench (627 CE), he fought defensively to secure survival. Yet these engagements were marked by strategy, discipline, and moral clarity rather than vengeance (Armstrong, 2006).
Myanmar’s PDFs and EAOs similarly face a dilemma: fighting a brutal military while avoiding cycles of indiscriminate violence. Lessons from Muhammad’s resistance include strategic relocation (Hijra), which preserves the movement through relocation and avoids premature confrontation that could annihilate forces. Alliance Building (Constitution of Medina): Formalise military coordination with inclusive political agreements. Defensive Posture (Badr, Uhud): Prioritise defence and survival over conquest or territorial ambition. Ethics in War: Uphold codes of conduct to protect civilians, religious institutions, and humanitarian norms, and Reconciliation (Conquest of Mecca): Prepare for political reconciliation once the tide turns; mercy can consolidate victory better than punishment.
Ethnic Alliances and Myanmar’s Plural Society
Muhammad’s most significant political achievement was weaving tribes and faiths into a pluralistic polity. For Myanmar, where decades of ethnic conflict have scarred trust, this lesson is urgent.
The National Unity Government (NUG) has sought to forge alliances with EAOs, but credibility gaps remain. Drawing from Medina, alliances must be military but also constitutional and inclusive. Agreements should guarantee autonomy, cultural rights, and equal participation. Just as Medina’s charter recognised Jews as part of the “ummah - society” without erasing their faith, Myanmar’s new political compact must affirm ethnic nationalities as equal partners in the union, not subordinate minorities.
Moral Framing vs. Military Tactics
A central lesson from Muhammad’s leadership is integrating moral vision with political realism. He combined strategic military defence with uncompromising justice and mercy. For Myanmar, this means the resistance to firepower cannot be reduced. Military advances must be embedded in a larger narrative: the struggle for justice, dignity, and a future where all communities, Bamar, Kachin, Karen, Rakhine, Chin, Shan, Rohingya, and many more, stand as equals. If Myanmar’s resistance becomes only about guns, it risks mirroring the junta’s brutality. However, if military tactics are coupled with a clear moral and inclusive framework, they can inspire enduring legitimacy.
Toward a Vision of Victory
For Muhammad, victory was not merely defeating the Quraysh militarily but establishing a just and inclusive order. Similarly, for Myanmar, victory must be measured not only in the junta's collapse but also in creating a system where authoritarianism cannot reemerge.
Muhammad’s insistence on justice, his ability to transform enemies into allies, and his vision of plural coexistence provide a roadmap. Myanmar’s resistance must think beyond immediate battlefields, toward building a future state that embodies justice, equality, and reconciliation.
As the world marks 1,500 years since the birth of Prophet Muhammad, his legacy speaks powerfully to Myanmar’s present. He endured persecution, built alliances across divides, embraced diplomacy when strategic, fought defensively when necessary, and upheld ethics and mercy even in victory.
For Myanmar, struggling through one of its darkest chapters, the lessons are clear:
Build inclusive alliances, respecting diversity.
Balance armed resistance with moral restraint.
Use diplomacy and patience as tools of strength.
Envision victory not just as regime change, but as justice, dignity, and reconciliation.
Fifteen centuries later, Prophet Muhammad’s resistance leadership remains a beacon for Muslims and all who seek freedom against tyranny. Like his, Myanmar’s struggle demands resilience, vision, and the courage to lead with strength and mercy.
References
Armstrong, K. (2006). Muhammad: A prophet for our time. HarperCollins.
N. Sk. (2024). Prophet Muhammad’s political philosophy – Part II: Treaty of Hudaybiyyah. Islamonweb.
Sultan, S. (2014, December 24). The problem with “Moderate Islam.” Time.
Time. (2016, March 24). Jihadists don’t understand the Qur’an. Time.
Wikipedia. (2025). Political aspects of Islam. Wikipedia.
Wikipedia. (n.d.). Muhammad in Mecca. Wikipedia.
Harry Myo Lin is a Myanmar expert based in Austria with extensive experience across Myanmar and Asia, specialising in peace-building, International Relations, inter-religious dialogue, and promoting freedom of religion and belief.
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How does anyone talk about Muhammad and justice in the sane sentence: “kill them wherever you find them” represents centuries of injustice associated with religious colonialism, and empire-building