"Burma?s Muslims are gaining the attention of Western observers... Burma?s importance in world affairs has long derived from its critical geo-strategic position. Now, however, it is the country?s large Muslim population and its possible links with pan-Islamist extremist organizations that is attracting the interest of Western scholars and officials. While usually overlooked in surveys of Islam in the Asia-Pacific region, Burma is home to at least two million Muslims, or four percent of the population. Some estimates of their numbers range as high as 16 percent, or eight million people. All statistics on Burma are unreliable, but the difference between these two estimates arises from the fact that a large proportion of the country?s Muslims are denied full citizenship, and therefore not included in official surveys. Also, the latter figure usually includes a large expatriate population, possibly of 1.5 million Burmese Muslims, who are currently living in Bangladesh, Pakistan and the Middle East..."