Nurul Islam: A Lifelong Rohingya Political Leader, Lawyer, and International Advocate

By Nora Bibi

For decades, the Rohingya political struggle has moved across borders, refugee camps, conference halls, diplomatic meetings, and international advocacy platforms. Through shifting political eras, military crackdowns, forced displacement, and repeated humanitarian crises, only a small number of Rohingya figures have remained consistently visible within international political and legal advocacy. Among them, Nurul Islam occupies a particularly significant place.

For many Rohingya communities, his name is closely associated with long-term political activism, diplomacy, legal advocacy, and efforts to secure international recognition for Rohingya rights. His political journey spans multiple generations of displacement and reflects the broader historical trajectory of the Rohingya people themselves, from citizenship and participation in public life to statelessness, exile, and global advocacy.

Growing Up in Arakan Before Statelessness

Nurul Islam was born in 1948 in Chilkhali village in Maungdaw Township, North Arakan, now known as Rakhine State in Myanmar. He grew up during a period when Rohingya communities still participated actively in administration, education, trade, and social life across northern Arakan.

The years following Myanmar’s independence, however, were marked by increasing political instability and growing ethnic tensions. As state policies gradually shifted, Rohingya communities began facing increasing discrimination, political exclusion, and restrictions on movement and participation.

These changes shaped Nurul Islam’s political consciousness from an early age. The transformation of Rohingya identity from a recognized local community into a marginalized and increasingly targeted population deeply influenced his later activism.

He completed his early education in Maungdaw before moving to Yangon for higher studies. At the University of Yangon, one of Myanmar’s leading academic institutions at the time, he earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in 1972 and later completed a Bachelor of Laws degree in 1973.

His legal training would later become central to his political and international advocacy work. Through law, he developed a framework for understanding constitutional governance, minority rights, citizenship, and international legal principles, issues that would define much of his later political life.

Political Awakening During Military Rule

The 1960s and early 1970s marked a period of growing military consolidation in Myanmar. Ethnic minorities increasingly faced political restrictions, while Rohingya communities in northern Arakan experienced expanding forms of discrimination and exclusion.

Against this backdrop, Nurul Islam became involved in Rohingya political activism at a young age.

On April 26, 1964, he joined the Rohingya Independence Front alongside Jafar Habib and other Rohingya political figures. The organization emerged during a period when many Rohingya feared for the future survival and political recognition of their community.

At the time, several Rohingya political groups began forming in response to state repression and growing concerns surrounding identity, security, and citizenship. These organizations varied in ideology and strategy, but they shared a common objective: securing protection and political recognition for Rohingya communities in northern Arakan.

For Nurul Islam, this marked the beginning of a political journey that would continue for decades.

Law, Politics, and International Advocacy

After completing his university education, Nurul Islam joined the Rohingya Patriotic Front in 1974. Within the organization, he later served as Vice President and Foreign Secretary.

His legal background made him particularly valuable in drafting political documents, advocacy materials, and legal arguments related to Rohingya grievances and demands. During this period, Rohingya political organizations increasingly attempted to internationalize their struggle by drawing attention to persecution, displacement, and denial of rights.

The political situation inside Myanmar continued deteriorating throughout the 1970s. In 1978, large-scale military operations in northern Arakan forced hundreds of thousands of Rohingya civilians to flee into Bangladesh.

The refugee crisis attracted international attention and significantly expanded Rohingya political activism abroad. For many activists, including Nurul Islam, the events reinforced the urgency of international engagement and political organization.

The Citizenship Law and Statelessness

One of the most defining moments in modern Rohingya history came in 1982, when Myanmar introduced the Citizenship Law that effectively excluded most Rohingya from officially recognized ethnic groups.

The law institutionalized statelessness for much of the Rohingya population, fundamentally affecting access to citizenship rights, education, employment, movement, and political participation.

Around this period, Nurul Islam joined the Rohingya Solidarity Organisation, another major Rohingya political and resistance group active near the Myanmar-Bangladesh border.

However, divisions among Rohingya organizations continued creating fragmentation within the broader political movement. In response, Nurul Islam later worked with former members of the Rohingya Patriotic Front to establish the Arakan Rohingya Islamic Front in 1986.

The organization sought to unify political and military efforts while increasing international awareness regarding Rohingya persecution and statelessness. By 1987, the merger process was formally completed, making ARIF one of the more significant Rohingya political organizations of that era.

Building Organizational Unity

Throughout the 1990s, Rohingya communities continued facing repeated displacement, military operations, allegations of forced labor, and severe restrictions inside northern Arakan.

Recognizing the continued fragmentation among Rohingya political groups, Nurul Islam increasingly focused on organizational unity.

On December 11, 1998, the Arakan Rohingya Islamic Front and the Rohingya Solidarity Organisation merged to establish the Arakan Rohingya National Organisation, known as ARNO.

Nurul Islam later became president of ARNO and emerged as one of the most internationally recognized Rohingya political representatives.

Under his leadership, the organization increasingly emphasized diplomacy, international engagement, human rights advocacy, and political dialogue rather than purely military approaches.

He consistently argued that the Rohingya are an indigenous ethnic community of Myanmar and should receive equal citizenship rights, constitutional recognition, dignity, and protection.

Through international conferences, interviews, meetings with diplomats, and public advocacy, he repeatedly highlighted issues including statelessness, military abuses, refugee displacement, and restrictions on education and movement.

Expanding Advocacy Beyond the Region

Over time, Nurul Islam’s political activities increasingly moved into international policy and advocacy spaces.

He served as Consultant on Arakan Affairs for the Euro-Burma Office in Brussels until 2010. He also became involved with the Arakan Rohingya Union and later served as Coordinator on Policy Affairs for the Free Rohingya Coalition.

Through these positions, he engaged regularly with academics, diplomats, journalists, human rights organizations, and policymakers working on Myanmar and refugee issues.

Alongside political activism, he also pursued further academic training abroad. He completed a Diplomacy Training Program at the University of New South Wales in Australia and later earned a Master of Laws degree in Human Rights from the University of East London in 2007.

This additional legal education strengthened his engagement with international law, minority rights frameworks, refugee protection, and accountability mechanisms concerning human rights violations.

Advocacy from Exile

For many years, Nurul Islam has primarily lived in London with his family while continuing political and humanitarian activities connected to the Rohingya cause.

From the United Kingdom, he remained active within Rohingya diaspora affairs, peaceful demonstrations, humanitarian discussions, and international advocacy campaigns.

His role became particularly prominent during the major waves of violence in Rakhine State in 2012, 2016, and especially 2017, when hundreds of thousands of Rohingya refugees fled into Bangladesh.

During these crises, he regularly addressed international media outlets and policy discussions, emphasizing accountability, citizenship restoration, refugee protection, and safe repatriation.

For many Rohingya communities, his visibility during these periods reinforced his position as one of the most internationally recognized Rohingya political advocates.

A Continuing Role in Rohingya Unity Efforts

In recent years, Nurul Islam has also focused on efforts to strengthen coordination among Rohingya advocacy groups worldwide.

He currently serves as Chairman of the Arakan Rohingya National Alliance, known as ARNA, an umbrella alliance officially established in November 2022. The initiative seeks to strengthen coordination among Rohingya leaders, organizations, and activists around issues including justice, citizenship rights, accountability, and safe repatriation.

The effort reflects a longstanding concern within Rohingya politics: fragmentation among organizations and leadership structures.

For Nurul Islam, unity has remained a recurring political objective throughout his career.

A Political Journey Across Generations

Today, many Rohingya communities continue viewing Nurul Islam as one of the most experienced and internationally recognized Rohingya political figures of modern times.

His life reflects a political journey shaped by multiple historical transformations: growing up in Arakan before widespread statelessness, witnessing military consolidation and ethnic exclusion, participating in political organizations along border regions, and later advocating internationally through diplomacy and law.

For younger Rohingya generations, particularly those raised in displacement, his story represents more than biography. It reflects the continuity of a political struggle that has moved across decades and borders without resolution.

Many Rohingya elders, students, activists, and community members continue discussing his contributions during conferences, public gatherings, and social discussions.

Despite decades of exile, Nurul Islam has continued advocating primarily through diplomacy, legal frameworks, political dialogue, and international awareness campaigns rather than violence.

For supporters, this persistence remains central to how his legacy is understood.

From a student in northern Arakan to a global advocate speaking before international audiences, his political journey mirrors many of the broader historical experiences carried by the Rohingya people themselves: displacement, resistance, survival, and the continuing demand for recognition, dignity, and justice.