The recent escape of hundreds of detainees from the Sungai Bakap Immigration Detention Depot has again put the spotlight on the place and treatment of refugees in the country. In particular the Rohingya community who come from Myanmar, where persecution is ongoing. While sometimes feted as part of the global Ummah, their lives in Malaysia vastly different from the rhetoric of solidarity. We ask why? Sharaad Kuttan speaks to Gerhard Hoffstaedter, School of Social Science, University of Queensland, author of “Modern Muslim Identities: Negotiating Religion and Ethnicity in Malaysia” and “ Urban refugees: Challenges in Protection, Services and Policy”.