Recent incidents of lethal violence in the Rakhine State of Myanmar between the majority Buddhist Rakhine and the Muslim Rohingya have been the source of much concern for the international community. Unlike the past, the killings and incendiary attacks by both communities have intensified to a critical level, proving to be a great liability for the forward-thinking Myanmar government, whose recent transition to civilian rule after a long military one has made it eager to move on. The roots of the conflict trace back to the military regime, who branded the Rohingyas living in Rakhine state as illegal immigrants and refused to confer upon them official recognition as Myanmar citizens. The discord then moved to an ethnic conflict, pitting the Rohingya not merely against the Myanmar government but rather the majority Buddhist Rakhine. The conflict, as it has developed into the present, is an immensely complicated one that simultaneously encompasses ethnic and religious issues, all intertwined together. This study aims to see how the two ethnic groups have come to resort to such violence, despite having lived in each other`s presence for many centuries, and why the violence persists. It will attempt to reconcile the fact that Rakhine had historically been a place of convergence for two groups, the Buddhist Rakhine and the Rakhine Muslim(the Rohingya). Based on the argument, this study also seeks to uncover, identify, and understand the Rohingya identity with the extreme arguments exhibited by both sides, and from there, locate the underlying causes of the greater religio-ethnic conflict in Rakhine that has so ravaged the place as of recent.