An overnight curfew managed to restore some calm to Myanmar’s second-largest city Mandalay after violent confrontations between Buddhists and Muslims.  Shops in Muslim areas reopened Friday morning, in areas where Buddhist mobs on motorbikes had rampaged.

“We were able to say our prayers peacefully, and we all had a good night sleep,” said resident Tin Aung.

The Mandalay regional government says two people were killed, one Muslim and one Buddhist, and 14 people were hurt.  The trouble started Tuesday night when a large group of Buddhists – including 20 monks – where prodded on by rumors that the Muslim owner of a teashop had raped a Buddhist woman.  There’s no evidence that any such attack took place.

Each night, hundreds of bikers tore through the Muslim neighborhood throwing rocks and sticks at people, fighting residents and police who tried to break it up.  By Thursday, cops patrolled the streets en masse and kept the peace.

As is often the case with this sort of violence, “religion” only substitutes as a uniform for nationalism.  Most of Myanmar is Buddhist, and Muslims are considered to be foreigners from Bangladesh.