Thai Muslims in Thailand Islam

There are Muslims in dozens of provinces across Thailand. For example, in the south, in addition to the above three provinces, there are Nakhon Si Thammarat, Songkhla, Phuket, Krabi, Phang Nga, and Ranong. Satun Province, each place has a considerable number of Muslims, forming a local Muslim society. The areas around the capital Bangkok and Ayutthaya in the center, as well as Chiang Mai and Chiang Rai in the north, and Khon Kaen, Rajasinh, Sakonrun and Moken in the northeast, all have Muslim societies with distinctive characteristics.

The Muslims in the three southernmost provinces are the simplest, mostly Malay, speak the local Malay dialect, and value Islamic education and cultural traditions. Their fighting spirit is also more prominent than elsewhere. Muslims in other areas have different ethnic and historical origins. Most of them are engaged in business, have harmonious social relations, and live a stable life with few headlines. There are five million Muslims in the country, accounting for 8% of the total population of Thailand. The most concentrated area in the south has 44% of Muslims. The rest are distributed in various provinces across the country. The culture, customs and languages ??of each place are different, but they all regard the Islamic faith as their basis. ***Based on the same foundation, similar mosques are built everywhere, so they are collectively called Thai Muslims. For example, in the "Islamic Preferential Policies Act" promulgated in 1945, the southern Muslims refused to accept the term "Thai Islam" and preferred to call themselves "Malay Muslims", while Muslims in other areas were proud of it and liked to use the term "Malay Muslims". "Thailand" nationality and "Islamic" faith are combined to become their own characteristics.

The Muslims in central Thailand have the longest history and are the descendants of early Arab merchants. In the 13th and 14th centuries, a large number of Arabs poured into the Bangkok area for business and trade. In the fifteenth century AD, Persians and Indian Muslims did business and settled in Ayutthaya, central Thailand. However, after the mid-19th century, due to social unrest and other reasons, a large number of Chinese, Bengalis and Indians immigrated into the north. region, forming a traditional Muslim society that continues to this day. Before modern history, Thailand's Ayutthaya dynasty had expanded its territory for hundreds of years and incorporated border ethnic minorities who converted to Islam at that time, such as the Pathans from India and the Cham from Vietnam, and later joined them Persians, Chinese, Malays, Indonesians and Bangladeshis. They integrated into Thai society and intermarried with each other, so it is impossible to find out their exact ancestors. These ethnic groups are Muslims who only speak Thai today. Most of them live in Bangkok and Ayutthaya.

The Malay Muslims in the three southern provinces have their historical particularities. They were originally an independent Islamic kingdom and became a British colony. In the 19th century, they became a The bargaining chip was classified as Thai territory. Southern Muslims regard themselves as Malays, have blood relations with the northern ethnic groups in Malaysia, believe in Islam, speak Malay, and maintain Malay culture. Breaking down the Muslim societies, we can see the differences between different regions. The vast majority are Sunnis, with a small number of Shia Muslims of Persian descent, belonging to the Ismaili sect. After the Islamic Revolution in Iran in 1979, the number of Shia Muslims was increased. Among Sunni Muslims, they follow the schools of two jurists respectively. Most of the Indian descendants are Shafi'i schools, and most Chinese Muslims are Hanafi schools. Each inherits the sect according to its own tradition, trains disciples and mosque imams. Among Sunni Muslims, there is traditional Sufism and modern Wahhabism. Thailand is a Buddhist country, and its national character is docile, kind and tolerant. Therefore, the mainstream national character of Thailand also affects the Muslims there. Although there are sects, there are no arguments or conflicts with each other. They respect each other and depend on each other. From a macro perspective, Muslims living in Thailand's Buddhist culture are also very moderate. Muslims avoid any religious rituals that include worshiping Buddhas, because Islam strictly prohibits worshiping idols. However, Muslims have never resisted Thai Buddhist festivals and rituals, expressed respect for Thai Buddhist culture and beliefs, and never interfered.

Only Muslims in the South show resistance to Buddhist rituals and resist Buddhist education in public schools. Townships where Muslims are concentrated have legal "private Islamic schools" registered with the Ministry of Education, which absorb almost all Muslim male and female students. The courses include Islam and the Malay dialect "Gavi". Although the Muslims in the northern part of the south are also historically Malay, they do not have such strong clan and racial sentiments as the people in the south. They accept Thai culture, speak Thai, and only use Islam as their faith to distinguish themselves from Thai Buddhists. Muslims outside the southern tip receive universal education in Thailand, but retain community Islamic schools. In ordinary schools, from primary school to university, they are mixed with ordinary Thais. They only maintain the characteristics of Muslim beliefs in Islamic schools and mosques, among which Muslims of Chinese and Indian descent It has the highest level of education and has many famous Muslim doctors, engineers and sociologists. For example, in Chiang Mai in northern Thailand, the social status of Muslims attracts attention and is respected by the local people because they have high education levels, many professional and technical personnel, and have a great influence on society.

Muslims in the south, because they do not pay attention to Thai language education, are at a disadvantage when they graduate from high school and enter university. It is as difficult as going to university. Therefore, they choose to study abroad, such as Islamic countries in the Middle East, Muslim countries in Southeast Asia such as Malaysia, Ho Brunei, Indonesia.

Graduates who have returned from studying abroad have added international Islamic features to the culture and education in the southern region, and are further away from the local Thai culture, forming an exotic cultural state in Thailand.