Muslim Merit-making in Thailand's Far-South

Muslim Merit-making in Thailand's Far-South
Author: Christopher M. Joll
Publisher: Springer Science & Business Media
Total Pages: 239
Release: 2011-11-02
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 9400724853

This volume provides an ethnographic description of Muslim merit-making rhetoric, rituals and rationales in Thailand’s Malay far-south. This study is situated in Cabetigo, one of Pattani’s oldest and most important Malay communities that has been subjected to a range of Thai and Islamic influences over the last hundred years. The volume describes religious rhetoric related to merit-making being conducted in both Thai and Malay, that the spiritual currency of merit is generated through the performance of locally occurring Malay adat, and globally normative amal 'ibadat. Concerning the rationale for merit-making, merit-makers are motivated by both a desire to ensure their own comfort in the grave and personal vindication at judgment, as well as to transfer merit for those already in the grave, who are known to the merit-maker. While the rhetoric elements of Muslim merit-making reveal Thai influence, its ritual elements confirm the local impact of reformist activism.

Southern Thailand

Southern Thailand
Author: N. John Funston
Publisher: Institute of Southeast Asian Studies
Total Pages: 96
Release: 2008
Genre: History
ISBN: 9812308873

This monograph examines the tragic conflict in Thailand's southern Muslim-majority provinces near the border with Malaysia. Although the conflict has attracted wide national and international interest, no agreement exists on the cause of the resumption of violence in an area that had remained free of major conflict for two decades. This monograph critically examines explanations for the conflict and traces its evolution from the early 1990s to the beginning of the Samak government in 2008. The study points to a wide variety of factors that were important in the resumption of the conflict, with policies of Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra being critical in determining the timing and intensity of the violence. These conditions include: (1) the resumption of an age-old conflict between Malay Muslims from Pattani, Yala, and Narithiwat Provinces against a discriminatory central government; (2) entrenched problems of criminality in an area far from the capital and with a porous border with Malaysia; (3) the disbanding of important conflict resolution institutions by former Prime Minister Thaksin, who then gave priority to hard line (sometimes extrajudicial) security policies; (4) growing Islamic religiosity, influenced by regional reform movements and international developments, including the example of extremist movements such as Jemaah Islamiyah; and (5) the growth of southern insurgent movements--which have never issued public demands and whose real leaders remain unknown. In this complex setting, no resolution to the violence appears likely in the near future, as Thaksin's main policies have been retained since the September 2006 coup that ousted his government.

Thailand’s Far South

Thailand’s Far South
Author: Kee Howe Yong
Publisher: University of Toronto Press
Total Pages: 214
Release: 2024-07-31
Genre: Social Science
ISBN: 1487556152

In Thailand’s Far South, Kee Howe Yong sheds light on the Malay Muslims in Thailand’s far south. The book focuses on the relationship between the construction of minorities – and thus majority – and issues of engaging with the difficulties of their realities: loss, violence, history, memory, livelihood, fear and paranoia, and political formations. The book explores the ways in which regimes of fear affect the way minorities relate to one another and to those in authority. It reveals how Muslim identities in southern Thailand are produced – under what constraints and structures, and by what technologies and force. Drawing on methodologies of narrative theory, performative aspects of language, and questions of history and memory, Yong demonstrates the ways the conflict was and is differently engaged by Malay Muslim interlocutors. The book addresses the generally ignored topic of the varied positions of the Malay Muslims at the borderland of Thailand’s far south and the implications of these positions in understanding the meaning of the current insurgency for the heterogeneous Malay Muslim population. In doing so, Thailand’s Far South provides an invaluable contribution to the southern Thai conflict, fieldwork in conflict zones, and the literature on violence, political science, history, security studies, and philosophies of violence.

Tearing Apart the Land

Tearing Apart the Land
Author: Duncan McCargo
Publisher: Cornell University Press
Total Pages: 268
Release: 2008-07-31
Genre: History
ISBN: 9780801474996

Since January 2004, a violent separatist insurgency has raged in southern Thailand, resulting in more than three thousand deaths. Though largely unnoticed outside Southeast Asia, the rebellion in Pattani and neighboring provinces and the Thai government's harsh crackdown have resulted in a full-scale crisis. Tearing Apart the Land by Duncan McCargo, one of the world's leading scholars of contemporary Thai politics, is the first fieldwork-based book about this conflict. Drawing on his extensive knowledge of the region, hundreds of interviews conducted during a year's research in the troubled area, and unpublished Thai-language sources that range from anonymous leaflets to confessions extracted by Thai security forces, McCargo locates the roots of the conflict in the context of the troubled power relations between Bangkok and the Muslim-majority "deep South." McCargo describes how Bangkok tried to establish legitimacy by co-opting local religious and political elites. This successful strategy was upset when Thaksin Shinawatra became prime minister in 2001 and set out to reorganize power in the region. Before Thaksin was overthrown in a 2006 military coup, his repressive policies had exposed the precariousness of the Bangkok government's influence. A rejuvenated militant movement had emerged, invoking Islamic rhetoric to challenge the authority of local leaders obedient to Bangkok. For readers interested in contemporary Southeast Asia, insurgency and counterinsurgency, Islam, politics, and questions of political violence, Tearing Apart the Land is a powerful account of the changing nature of Islam on the Malay peninsula, the legitimacy of the central Thai government and the failures of its security policy, the composition of the militant movement, and the conflict's disastrous impact on daily life in the deep South. Carefully distinguishing the uprising in southern Thailand from other Muslim rebellions, McCargo suggests that the conflict can be ended only if a more participatory mode of governance is adopted in the region.

The Muslims of Thailand

The Muslims of Thailand
Author: Michel Gilquin
Publisher: Silkworm Books
Total Pages: 188
Release: 2005
Genre: History
ISBN:

Thailand is usually closely associated with Buddhism, but since 1998 the country has been one of the observer members of the Islamic Conference Organization, and senior figures in the present and previous governments have been Muslim. Some 8 percent of the population is Muslim, and in the three southernmost provinces of the country they constitute a majority. Islam is ever more visible in Bangkok, where the demographic increase of Muslims is marked. Michel Gilquin, a sociologist specializing in the study of Muslim societies and a resident of Morocco, examines the origins of Islam in the kingdom of Siam, Muslim integration into the Thai nation, and the effects of globalization and modernity on a mostly traditional and rural community. In particular he considers the weight of history of the old sultanate of Patani on the present-day Yawi-speaking majority in Narathiwat, Yala, and Pattani, and the circumstances leading to "the troubles" which erupted in 2004 and which, alas, continue. Without proposing any solutions, the book explains the background to the present impasse, and considers how far integration of the minority has been, and can be, successful.

Thai South and Malay North

Thai South and Malay North
Author: Michael John Montesano
Publisher: NUS Press
Total Pages: 440
Release: 2008
Genre: History
ISBN: 9789971694111

The portion of the Malay Peninsula where the Thai Buddhist civilization of Thailand gives way to the Malay Muslim civilization of Malaysia is characterized by multiple forms of pluralism. This book examines a broad range of issues relating to the turmoil afflicting the region.

Just enough

Just enough
Author: Mira Lee Manickam
Publisher: Silkworm Books
Total Pages: 172
Release: 2013-03-01
Genre: Social Science
ISBN: 1631020129

Just Enough travels inside the conflict zone of Thailand’s southernmost provinces and gets under the surface of traditional Malay Muslim culture. Mira Lee Manickam, an adventurous American researcher, takes us with her as she settles into a small fishing village in troubled Pattani Province. Stepping uncertainly into this deeply traditional world, she gains privileged access to a side of Malay Muslim society rarely seen by outsiders and obscured by the violence featured in Thai newspapers. In a style that is humorous, honest, and moving, Manickam charts the southern Thai conflict through her travels in the region and tells the stories of her friends in the village: a gang of wild-haired teenage boys who observe conservative religious protocol by day and listen to heavy metal in back-street teashops by night; a group of young women too educated to find husbands in the village but too traditional to leave; an impoverished fisherman with a Zen-like stance on impermanence; and a dropout who immerses himself in Western culture as a star rock-climber in a nearby beach resort. These stories illustrate the tension between the values of a traditional Malay Muslim community and the demands of an increasingly modern Thai society. Just Enough is a personal journey of growth, loss, and friendship, and reveals the colors of daily life that lie beneath the black and white of newspaper headlines. What others are saying “The author offers an informed and engaged perspective on the impact of the hundred-year-old conflict in southern Thailand. It focuses on the lives of the common people in the areas of education, economy, and religious development, and their effect on the present and the future of the country. In a warm, affectionate style it highlights the cultural diversities in Thailand as a whole and also in its widespread Muslim community.” —Dr. Imtiyaz Yusuf, Assumption University, Bangkok Highlights - Explores an often forgotten side of the southern Thai conflict - Describes the lives of Malay Muslim villagers with humor, warmth, and depth - Gives readers an insight into the people left behind by Thailand’s modernization - Includes sixteen black and white photographs

Mapping National Anxieties

Mapping National Anxieties
Author: Duncan McCargo
Publisher: Nordic Institute of Asian Studies
Total Pages: 0
Release: 2012
Genre: History
ISBN: 9788776940867

Based on first-hand research in the world's third most intensive conflict zone after Iraq and Afghanistan, this book examines the debates around reconciliation, citizenship and identity, and the prospects for some form of autonomy for the Thai South.

The Rough Guide to Thailand (Travel Guide eBook)

The Rough Guide to Thailand (Travel Guide eBook)
Author: Rough Guides
Publisher: Apa Publications (UK) Limited
Total Pages: 1208
Release: 2018-10-01
Genre: Travel
ISBN: 178919511X

Discover this exciting destination with the most incisive and entertaining guidebook on the market. Whether you plan to island-hop your way down the Andaman coast, sample street food at Bangkok's night markets or trek to the hill tribes around Chiang Mai, The Rough Guide to Thailand will show you the ideal places to sleep, eat, drink, shop and visit along the way. - Independent, trusted reviews written with Rough Guides' trademark blend of humour, honesty and insight, to help you get the most out of your visit, with options to suit every budget. - Full-colour maps throughout- navigate Bangkok's backstreets and stroll around Krabi town without needing to get online. - Stunning images - a rich collection of inspiring colour photography. - Things not to miss - Rough Guides' rundown of Thailand's best sights and experiences. - Itineraries - carefully planned routes to help you organize your trip. - Detailed regional coverage - whether off the beaten track or in more mainstream tourist destinations, this travel guide has in-depth practical advice for every step of the way. Areas covered include: Bangkok; Chiang Mai; Ko Samui; Ko Pha Ngan; Ko Lanta; Phuket; Ko Phi Phi; Krabi; Ko Tao; Ko Chang; Ko Kood; Ko Samet; Ko Mak; Pai; Ayutthaya; Nakhon Si Thammarat; Nan; Ao Phang Nga. Attractions include: Chatuchak Weekend Market; Jim Thompson's House; Wat Pho; Khmer ruinsat Phimai; Khao Yai National Park; Wat Phra That Doi Suthep; The Grand Palace; Wat Phu Tok; The National Museum. - Basics - essential pre-departure practical information including getting there, local transport, accommodation, food and drink, health, the media, festivals, outdoor activities, spas and traditional massage, meditation centres and retreats, culture and etiquette, travelling with children, and more. - Background information- a Contexts chapter devoted to history, religion, art and architecture, flora and fauna, environmental issues, music, hill tribes, film and recommended books, plus a handy language section. Make the Most of Your Time on Earth with The Rough Guide to Thailand. About Rough Guides: Escape the everyday with Rough Guides. We are a leading travel publisher known for our"tell it like it is" attitude, up-to-date content and great writing. Since 1982, we've published books covering more than 120 destinations around the globe, with an ever-growing series of ebooks, a range of beautiful, inspirational reference titles, and an award-winning website. We pride ourselves on our accurate, honest and informed travel guides.