Islam in Thailand
Encyclopedia
Demographics & Geography
Popular opinion seems to hold that a vast majority of the country's MuslimMuslim
A Muslim, also spelled Moslem, is an adherent of Islam, a monotheistic, Abrahamic religion based on the Quran, which Muslims consider the verbatim word of God as revealed to prophet Muhammad. "Muslim" is the Arabic term for "submitter" .Muslims believe that God is one and incomparable...
s are found in the Thailand's three Southernmost provinces of Yala
Yala Province
Yala is the southernmost province of Thailand. Neighboring provinces are Songkhla, Pattani and Narathiwat. Yala is the only land-locked province in the south of Thailand...
, Pattani
Pattani
Pattani may refer to* Pattani Province, in southern Thailand* Pattani , in southern Thailand* Pattani , which includes the above province** Pattani Kingdom, a former semi-independent kingdom...
and Narathiwat
Narathiwat
Narathiwat is a town in southern Thailand, capital of the Narathiwat Province. The town covers the whole subdistrict Bang Nak of Mueang Narathiwat district. The town was established in 1936.-External links:...
. However, the Thai Ministry of Foreign Affairs' research indicates that only 18% of Thai Muslims live in those three provinces. The rest are scattered throughout Thailand, with the largest concentrations being in Bangkok
Bangkok
Bangkok is the capital and largest urban area city in Thailand. It is known in Thai as Krung Thep Maha Nakhon or simply Krung Thep , meaning "city of angels." The full name of Bangkok is Krung Thep Mahanakhon Amon Rattanakosin Mahintharayutthaya Mahadilok Phop Noppharat Ratchathani Burirom...
and throughout the larger Southern region.
According to the National Statistics Office, in 2005, Muslims in Southern Thailand
Southern Thailand
Southern Thailand is a distinct region of Thailand, connected with the Central region by the narrow Kra Isthmus.-Geography:Southern Thailand is located on the Malay Peninsula, with an area around 70,713 km², bounded to the north by Kra Isthmus as the narrowest part of the peninsula. The...
made up 30.4% of general population above the age 15, while less than 3% in other parts of the country.
Ethnicity and Identity
China
Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...
, Pakistan
Pakistan
Pakistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan is a sovereign state in South Asia. It has a coastline along the Arabian Sea and the Gulf of Oman in the south and is bordered by Afghanistan and Iran in the west, India in the east and China in the far northeast. In the north, Tajikistan...
, Cambodia
Cambodia
Cambodia , officially known as the Kingdom of Cambodia, is a country located in the southern portion of the Indochina Peninsula in Southeast Asia...
, Bangladesh
Bangladesh
Bangladesh , officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh is a sovereign state located in South Asia. It is bordered by India on all sides except for a small border with Burma to the far southeast and by the Bay of Bengal to the south...
, Malaysia, and Indonesia
Indonesia
Indonesia , officially the Republic of Indonesia , is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania. Indonesia is an archipelago comprising approximately 13,000 islands. It has 33 provinces with over 238 million people, and is the world's fourth most populous country. Indonesia is a republic, with an...
, as well as comprising indigenous Thais, while about two-third of Muslims in Thailand are ethnically Malay
Malay people
Malays are an ethnic group of Austronesian people predominantly inhabiting the Malay Peninsula, including the southernmost parts of Thailand, the east coast of Sumatra, the coast of Borneo, and the smaller islands which lie between these locations...
.
Indigenous Thai
Many Thai Muslims are ethnically and linguistically Thai, who are either hereditary Muslims, Muslims by intermarriage, or recent converts to the faith. Ethnic Thai Muslims live mainly in the Central and Southern provinces - varying from entire Muslim communities to mixed settlements.Malay Muslims
In the three Southernmost border provinces, the vast majority of the local MuslimMuslim
A Muslim, also spelled Moslem, is an adherent of Islam, a monotheistic, Abrahamic religion based on the Quran, which Muslims consider the verbatim word of God as revealed to prophet Muhammad. "Muslim" is the Arabic term for "submitter" .Muslims believe that God is one and incomparable...
population is predominantly Malay
Thai Malays
Thai Malays is a term used to refer to ethnic Malays in Thailand. Thailand hosts the third largest ethnic Malay population after Malaysia and Indonesia, and most Malays are concentrated in the Southern provinces of Narathiwat, Pattani, Yala, Songkhla and Satun.Ethnic Malays in Narathiwat, Pattani,...
in origin. These people, known colloquially as Yawi
Yawi
Pattani Malay or Patani Malay, often referred to in Thailand as Yawi or Jawi , is a dialect of the Malay language spoken in the southernmost provinces of Thailand along the border with Malaysia...
, speak a dialect of Malay that is not mutually understood by Thai speakers. This adds to the culturally unique identity of Thai Malay Muslims.
The high number of Malay origin inhabitants in the Southern region is due the historical nature of the area, which was once known as the Pattani Kingdom
Pattani kingdom
Pattani or Sultanate of Pattani was a Malay sultanate that covered approximately the area of the modern Thai provinces of Pattani, Yala, Narathiwat and much of the northern part of modern Malaysia. The King of Patani is believed to have converted to Islam some time during the 11th century...
, an Islamic Malay kingdom established in the nineteenth century, but later annexed to Siam (the older name of Thailand).
Chinese Muslims
Hui people
The Hui people are an ethnic group in China, defined as Chinese speaking people descended from foreign Muslims. They are typically distinguished by their practice of Islam, however some also practice other religions, and many are direct descendants of Silk Road travelers.In modern People's...
origin. Most Chinese Muslims belong to a group of people called Chin Ho or Haw in the Thai Language, although most of the Chin Ho
Chin Haw
Chin Haw or Chin Ho are Chinese people who migrated to Thailand via Burma or Laos. Most of them were from Yunnan, the southern province of China.- Migration :...
are not Muslim. Some historians believed that the name Chin Ho
Chin Haw
Chin Haw or Chin Ho are Chinese people who migrated to Thailand via Burma or Laos. Most of them were from Yunnan, the southern province of China.- Migration :...
can be explained to be a combination of "Chin" (China) and "Ho" (Hui). It also bears a striking similarity in pronunciation to the name of Zheng He
Zheng He
Zheng He , also known as Ma Sanbao and Hajji Mahmud Shamsuddin was a Hui-Chinese mariner, explorer, diplomat and fleet admiral, who commanded voyages to Southeast Asia, South Asia, the Middle East, and East Africa, collectively referred to as the Voyages of Zheng He or Voyages of Cheng Ho from...
, one of the first great Imperial Chinese diplomats to have visited Thailand in its early Siamese history, who was also of the Chinese Hui
Hui people
The Hui people are an ethnic group in China, defined as Chinese speaking people descended from foreign Muslims. They are typically distinguished by their practice of Islam, however some also practice other religions, and many are direct descendants of Silk Road travelers.In modern People's...
extraction. The Chin Ho
Chin Haw
Chin Haw or Chin Ho are Chinese people who migrated to Thailand via Burma or Laos. Most of them were from Yunnan, the southern province of China.- Migration :...
people, thus, can be seen as "The People of Zheng He" - traders and emigres who carried with them Hui Muslim traditions from China. One of the most famous Chinese mosque is Baan Haw Mosque
Baan Haw Mosque
Hedaytul Islam Mosque , located at Night Bazaar in Chiang Mai, is one of the biggest mosques in the province, and also one of the seven Chinese mosques in Chiang Mai.-History:...
, located in Chiang Mai Province
Chiang Mai Province
Chiang Mai is the second-largest province of Thailand, located in the north of the country. Neighboring provinces are Chiang Rai, Lampang, Lamphun, Tak, and Mae Hong Son. In the north it borders Shan State of Burma...
.
Burmese Muslim groups
BurmeseBamar
The Bamar are the dominant ethnic group of Burma , constituting approximately two-thirds of the population. The Bamar live primarily in the Irrawaddy basin, and speak the Burmese language, which is also the official language of Burma. Bamar customs and identity are closely intertwined with general...
ethnic groups, such as the Rohingya
Rohingya people
The Rohingya is a predominantly Muslim ethnic group of disputed origin who live in Arakan State, western Burma. The Rohingya population is mostly concentrated to the cities of Maungdaw, Buthidaung, Akyab, Rathedaung and Kyauktaw.-Etymology:...
are refugees and economic migrants whom are scattered throughout Thailand's refugee camps, rural fishing villages, as well as in many small towns and cities close to the Myanmar
Myanmar
Burma , officially the Republic of the Union of Myanmar , is a country in Southeast Asia. Burma is bordered by China on the northeast, Laos on the east, Thailand on the southeast, Bangladesh on the west, India on the northwest, the Bay of Bengal to the southwest, and the Andaman Sea on the south....
border.
Northern Thailand, as well as being home to many Chinese Muslims, also is home to many Burmese, and mixed Chinese-Burmese or Pakistani-Burmese
Burmese people in Pakistan
The Burmese people in Pakistan are a Muslim community based in Karachi, Sindh, Pakistan. They are Rohingya Muslims from western Burma, who claim to have fled their homeland of Arakan State under the persecution of Muslim citizens by the Burmese junta...
peoples.
Other Asian Muslim groups
See also Pakistanis in ThailandPakistanis in Thailand
History of Pakistanis in Thailand is based much before Partition of India, when hundreds of people from regions of current-day Pakistan left for Thailand, then known as Siam. There are thousands of Thai nationals of Pakistani origin, along with some three thousand people with Pakistani nationality...
Other represented groups include Cham Muslims, originally from Cambodia
Cambodia
Cambodia , officially known as the Kingdom of Cambodia, is a country located in the southern portion of the Indochina Peninsula in Southeast Asia...
who can be found between the mutual border and Bangkok
Bangkok
Bangkok is the capital and largest urban area city in Thailand. It is known in Thai as Krung Thep Maha Nakhon or simply Krung Thep , meaning "city of angels." The full name of Bangkok is Krung Thep Mahanakhon Amon Rattanakosin Mahintharayutthaya Mahadilok Phop Noppharat Ratchathani Burirom...
as well as the deep south.
South Asians, including Tamils, Punjab
Punjab region
The Punjab , also spelled Panjab |water]]s"), is a geographical region straddling the border between Pakistan and India which includes Punjab province in Pakistan and the states of the Punjab, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Chandigarh and some northern parts of the National Capital Territory of Delhi...
is, Bangladesh
Bangladesh
Bangladesh , officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh is a sovereign state located in South Asia. It is bordered by India on all sides except for a small border with Burma to the far southeast and by the Bay of Bengal to the south...
i, and Pakistan
Pakistan
Pakistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan is a sovereign state in South Asia. It has a coastline along the Arabian Sea and the Gulf of Oman in the south and is bordered by Afghanistan and Iran in the west, India in the east and China in the far northeast. In the north, Tajikistan...
is can be found throughout Thailand working in professions ranging from wealthy business owners to lowly paid labourers.
Other groups include Indonesia
Indonesia
Indonesia , officially the Republic of Indonesia , is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania. Indonesia is an archipelago comprising approximately 13,000 islands. It has 33 provinces with over 238 million people, and is the world's fourth most populous country. Indonesia is a republic, with an...
n Muslims, especially Bugis
Bugis
The Bugis are the most numerous of the three major linguistic and ethnic groups of South Sulawesi, the southwestern province of Sulawesi, Indonesia's third largest island. Although many Bugis live in the large port cities of Makassar and Parepare, the majority are farmers who grow wet rice on the...
, Javanese and Minangkabau.
According to a 1685 account of a Persian diplomat as well as notes of the French traveler Guy Tachard
Guy Tachard
Guy Tachard , also known as Père Tachard, was a French Jesuit missionary and mathematician of the 17th century, who was sent on two occasions to the Kingdom of Siam by Louis XIV...
, there was a substantial Shia Persian community in Siam at the time, with the ritual ta'zieh
Ta'zieh
Ta'zieh means Condolence Theater and Naqqali are traditional Persian theatrical genres in which the drama is conveyed wholly or predominantly through music and singing...
performances subsidized by the Siamese king.
Distinctives of Thai Islam
Except in the small circle of theologically trained believers, the Islamic faith in Thailand, like BuddhismBuddhism
Buddhism is a religion and philosophy encompassing a variety of traditions, beliefs and practices, largely based on teachings attributed to Siddhartha Gautama, commonly known as the Buddha . The Buddha lived and taught in the northeastern Indian subcontinent some time between the 6th and 4th...
, has become integrated with many beliefs and practices not integral to Islam.
In the South, it can be difficult to draw a line between animistic practices indigenous to Malay culture that were used to drive off evil spirits and local Islamic ceremonies because each contained aspects of the other.
Places of Worship
According to National Statistic Office of Thailand in 2007, the country has 3,494 mosqueMosque
A mosque is a place of worship for followers of Islam. The word is likely to have entered the English language through French , from Portuguese , from Spanish , and from Berber , ultimately originating in — . The Arabic word masjid literally means a place of prostration...
s, with the largest number (636) in Pattani province
Pattani Province
Pattani is one of the southern provinces of Thailand. Neighboring provinces are Narathiwat, Yala and Songkhla.-Geography:...
. According to the Religious Affairs Department (RAD), 99% of the mosques are associated with the Sunni branch of Islam with the remaining 1% Shi'a.
Governance & Education
The National Council for Muslims, consisting of at least five persons (all Muslims) and appointed by royal proclamation, advised the ministries of education and interior on Islamic matters. Its presiding officer, the state counselor for Muslim affairs, was appointed by the king and held the office of division chief in the Department of Religious Affairs in the Ministry of Education. Provincial councils for Muslim affairs existed in the provinces that had substantial Muslim minorities, and there were other links between the government and the Muslim community, including government financial assistance to Islamic education institutions, assistance with construction of some of the larger mosques, and the funding of pilgrimages by Thai Muslims to MeccaMecca
Mecca is a city in the Hijaz and the capital of Makkah province in Saudi Arabia. The city is located inland from Jeddah in a narrow valley at a height of above sea level...
, both Bangkok
Bangkok
Bangkok is the capital and largest urban area city in Thailand. It is known in Thai as Krung Thep Maha Nakhon or simply Krung Thep , meaning "city of angels." The full name of Bangkok is Krung Thep Mahanakhon Amon Rattanakosin Mahintharayutthaya Mahadilok Phop Noppharat Ratchathani Burirom...
and Hat Yai
Hat Yai
Hat Yai is a city in southern Thailand near the Malaysian border. Located at , it has a population of 157,359 in the city itself and about 800,000 in the greater Hat Yai area. Hat Yai is the largest city of Songkhla Province, the largest metropolitan area in Southern, and third largest...
being primary gateway cities.
Thailand also maintains several hundred Islamic schools at the primary and secondary levels, as well as Islamic banks, (Pattanakarn, Bangkok), shops and other institutions. Much of the packaged food marketed is tested and labeled halal
Halal
Halal is a term designating any object or an action which is permissible to use or engage in, according to Islamic law. The term is used to designate food seen as permissible according to Islamic law...
(unless it has pork), regardless of who eats it.
See also
- South Thailand insurgencySouth Thailand insurgencyAn ethnic separatist insurgency is taking place in Southern Thailand, predominantly in the Malay Pattani region, made up of the three southernmost provinces of Thailand. Violence has increasingly spilling over into other provinces...
- Islam by countryIslam by countryIslam is the world's second largest religion after Christianity. According to a 2009 demographic study, Islam has 1.57 billion adherents, making up 23% of the world population....
- List of mosques in Thailand
- Pattani KingdomPattani kingdomPattani or Sultanate of Pattani was a Malay sultanate that covered approximately the area of the modern Thai provinces of Pattani, Yala, Narathiwat and much of the northern part of modern Malaysia. The King of Patani is believed to have converted to Islam some time during the 11th century...
- Hidayatuddeneyah MosqueHidayatuddeneyah MosqueHidayatuddeneyah Mosque is located at 30/1 M.7 Baan Kohyai Tumbol Thungnui Amphoe Khuan Kalong, Satun, Thailand. Hidayatuddeneyah Mosque is an extremely old mosque. It was built using wood and was recently refurbished in 2002. The mosque mainly caters to the Sunni branch of Islam....