Melayu Pattani Thailand: Muslim Minority Religion Expression in the Middle of Non Muslim Majority

Abstract

Pattani Province in southern Thailand is the only province with the majority of the Muslim population. Besides Pattani the majority of Thai residents (67 million people) are Buddhists. Only 10% of Thai people are Muslims, including Pattani's Muslim Malay minority. Some data suggest that the Thai government made policies that often discredited and did not accommodate the interests of Malay Muslims. This became one of the reasons for the emergence of opposition to Thai government and ethnicity. For example, must use the Thai language (thaification Program) reinforced by the prohibition of the use of Malay language and nationalization of Thai society culture through language and customs. The cultural policies relating to the use of Thai language and customs are intended to promote Thai nationalism, while they erode the identity (religion and culture) of Pattani Malay. The Malay minority resistance was led by the scholar Tuan Guru Haji Sulong Al-Fathani. He also acted as negotiator with the Thai government in order to fight for Malay Muslim aspirations. His negotiations resulted in a policy of the enactment of Malay language education as a curriculum material at Pattani National School.

Analysis of the Government of Thailand's Policy Against Malay Islamic Minorities in Southern Thailand: A Review of Liliweri's Discrimination Theory

“…It is also reinforced by the fact that the Muslim community in Pattani (Thailand) frequently obtains stereotypical identification or stigma from ethnic Buddhists and the Thai government. The stigma issued by referring to the Pattani Muslims as Khaek, which can literally mean "guest" is also intended to identify people with teary brown skin, especially those from South Asian regions, namely Pakistan, the Middle East, and India (Arismunandar, Afriantoni, & Asmuni, 2019). The term Khaek is slowly becoming a trigger for the rupture of Malay and Thai Muslim relations to become one of the causes of conflict in South Thailand because it is considered by the Muslims as an act of contempt that creates disgust and a social gap between different races and religious beliefs.…”

The Expansion of Islam in Pattani, South Thailand: A Historical Analysis

“…They must speak Thai and are prohibited to speak Malay because anyone identifies non-Thai identity would be suspected as a terrorist. 14 Additionally, they are perceived and tyrannized by the Thai army although they cannot be proven guilty. After having experienced too much injustice from their own government, the Malay Pattani community finally demanded the fulfillment of their rights.…”