Islam in Thailand

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Haroon Mosque [th] Haroon Mosque masyidhaaruun May8 2020.jpg
Haroon Mosque  [ th ]

Islam is a minority faith in Thailand, with statistics suggesting 4.9% of the population are Muslim. [1] [2] Figures as high as 5% of Thailand's population have also been mentioned. [3] [4] [5] A 2023 Pew Research Center survey gave 7%. [6] Thai Muslims are the largest religious minority in the country. [7]

Contents

Most Thai Muslims are Sunni Muslims, although Thailand has a diverse population that includes immigrants from around the world. [8] [9]

Demographics and geography

Popular opinion seems to hold that a vast majority of the country's Muslims are found in Thailand's four southernmost provinces of Satun, Yala, Pattani and Narathiwat, where they make up majority of the population. [10] However, the Thai Ministry of Foreign Affairs' research indicates that only 18 percent of Thai Muslims live in those four provinces. There are also significant minority of Muslims in other southern provinces such as Krabi, Trang, Phatthalung and Phuket. In Bangkok, large Muslim populations maybe found in districts such as Nong Chok, Min Buri and Bang Rak.

According to the National Statistics Office, in 2015 census, Muslims in Southern Thailand made up 24 percent of the total population, [11] while less than three percent in other parts of the country. [12]

History

Muslim merchant communities resided in Thailand as early as the 9th century. [13] [14]

In early modern Thailand, Muslims from the Coromandel Coast served as eunuchs in the Thai palace and court. [15] [16] Thailand, as Siam, was known for religious tolerance, and there were Muslims working for the Siamese Royal Governments throughout the eras. This culture of tolerance in Siam and later Thailand resulted in the great diversity of Islam in Thailand.[ citation needed ]

Malay separatism in South Thailand is mostly a war based on ethnicity, as Malays in the region have sought to separate from Thailand, although extremist Muslim groups are involved in the conflict. [17]

Ethnicity and identity

The Ban Ho Mosque of the Chin Haw. Baan Haw Mosque 4-6-09.jpg
The Ban Ho Mosque of the Chin Haw.

Thailand's Muslim population is diverse, with ethnic groups having migrated from as far as China, Pakistan, Cambodia, Bangladesh, Malaysia, and Indonesia, as well as including ethnic Thais, while about two-thirds of Muslims in Thailand are Thai Malays. [18]

Ethnic Thai Muslims

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. [19]

Former Commander-in-Chief of the Royal Thai Army General Sonthi Boonyaratglin is an example of an indigenous Thai Muslim. Sonthi is of remote Persian ancestry. His ancestor, Sheikh Ahmad of Qom, [20] [21] was an Iranian expatriate trader who lived in the Ayutthaya Kingdom for 26 years. Many Thais, including those of the Bunnag [22] and Ahmadchula families trace their ancestry back to him. Sri Sulalai was a princess of the royal family of the Sultanate of Singora. Rama II of Siam took her as a concubine.

In 1946 Prince Bhumibol Adulyadej and Ananda Mahidol, Rama VIII, toured the Tonson Mosque. [23]

Malay Muslims

Thai Malays naaykrathmntrii m`bbaantaamokhrngkaaraekaikhpayhaakhwaameduue`dr`nth - Flickr - Abhisit Vejjajiva (10).jpg
Thai Malays

In the three southernmost border provinces, the vast majority of the local Muslim population is predominantly Malay, amounting to about 80 percent of the region's population. [3] Thai Malays speak Kelantan-Pattani Malay, which is in a different language from the Malay language. [24]

The high number of Malay origin inhabitants in the southern region is due to the historical nature of the area, which contains parts of the Pattani Kingdom, an Islamic Malay kingdom established in the 19th century, but later annexed to Siam since the early Ayutthaya Kingdom. [25] Similarly, there is an ethnic Thai minority in northern Malaysia.[ citation needed ]

Chinese Muslims

Chin Haw walking inside a mosque in Pai District, Northern Thailand Pai Mosque.jpg
Chin Haw walking inside a mosque in Pai District, Northern Thailand
Khao soi at a Chin Haw restaurant in Chiang Mai Khao soi nuea Fueng Fah.jpg
Khao soi at a Chin Haw restaurant in Chiang Mai

In the far north, as well as in select central and southern urban areas, there are pockets of Thai Muslims of Hui (ethnic Chinese Muslim) origin. [26] [27] Most Chinese Muslims belong to a group of people called Chin Haw in Thai, although most Chin Haw are not Muslims. Some historians believe that the name Chin Haw can be explained to be a combination of "Chin" (China) and "Ho" (Hui). The Chin Haw thus can be seen as traders and émigrés who carried with them Hui traditions from China. One of the best known Chinese mosques is Ban Ho Mosque in Chiang Mai Province.[ citation needed ]

Burmese Muslim groups

Ethnic groups including the Rohingya are found in Thailand's refugee camps, rural fishing villages, as well as in many small towns and cities close to the Myanmar border. [28]

As well as being home to many Chinese Muslims, Northern Thailand is home to many Burmese and mixed Chinese-Burmese or Pakistani-Burmese peoples. [28] The Burmese Muslim community lives along the border of Thailand with Myanmar and are known as 'Bamroon' who speak the Burmese language. [29]

Other Asian Muslim groups

Other represented groups include Muslim Chams, originally from Vietnam since 15th century, who can be found between the mutual border and Bangkok as well as the deep south. In the 1700s and 1800s Vietnam and Cambodia-based Chams settled in Bangkok. [30]

Other groups include West Asians such as Arabs and South Asians (especially Indians, Pakistanis and Bangladeshis) and Indonesian Muslims, especially Bugis, Javanese and Minangkabau.[ citation needed ]

According to a 1685 account of a Persian diplomat as well as notes of the French traveller Guy Tachard, there was a substantial Persian Shi'i community in Thailand at the time, with ritual ta'zieh performances subsidised by the king. [31] There are Muslims of Persian origin that reside in the Bangkok area. [32]

Distinctiveness of Thai Islam

Generally believers of the Islamic faith in Thailand follow certain customs and traditions associated with traditional Islam influenced by Sufism.

For Thai Muslims, like their co-religionists in Southeast Asia's other Buddhist-majority countries, Mawlid is a symbolic reminder of the historical presence of Islam in the country. It also represents an annual opportunity to reaffirm Muslims' status as Thai citizens and their allegiance to the monarchy. [33]

The Islamic faith in Thailand, often reflects Sufi beliefs and practices, as in other Asian countries like Bangladesh, India, Pakistan, Indonesia and Malaysia. The Ministry of Culture's Islamic Department gives awards to Muslims who have contributed to the promotion and development of Thai life in their roles as citizens, as educators and as social workers. In Bangkok, the Ngarn Mawlid Klang main festival is a vibrant showcase for the Thai Muslim community and their lifestyles. [33] [34]

Places of worship

According to the National Statistics Office of Thailand in 2007, the country had 3494 mosques, with the largest number, 636, in Pattani Province. [35] According to the Religious Affairs Department (RAD), 99 percent of the mosques are associated with Sunni Islam with the remaining one percent Shi'i Islam.[ citation needed ]

Governance and education

The Darunaman Mosque. Chiang Rai Mosque1.jpg
The Darunaman Mosque.

Chularatchamontri (จุฬาราชมนตรี) is the title of Shaykh al-Islām in Thailand. [36] The title was first used in the Ayutthaya Kingdom when King Songtham (1611–1628) appointed Sheikh Ahmad to the office. Pursuant to the current Islamic Organ Administration Act, BE 2540 (1997), Chularatchamontri is appointed by the king upon advice of the prime minister. He has the authority to administer all Islamic affairs in the nation and to provide advice on Islamic affairs to governmental agencies. Chularatchamontri vacates his office upon death, resignation and removal by the king upon the advice of the prime minister.[ citation needed ] Islamic law is implemented in the four southern provinces with Muslim majorities, where it applies only in cases concerning family and inheritance among Muslim residents. [37]

There is also a Central Islamic Council of Thailand (คณะกรรมการกลางอิสลามแห่งประเทศไทย) (CICOT) (กอท.), consisting of at least five councillors appointed by the king. The CICOT advises the Minister of Education and the Minister of Interior on Islamic matters. Its presiding officer is Chularatchamontri. Provincial Islamic Councils (คณะกรรมการอิสลามประจำจังหวัด) exist in the provinces that had substantial Muslim minorities. There are 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 Mecca, both Bangkok and Hat Yai being primary gateway cities.[ citation needed ]

Thailand also maintains several hundred Islamic schools at the primary and secondary levels, as well as Islamic banks, including the Islamic Bank of Thailand, shops and other institutions. Much of Thailand's packaged food is tested and labelled halal if applicable.[ citation needed ]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pattani province</span> Province of Thailand

Pattani is one of the southern provinces of Thailand. Neighboring provinces are Narathiwat, Yala, and Songkhla. Its capital is the town of Pattani.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Narathiwat province</span> Province of Thailand

Narathiwat is one of the southern provinces (changwat) of Thailand. Neighboring provinces are Yala and Pattani. To the south it borders the Malaysian state of Kelantan and Perak. The southern railway line ends in this province, which is one of the nation's four provinces that border Malaysia. The province features a range of cultures as well as natural resources, and is relatively fertile. Narathiwat is about 1,140 kilometers south of Bangkok and has an area of 4,475 km2 (1,728 sq mi). Seventy-five percent of the area is jungle and mountains and has a tropical climate.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Yala province</span> Province of Thailand

Yala is the southernmost Province (changwat) of Thailand. Neighboring provinces are Songkhla, Pattani, and Narathiwat. Yala is one of two landlocked provinces in southern Thailand, the other being Phatthalung. Its southern part borders Kedah and Perak of Malaysia.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Satun province</span> Province of Thailand

Satun (Thai: สตูล, pronounced[sā.tūːn] is one of the southern provinces of Thailand. Neighboring provinces are Trang, Phatthalung, and Songkhla. To the south it borders Perlis of Malaysia.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Patani (historical region)</span> Historical region of the northern Malay Peninsula

PataniDarussalam is a historical region and sultanate in the Malay peninsula. It includes the southern Thai provinces of Pattani, Yala (Jala), Narathiwat (Menara), and parts of Songkhla (Singgora). Its capital was the town of Patani.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rattanakosin Kingdom (1782–1932)</span> Fourth kingdom in the history of Thailand

The Rattanakosin Kingdom, the Kingdom of Siam, or the Early Bangkok Empire (1767–1851), were names used to reference the fourth and current Thai kingdom in the history of Thailand. It was founded in 1782 with the establishment of Rattanakosin (Bangkok), which replaced the city of Thonburi as the capital of Siam. This article covers the period until the Siamese revolution of 1932.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Patani Kingdom</span> 1457(?)–1902 Malay sultanate in the northern Malay Peninsula

Patani, or the Sultanate of Patani was a Malay sultanate in the historical Pattani Region. It covered approximately the area of the modern Thai provinces of Pattani, Yala, Narathiwat and part of the northern modern-day Malaysian state of Kelantan. The 2nd–15th century state of Langkasuka and 6–7th century state of Pan Pan may or may not have been related.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Southern Thailand</span> Region in Thailand

Southern Thailand, Southern Siam or Tambralinga is a southernmost cultural region of Thailand, separated from Central Thailand region by the Kra Isthmus.

Southern Thai, also known as Dambro, Pak Tai, or "Southern language", is a Southwestern Tai ethnolinguistic identity and language spoken in southern Thailand as well as by small communities in the northernmost Malaysian states. It is spoken by roughly five million people, and as a second language by the 1.5 million speakers of Pattani and other ethnic groups such as the local Peranakans communities, Negritos, and other tribal groups. Most speakers are also fluent in or understand the Central Thai dialects.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kelantan-Pattani Malay</span> Austronesian language

Kelantan-Pattani Malay is an Austronesian language of the Malayic subfamily spoken in the Malaysian state of Kelantan, as well as in Besut and Setiu districts of Terengganu state and the Perhentian Islands, and in the southernmost provinces of Thailand. It is the primary spoken language of Thai Malays, but is also used as a lingua franca by ethnic Southern Thais in rural areas, Muslim and non-Muslim and the Sam-Sam, a mostly Thai-speaking population of mixed Malay and Thai ancestry.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">South Thailand insurgency</span> Malay/Islamic separatist conflict since 2004

The South Thailand insurgency is an ongoing conflict centered in southern Thailand. It originated in 1948 as an ethnic and religious separatist insurgency in the historical Malay Patani Region, made up of the three southernmost provinces of Thailand and parts of a fourth, but has become more complex and increasingly violent since the early 2000s from drug cartels, oil smuggling networks, and sometimes pirate raids.

The Islamic Liberation Front of Patani, until 1986 known as the National Liberation Front of Patani is a militant Islamic separatist movement based in northern Malaysia and with a history of operations in the South Thailand insurgency.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ethnic groups in Thailand</span>

Thailand is a country of some 70 ethnic groups, including at least 24 groups of ethnolinguistically Tai peoples, mainly the Central, Southern, Northeastern, and Northern Thais; 22 groups of Austroasiatic peoples, with substantial populations of Northern Khmer and Kuy; 11 groups speaking Sino-Tibetan languages, with the largest in population being the Karen; 3 groups of Austronesian peoples, i.e., the Malay, the majority ethnic group in the southernmost three provinces, together with the Moken and Urak Lawoi ; and both groups of Hmong-Mien. Other ethnic groups include longstanding immigrant communities such as the Chinese, Indians and Thai Portuguese.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Islam in Laos</span> Religion in Laos

Laos is a Buddhist-majority nation with the officially recognised Muslim population approximately constituting 0.01% of the total population as of 2008 census. The majority of Laotian Muslims are Sunni. Laotian Muslims can be found in the capital, Vientiane, which has two mosques, as well as other urban areas such as Savannakhet and Oudomxay; the latter of which had a mosque constructed there in June 2016. Laotian Muslims are an ethnically diverse group, mainly consisting of ethnic Lao, Chin Haw, Chams, Tamils and Pashtuns, with interracial marriages being increasingly popular. They are generally engaged in trade, agriculture, cosmetics, clothing and business though some have attained official roles with the government.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Religion in Thailand</span>

Buddhism is the largest religion in Thailand, practised by roughly 94% of the population. The Thai Constitution does not indicate any state religion, but promotes Buddhism, while guaranteeing religious freedom for all Thai citizens. Many other people, especially among the Isan ethnic group, practise Tai folk religions. A significant Muslim population, mostly constituted by Thai Malays, is present especially in the southern regions. Thai law officially recognizes five religions: Buddhism, Islam, Christianity, Hinduism, and Sikhism.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Thai Malays</span> Ethnic group

Thai Malays, with officially recognised terms including 'Malayu-descended Thais' and 'Malay', is a term used to refer to ethnic Malay citizens of Thailand, the sixth largest ethnic group in Thailand. Thailand is home to 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. Phuket Ranong, and Trang home to a sizeable Muslim population, also have many people who are of Malay descent. A sizeable community also exists in Thailand's capital Bangkok, having descended from migrants or deportees who were relocated from the South from the 13th century onwards.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Freedom of religion in Thailand</span>

According to the 2018 census, Buddhism is the largest religion in Thailand, practiced by over 94% of the population; Islam makes up 5% of the population. The Thai government officially recognizes five religions: Buddhism, Islam, Hinduism, Sikhism, and Christianity.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chin Haw</span> Group of Chinese people in Thailand

The Chin Haw or Chin Ho, also known locally as Yunnanese, are Chinese people who migrated to Thailand via Myanmar or Laos. Most of them were originally from Yunnan, a southern province of China. They speak Southwestern Mandarin.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Krue Se Mosque</span>

Krue Se Mosque also called Gresik Mosque, Pitu Krue-ban Mosque or Sultan Muzaffar Shah Mosque, is a mosque in Pattani Province, Thailand. Its construction may have begun in the 16th century. The surviving structure is described as having a mixture of Middle Eastern or European architectural styles.

Chaophraya Chakri, personal name Mahmud, Mud or Mood, was the Samuha Nayok or the Prime Minister of Siam serving during the early years of Thonburi Period under King Taksin. He was of a Muslim Persian-Malay descent and a descendant of Sultan Suleiman of Singora. He was colloquially known as Chaophraya Chakri Khaek, or "the Muslim Prime Minister".

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