A decade wasted in the deep South

[piersbeckett]

In 1900 an agreement between the Kingdom of Siam and the British Empire (Malaya) ceded some Malay provinces to Thailand for Thailand renouncing it's claim on certain Malay states on the East coast of Malaya. (now Malaysia)

That's how the Thais got control of those southern provinces of Thailand today.

For the first 30 years (roughly) from 1900 to roughly 1930 these provinces were ruled by the Thai administration, but they had a parallel Malay Moslem administration that controlled the education and court system. This separate Moslem system kept the locals happy with some local control of their dual Thai Muslim and Thai systems.

In the 1930/s a very nationalistic Thai military leader assumed control of the Thai government. This caused deep dissatisfaction in the Muslim areas, especially as the Muslim schools and civil administration were abolished by the Thai central government.

You can trace the beginnings of Muslim unrest and eventual terrorism back to that decision in the 1930's by the then military ruler of Thailand to curtail any of the joint government programs.

So, counting from 1930 to 2010, you can truthfully say, 80 years of lost opportunities in the South (of Thailand).

Excellent, enlightening post - thank you - my point: lost opportunities for whom? When a religious organisation wants to govern as part of its ethos how can it be assimilated into the existing government? It is a opposing force and in the case of Muslims not one that believes in democracy but in the prescriptive doctrine of a revelatory religion that can be twisted and turned to suit those using it politically. Such an organisation would not, of course, shy away from gaining power by democratic means.

Even if such a religion/government is outlawed by the existing, recognised government of the land say on grounds of 'human rights' issues such as 'females'' issues or 'gay' issues or even (as I think might happen in the not too distant) 'indoctrination'(under the guise of 'education') issues, it remains a force that may only be reformable from within. Remains the question, was the mistake (in appx.1900) letting Muslims have their own education and court system or taking that right away from them in 1930? Answers please,on a postcard.

Edited May 12, 2014 by piersbeckett

[Mackie]

@Wandasloan, Simple 1...There is nothing personal in my posts. Your lack of knowledge and facts on the subject is simply astonishing. For heaven's sake, after all available evidence you still deny the Wahhabi links. Come to think of it, you're either purposefully lying or simply trolling. Don't waste everyone's time here by denying obvious.

Khun Mackie, you are a HOOT! Nothing personal, heh.

We are certainly done on the subject. In conclusion, I might be a hoot but what we proved here is that you're poorly informed and completely ignorant when it comes to Wahhabi/Salafi network in south East Asia and southern Thailand in particular. Considerable number of imams was replaced by their own people. As a result Thai Muslims became more violent and introduced beheadings to their repertoire. We can only hope that you actually learned something here. And we can only hope that ignorant people like you are vast minority. For the sake of all Buddhists and moderate Muslims in southern part of Thailand.

Exporting Hatred

While Saudi citizens remain the vanguard of Islamic theofascism around the world, the growth potential for this ideology lies outside the Kingdom. The Saudis have spent at least $87 billion propagating Wahhabism abroad during the past two decades,[15] and the scale of financing is believed to have increased in the past two years as oil prices have skyrocketed. The bulk of this funding goes to the construction and operating expenses of mosques, madrassas, and other religious institutions that preach Wahhabism. It also supports the training of imams; domination of mass media and publishing outlets; distribution of Wahhabi textbooks and other literature; and endowments to universities (in exchange for influence over the appointment of Islamic scholars). By comparison, the Communist Party of the USSR and its Comintern spent just over $7 billion propagating its ideology worldwide between 1921 and 1991.[16]

The lack of a formal ecclesiastical hierarchy within Sunni Islam renders traditional religious institutions weak in the face of well-funded Wahhabi missionary activities. Most Sunni Muslims look to their local imams for religious guidance. In poor countries, these imams and local leaders often find it difficult to resist the siren song of small amounts of Saudi aid that accompany Wahhabist missionaries in poor. Moderate imams do not have a comparable source of financial patronage with which to combat its spread.[17]

Important fronts in this campaign are in south and southeast Asia, where the majority of the world's Muslims live. In Pakistan, Indonesia, the Philippines, Malaysia and southern Thailand, Wahhabis have co-opted (or replaced) village and neighborhood imams, and there is a fresh stream of converts returning from stays as guest workers in Saudi Arabia. The children of poor converts are often taken to Saudi Arabia for "education" and many are returned as cannon fodder for use by Wahhabi terrorist fronts.[18] In India, efforts are underway to capture a portion that country's huge Muslim minority as well as the Untouchable Caste.

[ultimate weapon]

In 1900 an agreement between the Kingdom of Siam and the British Empire (Malaya) ceded some Malay provinces to Thailand for Thailand renouncing it's claim on certain Malay states on the East coast of Malaya. (now Malaysia)

That's how the Thais got control of those southern provinces of Thailand today.

For the first 30 years (roughly) from 1900 to roughly 1930 these provinces were ruled by the Thai administration, but they had a parallel Malay Moslem administration that controlled the education and court system. This separate Moslem system kept the locals happy with some local control of their dual Thai Muslim and Thai systems.

In the 1930/s a very nationalistic Thai military leader assumed control of the Thai government. This caused deep dissatisfaction in the Muslim areas, especially as the Muslim schools and civil administration were abolished by the Thai central government.

You can trace the beginnings of Muslim unrest and eventual terrorism back to that decision in the 1930's by the then military ruler of Thailand to curtail any of the joint government programs.

So, counting from 1930 to 2010, you can truthfully say, 80 years of lost opportunities in the South (of Thailand).

Wrong!!! Siam gave up some malay states to the brits. Read again. They had more control of the malay peninsula which included states that are part of central malaysia today.

[simple1]

Post #32 above is somewhat hysterical. One of the most respected organisation in the world for commenting upon/analysing Islamic extremism, both regional and globally, threats is Rand Corporation. Whilst it’s a bit out of date, still relevant, people may like to review the content at the URL below. Rand also has excellent content on other security matters.

A brief quote concerning the deep South

While the scale and sophistication of violence have increased, nothing links this change in tempo to the input of punitive, absolutist external jihadist imperatives. Perhaps the clearest reason to believe that the southern Thai conflict has not metastasized into a broader jihadist struggle, however, is the fact that there has been neither a migration of violence north nor directed attacks against foreigners, tourist resorts, or overt symbols of U.S. cultural capitalism.

http://www.rand.org/pubs/occasional_papers/OP198.html

Some other background reading that provides more professional info concerning the deep South...

http://www.defence.gov.au/adc/docs/Publications2012/SheddenPapers12_120306_ConflictinThailand_Nurakkate.pdf

http://asiafoundation.org/publications/pdf/820

Edited May 12, 2014 by simple1