INTRODUCTION

INTRODUCTION

Ever since the forcible incorporation of the malay provinces into the kingdom of Siamese in late 18th century several abortive anti Siamese uprisings by the Malays broke out in the region. There are four major Muslim underground groups currently active in the four southern border provinces of Thailand. They include BIPP, BRN, PULO, BBMP. Despite sharing common objectives, the fronts differ in ideology. In addition to the differences, internal cleavages further weakened each front. The Thai central government were not sensitive towards Muslim in the Southern provinces in term of their religion and culture. But in the recent years there has emerged a greater appreciation of the religions and cultural aspects of the issue involved. This has led to the initiation of such development projects as the ‘Harapan Baru’ or New Hope project, dealing in the area of educational reform, economics and application of Islamic personal law in order to solve problems borne out of frustration. And with the democratic government currently in power there are more opportunities for the further improvement of the situation. The government had allocated a substantial sum for the southern provinces in the 1993 budget. Presently twelve Muslim have been elected as members of the parliament, some of whom hold important ministerial portfolios in the Department of Interior, Foreign Affairs and Parliamentary Affairs.

PROFILE OF PATTANI

Pattani is a province in the Kingdom of Thailand which was headed by a Governor. The Kingdom of Thailand is a constitutional monarchy with a total population of 58.4 million people. Thailand has never been colonized as other Afro-Asian countries hence its historical, social, cultural and religious perspectives remains unruptured by the colonial experience. Today Pattani originated from the Malay Kingdom of Pattani which was believe to be established in early 14th century which was a continuation of the ancient Malay Kingdom of Langkasuka. Former Pattani or Greater Pattani region cover the other province of Pattani, Yala, Narathiwat, Setul, Songhkhla. Today Pattani cover a smaller area of 2,109 sq feet and is situated at Thailand’s eastern coast near the Malaysian border. The capital of Pattani is Patani. Formerly it was known as Kuala Bekah. Pattani has a population of 528,258. Out of which 409,558 were muslim. This constitute 77.53%. The majority Muslim belong to the Sunni sect. Although Thai is the official language the Malay of Pattani speak Pattani dialect which are similar to that of Kelantan dialect. The Malay Muslim of Pattani were devout Muslim and follow Malay culture and custom. Other than the original Malay of Pattani the other Malay were descendent of Malay slaves, prisoners of war or Malay population rehabilitated as consequence of war. Others are descendent of Malay immigrants consists of traders, soldiers, sailors etc. The livelihood of the people is largely dependent on rubber production, fishing and farming.


HISTORICAL BACKGROUND

The Malay Kingdom of Pattani was believe to be established in early 14th century as an off-short of the ancient Malay Kingdom of Langkasuka. The change in name from Langkasuka to Pattani may be due to two factor that is a change of center of administrative and a change of religion from Hindu-Buddha to Islam. It was said that Phraya Tu Kerab Mahajana a ruler of inland city of Kota Mahligau was the founder of the Malay Kingdom of Pattani. Historical fact taken from Chinese traveler pointed out that a Malay Kingdom existed in the Isthmus of Kra. From Western source it had been said that a Malay state existed during the time of Roman Empire in the 1st and 2nd century. In a book written by Tome Pires titled ‘Soma Oriental’ the name Pattani was used in the book. However Chinese sailor still refer this region as Langkasuka. Dr Wan Hashim believe that it might be 13th century as the date when the Kingdom of Langkasuka change its name to Pattani. According to him Islam arrived in Langkasuka through Champa in the 11th or 12th century. It was spread by Muslim Mubaligh by the name of Syeikh Said or Safiuddin. It was he who converted the King of Pattani Sultan Ismail Shah (1500 – 1530) to embrace Islam. It was he who started the Wangsa Dynasty who ruled Pattani until 1686. There were 9 king out of which 4 were Queen. From 1584 – 1688 Pattani was ruled by Queen known as Raja Hijau (Queen of Green), Raja Biru (Queen of Blue), Raja Unggu (Queen of Purple) and Raja Kuning (Queen of Yellow). These Queen did not possess political power which was vested in the hands of the Bendahara family. During the first two Queen reign Raja Hijau and Raja Biru Pattani enjoyed the peak of its power. Pattani at its golden age was rich, independent and strongly Islamic. Wangsa Dynasty was latter replaced by the Kelantan dynasty (1688 – 1815) which had twelve kings.

Pattani up to the eighteenth century was a very important port and commercial center of Asia. According to Ijzerman Pattani in the sixteenth and seventeenth century was the gateway to Eastern Asian. Pattani was an important commercial center for Asian as well as for European traders due to its excellent harbour and its position as the eastern terminus of one of the overland routes from Kedah which obviated the long sea voyage through the Straits of Malacca. The Portugese began trading there in 1517 and the Dutch and English established factories there in 1602 and 1612 respectively. The Muslim Kingdom of Pattani grew both population and in prosperity. The Kingdom of Pattani owing to its geographical proximity to Ayuthia was more exposed to Siamese influence than the rest of Southern Malay States in the Peninsula. Pattani seems to have experienced alternate periods of independence and Thai control. Starting from 1816 the Siamese Government from the north tried to have control on Pattani. Through its ‘divide and rule’ policy the Kingdom of Pattani were further divided into eight states. The states are Pattani, Nong Chik, Reman, Jala or Jalor, Teluban or Saiburi, Jering or Jambu, Legeh or Rangae, Setul or Satun. In 1902 the British signed the Anglo-Siamese Treaty stipulating that the territory’s sovereignty belong to the Siamese. By this treaty the Siamese are able to overthrow all the Malay ruler of the eight states.


All the eight Malay ruler’s were ended and replaced by its own chief called Chao Muang who was directly appointed by Bangkok. The eight states were administered as third or fourth class provinces under the supervision of Siamese Commisioner of Songkhla.

This obviously marked the end of the great Pattani kingdom. The history of this region entered new phase. The following Malay ruler became history:-

1. Tengku Abdul Kadir Kamaruddin-Pattani
2. Tuan Lebeh Long Raya-Reman
3. Tuan Kecik or Tengku Sulaiman-Jala
4. Tengku Abdul Mutalib-Suiburi
5. Tengku Shamsuddin-Legeh
6. Nik Wok-Jering
7. Nai Tad-Nong Chik
8. Tengku Kudin-Setul

The Sultan of Pattani Tunku Abd Qadir Qamruddin sought British help but to their dismay it was to no avail. As the Sultan would not accept the Siamese direct rule over Pattani he was arrested and banished. The Siamese now imposed direct rule and replaced most of the Malay Muslim officials of the Sultanate with Siamese officials. Since then it had ended and destroyed the last longing Malay kingdom of Pattani and it had put its people under rule which was alien and indifference to the people religion, language, culture and custom. The end of the Pacific war brought some hopes to the Malays to free their provinces from Siamese control. It was believed that the Malays province would be annexed by the British and join with the British Malays as a reasonable penalty for the Siamese-Japanese collaboration during the war. To that end the Malay leaders submitted petitions to the British Government in November 1845 and January 1946. To their dismay these petitions were not entertained by the British Government. Despite this the Malays did not loose hope. The struggle for independence still continues.

Historical perspective of the spread of Islam

The exact date to be taken as the date of the coming of Islam to Pattani were difficult to be traced but most historian pointed within 11, 12 or 13th century. Dr Wan Hashim said that Islam came to Pattani during the 11th century or 12th century through Champa. It was spread by Muslim Mubaligh by the name of Syeikh Said. The first ruler to embrace Islam was Sultan Ismail Shah. According to W.K. Che Man Islam came to Pattani by the end of the 12th century. He said that Islam spread to Pattani through trade. The Arab and Indian trader came into contact with Pattani and also their intermarriage with the indigenous people forming the nucleus of a Muslim community. The ruler of Pattani was attracted to Islam mainly due to a number of reason. Firstly the King of Pattani was cured of his illness by a Muslim preacher Syeikh Said or Safiuddin who then converted him to Islam. Secondly it might be because of economic and political reason. Islam provided a means for claiming certain trading privileges with Gujerati, Arab, Persian and Turkish traders who controlled much of western commerce in fourteenth and fifteenth centuries. The Kingdom of Pattani officially was declared as an Islamic State in 1457. After Pattani was declared as an Islamic state mosque became the first important Islamic institution to be established as the center for religious teachings and social activities. It was through mosque that Islamic value spread and Muslim religious learned man (ulama) gradually emerged and became an influential elite group in Pattani society.

ROLE OF ISLAM IN MODERN INDEPENDENCE

Minority population constitute a serious threat to the integrity of many contemporary nation states. Many face the challenges of minority nationalist movements of various forms, ranging from relatively peaceful assertion of separate identity, striving for certain degree of local autonomy to violent activities or civil war demanding separate political independence. In Thailand ever since the forcibly incorporation of the Malay provinces into the Siamese Kingdom in late 18th century the Muslim Community in this area has had for a long time severe conflict with the authorities and the problem has caused concern in the Muslim world similar to that of the problem of Muslim in Mindanao. According to the authorities this Muslim minority is a serious problem which had an adverse impact on national security. The policy of one ‘Thai State’ will not be possible if unity and integrity of this Thai state challenged by the minority. The authorities agree that as long as the assimilation policy is not fulfilled it means that Thailand will continue to face a minority problem. As a result of this the Government established the Administrative Operation Centre in the Southern border which put the Southern border provinces under the special Affairs of the Ministry of Interior. The Malays being the largest minority group in Thailand tend to be isolated from the society because of their belief in Islam. The Malays of Pattani have a long time struggled for their independence and they have been very sensitive about their country being ruled by the Thai Kafir Government. They have seen the attempt to destroy their language, culture, religion and identity. The Muslim were repeatedly accused of being irrational whenever the tension spread between the government and them. Violence and conflict between the Malay Muslims and the Government resulted from the intolerance of the Thai regime towards the racial, economic, religious and cultural differences between the Malay Muslims and the Thais. The Malays in Pattani can be divided into four groups:-

1. Those who support the Government
2. Those who support the Government for the benefit of Islam
3. Those who do not support the Government
4. Those who do not bother

The biggest group being those who support the Government for the benefit of Muslim Community and group who do not bother. Those who support the Government because of benefit to Muslim community were those heading Islamic religious council, kadi, syariah judge and administrator of religious school. The most feared group were those who do not bother. They seek religious advise from ulama and religious teacher in their own community. At provincial Council for Islamic Affairs is established in every province that has a large Muslim population. At present there twenty-six provincial council altogether. The council constitute a body that advises provincial governor in matters pertaining to Islam. Its function is also to supervise and coordinate councils for mosque. Each provincial council for Islamic affairs comprises fifteen elected members totaling sixty persons in the four provinces. Members of the provincial council for Islamic affairs are not all learned men but are elected through influence of their families. It can be said that only 30% of the provincial council are religious educated men. The Malay Muslim in Pattani seek their respective ulama and religious teacher in the community.

Role of Islamic solidarity in the present

With respect to Islamic education and scholarship Pattani was perhaps the most important region in the Peninsula in the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. This is partly due to the fact that ulama in Pattani were able to develop a strong base of religious education through educational institution known as pondok. We have no record recalling the first pondok in the area was founded. However among the earliest and more well-known pondok were Pondok Kuala Bekah, Pondok Semala, Pondok Bendang Guchill, Pondok Bendang Daya, Pondok Chuwuk, Pondok Dala and Pondok Cho-uk. Most of the early pondok were established by religious scholars who had studied at one of the three famous masjid(mosque) namely Masjid Al-Haram in Mecca, Masjid An-Nabawi in Madina and Masjid Al-Azhar in Cairo. Back in the nineteenth century these masjid apart from being places of worship functioned as schools or universities within which selected teachers taught all subjects ranging from the fundamental of Islamic religion to doctrine, law, sufi mysticism history and Arab language. It is believed that pondok was built to follow the educational system of these acclaimed Islamic institutions. Pondok in the Pattani region functioned as one of the important Islamic institution for education. Its objective apart from teaching various basic and advanced religious subjects was to inculcate morality based on Islamic principles. Pondok attracted student not only from the local surrounding but from the Malay states such as Kelantan and Terengganu and other southern provinces of Thailand. Young Muslim villagers normally attended pondok after they had completed Quranic and elementary religious studies in their respective villages. Student came to live and study full-time basis. They lived in small individual huts called pondok which were built around a central building where teaching and prayers were conducted. A large pondok might occupy an area up to several acres. Students learned lessons given by the teachers practical reading and speaking studying texts and in some cases taught newcomers. Life in the pondok was similar to that in a family. Relationship between students and teachers and that among the students were governed as family. Because the student were not required to pay fees or tuition they felt that they owed a debt of gratitude to their teachers and obeyed them unconditionally. This loyalty of students to their religious teachers partly explains why religious teachers are influenced in the Pattani society.
Traditionally most Muslim parents sent their children to pondok. During 1940 to 1960 70% of Muslim School children attended pondok. This is because pondok education provide them with the knowledge of islam which is obligatory to every Muslim. Religious education a basic requirement for all aspiring to become religious scholar, persons who are influential and highly respected within Pattani Muslim community. Those who are serious in pursuing advanced religious studies would remain more to other pondok or go overseas. The general revival of islam throughout the Muslim world had to some extent increased Islamic consciousness in the region. Many Pattani students went to study Islam abroad particularly in Arab countries. Gradually they returned to the region and they either joined the already existing pondok in the 4 provinces and at the same time the number of mosque had increased tremendously. Since the incorporation of Pattani into the Thai nation-state at the beginning of this century Thai education has always been an important integration. In 1921 for example the compulsory primary education Act was promulgated. It required all Malay Muslim children to attend Thai primary schools which intended to promote the use of Thai language among the Muslim and eventually to prevent them from learning their own Malay language. The Muslim viewed this law as part of a programme to assimilate the Pattani people. As reactions to the enforcement of this law uprisings occurred in Pattani between 1922 and 1923. The incidents brought the military and police forces to the area and resulted in the execution of many Muslim leaders. Realising that the policy of compulsory education failed to substantially promote the spread of Thai education and language among the Pattani Muslims the Government of Field Marshall Sarit Thamarat initiated in 1961 a policy to convert pondok to registered private schools or rongrearet sonsana Islam. The policy was designed to abolish the pondok system of education which in the view of the Thai government hindered the process of integration. Under this ‘conversion’ policy all pondok were required to teach a standard government designed curriculum with Thai language as a medium of instruction. They could teach religious subject provided they conformed to requirements and regulations of the Ministry of Education. Pondok which referred to comply with the conversion policy have disbanded. As a result Muslim children in most villages and towns attended private Islamic schools which offered both secular and religious subject. At the same time the government major policy of cultivating national loyalties among the Pattani Muslims has been to improve their Thai education. Through Thai education Bangkok hopes to achieve two objectives:

1. To achieve greater communication and understanding between Muslim and Thai Government officials.

2. To create a body of Muslims in Thai bureau.

The ultimate aim is to make the Muslim population accept the authority of Thai state. To achieve this objective the government expenditure for primary education in the provinces of Pattani, Narathiwat and Yala where little Thai is spoken increased at an average annual rate of 40 per cent during the 1972 – 1976. Nearly every village now has a four-year primary school and village kindergartens are rapidly being established to provide a foundation in Thai language for Muslim children. Secondary schools also received attention. Each district will soon have one secondary. Vocational secondary schools have been built in each provincial capital. A univercity, Prince of Songkhla Univercity has been established with one of its campuses in Pattani province. Private Islamic schools gradually faded away being replaced by Thai Public schools. Their decline was one to two main reasons:

1. Some of the Islamic schools were unable to meet the ever increasing regulations and rules set by the Government. Also by following the regulation and rules lost the quality of religious scholarship. In fact some of the more conservative religious leader and village imam viewed the policy of converting pondok to private Islamic schools as a frontal attack on the religious and cultural identity of the Malay Muslim community. The present day Muslim preference to Thai public school as oppose to Islamic schools does not mean that the Pattani Muslim no longer perceive Thai education as a threat to the presevation of Islam and Malay identity. Some of them send their children to Thai school because they have no alternative. The Islamic school has not only reduced the quality of religious education it also has secular curriculum inferior to that of the public school. The abolition of pondok is regarded by some observers as breakthrough for Thai policy of integration in the Pattani region. It bring an end not only to the cultural fortification which pondok provides in preventing penetration of outside culture, but also to the traditional system of Islamic education which is renowned for its religious scholarship. This present Islamic schools which replace pondok and are controlled by the Thai Government have no match with their predecessor with respect to promoting Islamic scholarship and values. The introduction of Thai education into the Islamic school curriculum has reduced the quality of religious education. The abolition of pondok will also lead to the decadence of Islam in the region. Thai policy of intergration that began 67 years ago has successfully destroyed one of the most important Islamic Institution which symbolizes Patani’s historical role as a cradle of Islamic in Southeast Asia.