Attacks in Thailand.

[drummermorkul]

Anyone been reading about the killings in Thailand? Not sure if this even goes in this thread, but thought I'd open a discussion about these atrocity's being commited in the name of Islam. It's just inexcusable & how long before the the Thai's say " No More". Discuss.....

[Nick]

I've been wondering, how bad are these attacks in Thailand and how does it affect those with gyms in Thailand or those who are training there (foreigners)?

[slayer31]

man these cats just keep pushing for a holy war...

[drummermorkul]

I've been reading of beheadings & torture as well as numerous bombings. I'm looking for the link.

[dogzilla]

i dont call those ppl islamic i call them idiots, im half islamic and i would never blow my self in any way for god,....

[Tee Sok]

I was training in Hat Yai with two other foreigners in 2005 and I left the school in march. Muslim extremists bombed the airport and two big malls in the city in april. My two foreign friends were still training and had to leave to come back some weeks later.
These attacks occur mostly in the southern regions of Yala, Pattani and Narathiwat, but sometimes major cities are targeted as well.

I think some muslim people claim part of the territory of southern Thailand because it used to be a caliphal state of Malaysia.

Maybe sportmuaythai can enlighten us more on this since he is thai.

I haven't heard about this last attack, too bad it's happening again.

[drummermorkul]

It occured rather recently. People are afraid to leave their villages & fear being near police officers or military because of snipers. I mean enough is enough. Time to fight fire with fire(imo).

[OctaviousBP]

A different point of view...

I debated responding to this on a Muay Thai forum... but here it goes.

The "insurgency" in the South is considered by most experts studying the issue to not be related to broader more organized global islamic fundamentalist organizations. What this means is, it is hypothesized that the bombings taking place are being performed by small radical independent groups. It is important for people to realize, that unlike other terrorist actitivies, no one is claiming responsibility for these.

The situation in Pattani is bad, not just for Buddhists, but for Muslims as well. There have been innocent casualities on both sides. A colleague of mine is working closely with an organization that investigates "Disapeared Peoples", and she says the figures are alarming.

I find in dealing with this particular issue, many are quick to reify typical Muslim stereotypes when speaking about the Thai South. Terms such as holy war and jihad get thrown around awfully easy it seems. The actions of a few radicals should not be responsible for creating the entire identity of all people of Muslim faith.

The current administration in Thailand is attempting to rebuild trust with social leaders in Pattani, and I think this is a positive step. In my opinion, the worst thing that can be done is the perpetuation of this "othering" that seems to be so prevalent. It is so easy to categorize people as "Us" and "Them", even though these categories are based entirely on essentialist notions. The Thai government (on the surface anyways) realizes this, and is attempting to reduce Muslim stigma through events such as the huge boxing match next week (see, I brought MT back into it!). The event is supposed to raise awareness for issues in the South, helping make it ALL of Thailand's concern.

If I were to digress further, I would mention how from a critical perspective, this might prove difficult, because identity is central to the political economic structure of Thailand and being Muslim isn't considered very "Thai". This dates back to Chulalongkorn's samakkhi. The trinitarian foundation of traditional "Thainess" is nation-religion-monarchy, so essentially, being Thai means being Buddhist.

I will definitely stop here, but as I have argued elsewhere, the ability for Thailand to make socially progressive strides (in general, but also in terms of the trouble in the South) is dependent on the ability of the Thai leaders and social forces alike to overcome this narrow view of "Thainess".

[The_Judo_Jibboo]

i dont call those ppl islamic i call them idiots, im half islamic and i would never blow my self in any way for god,....

how are you "half islamic"? you believe there is only half a god and muhammed is half his prophet?

[GrapplersGuild]

Not to step into this too much, but...

Despite some troubles on the border in the South, Thailand is very safe.

I don't recommend planning a training trip to the three provinces in the South, but Thailand itself is definately safe.

People heading to Phuket, Bangkok, Hua Hin, Chiang Mai etc would not even hear of the problems on the border.

[bigboywasim]

First of all this should be posted in the Open Access forum. Second I like to say that I am Muslim. There are some terrorists in the south but like always their numbers are very small. These people who blowup buildings and stuff with civilians inside is 100% against Islam.

Thailand is a beautiful place and the situation is not that bad there. It is still a safe place to visit.

I do have to say that the government should treat all of its citizens the same.

There is no such thing as half Muslim. You a Muslim or you are not.

[sportmuaythai]

Duh, I'm at lost why the Thai government is not able to pacify the southern troubles. The citing of southern seperatists doesn't hold water any more, and this is not matter of religious differences. I must admit though that many bureaucrats have spawned hate and distrust among southern malaysians descents, making them ripe target for instigation. BTW Thais are generally tolerant of foreigners and their believes. It's the government bureaucrats that look down on the poor, and victimize these malaysian descents. Yet I don't think there would be this horrific out bursts without outside support. The remote ignition of bombs and road tacks would put suicide bombers of Iraque to shame. Now, where did these terrorists get such technology?
Now many Thais also wrongly think Muslims are terrorists. I don't. I feel that these terrorists just happen to believe they are Muslims.

[fire cobra]

Well Said Sportmuay

[drummermorkul]

I have my beliefs & all but in my opinion: religion is to blame for alot of the crap that is going on nowadays. It doens't matter if it's Muslim or Christianity. People takes things way to seriously & become neurotic & psychotic in their beliefs. Religion is alot at fault as well as ignorance. Hey believe what you will if it helps you through the day.....just my opinion.

[The_Judo_Jibboo]

Religion is alot at fault as well as ignorance.

the primary thing religion and ignorance have in common is people. don't blame religion, there are humans who will twist absolutely any religion, code, morality, philosophy etc. etc. until they believe that it supports them doing what they want to do. religion is nothing on its own, it's people who are dangerous