The Muslims of Thailand

Thailand is about the last place one would associate with Muslims. Oneimagines Buddhist wats, saffron-robed monks, and fun-loving people. Onedoes not imagine women in headscarves, minarets, and the call to prayer.Indeed, 90 percent of Thais are Buddhists. However, the majority of theremainder is Muslim (about 8 percent of the total population). In this slimvolume, Gilquin provides a solid introduction to the Muslim communities ofThailand. It is a sweeping overview, and in that task it does its job very well.Personally, I would have preferred a more detailed analysis of the everydaylives of Thai Muslims.Gilquin calls Thailand’s Muslims a heterogeneous minority. Althoughone might imagine that Islam is limited to the provinces closest to Malaysia,the author demonstrates that this is far from true. However, 85 percent of theMuslim population lives in the south, and so their issues and concerns figureprominently in this account. Since the country’s Muslims have differentnational origins, legal/ritual schools, and levels of commitment or interest inSufism, the only characteristic that seems to define them is their morereserved approach to socializing. He notes that in a country noted for its fun(sanuk) and merry-making outings, Muslims are conspicuously absent in ...