| Submit your comments on this article | |
| Southeast Asia | |
| Thai Muslims Struggle For Liberation | |
| 2003-10-28 | |
| From Islam Online, detailing the struggle to free occupied Thailand. No, really! A police officer in Pattani, and a civil guard in Narathiwat, majority Muslim areas were shot dead Saturday signaling non-stop struggle for Mujahideen fighters despite the start of Ramadan, according to news reports Sunday. Has anyone ever stopped struggling during Ramadan? In Narathiwat, a group of seven to eight gunmen fired at seven civil guards while they were having dinner at their base, killing the police officer and wounding two others. Fifteen minutes later in Pattani, two gunmen killed a policeman sitting in front of his checkpoint in Ma-Yor district. They fled on a motorcycle. Police are carrying out searches for the suspects whom locals believe are members of the obscure group that calls itself the âMujahideenâ, whose mission is to attack official targets of the Thai regime in the south. Everybody wants to be a Mujahideen. Ramadan starts Monday for Thai Muslims, most of them living in the Malay belt regions stretching over four states rich with Muslim culture. âHowever the struggle continues for an obscure group of young Thai Muslims, angered by the âcolonializationâ of the land of their ancestors by the Thais continues,â a Thai businessman on a visit to Malaysia told IOL. I see, so their muslim ancestors were peacefully living here until those war-mongering Thai Buddhistâs arrived and took their land. Since the disbanding of the Pattani United Liberation Front (PULO) and tight security in the southern provinces, Muslims in the region have attempted to revert to cooperation with the authorities in order to safeguard their culture and history. âYet some of us are not happy with the imposition of Thai culture and language and all the tight security around us, they react and they formed a group called the Mujahideen to show their anger,â said the businessman, who wanted to remain incognito.
Brutal occupation forces, keeping the muslims down, sounds familiar. âRamadan or not, they will continue the attacks until this sap the morals of the officials in the South,â said the businessman. The Mujahideen are mostly engaged in low-level violence against the government, attacking soft targets and killing police and military officers and their agents as a means of retaliation. They use automatic weapons in most cases and at times plants bomb devices at police stations or near police cars. âWe Muslims canât condemn the Mujahideen altogether. In the south, the Thais (Buddhists in general) want to gradually impose their ways of living, allowing discos and other entertainment centers to be opened near to Muslim areas,â he added. The horror, being exposed to people having fun! Any good muslim would be outraged. He also said that the Muslims want their own lifestyle and faith to be respected and warned that if the entertainment centers were not closed during Ramadan, âthere might be more serious incidents, who knows?â Oh, we know all too well. | |
| Posted by:Steve |
| #13 mojo - LOL! -- [Approximate quotation] "I once came down with the consumption. I went to the doctor to get a cure. He told me I needed to give up smokin' and drinkin' and swearin' - for two whole weeks. Damned near killed me, but I did it and sure enough, I was cured. So I took to these delicacies again. Then I heard that an elderly ladyfriend of mine had come down with consumption so I went to see her. She was in a bad way and told me she was going to see the doctor that very same day. I told her she needn't bother, I knew the cure..." "Just give up smokin' and drinkin' and swearin' for two weeks and you'll be right as rain", I told her. "But I don't do any of those things", she said. I said, "Well there you have it. You're a sinking ship with no freight to throw overboard." -Twain |
| Posted by: .com 2003-10-28 4:59:03 PM |
| #12 I used to smoke I used to drink I used to smoke, drink and dance the hootchie-koo I used to smoke and drink, smoke and drink and dance the hootchie-koo It's true Now i'm standing on this corner Praying for me and you That's why i'm saved I am saved People, let me tell you about kingdom come You know i'm saved Saved I said i'm gonna preach it 'til you're deaf and dumb I used to cuss I used to fuss I used to cuss, fuss and boogie all night long I used to cuss and fuss, cuss and fuss and boogie all night long Now i'm standing on this corner I know right from wrong Because i'm saved I am saved People, let me tell you about kingdom come You know i'm saved Saved I said i'm gonna preach it 'til you're deaf and dumb I used to lie I used to cheat I used to lie, cheat and step on people's feet I used to lie and cheat, lie and cheat and step on people's feet Now i'm standing on this corner Salvation is my beat That's why i'm saved I am saved People, let me tell you about kingdom comin' You know i'm saved Saved I said i'm gonna preach it 'til you're deaf and dumb I'm in the soul-savin' Army, beatin' on a big bass drum -- The Band |
| Posted by: mojo 2003-10-28 4:20:51 PM |
| #11 "Hey isn't that Mahmoud and Fatima?" "Yeah, let's grab them and force them onto the dance floor while it's still daylight! And after that on to the video game arcade!" |
| Posted by: OminousWhatever 2003-10-28 3:50:54 PM |
| #10 OMG mojo--almost inhaled my Diet Coke LOL! |
| Posted by: Not Mike Moore 2003-10-28 3:17:11 PM |
| #9 But Islam is so tolerant! RoPMA. |
| Posted by: .com 2003-10-28 1:13:33 PM |
| #8 "If them dang Muslims don't shut down that Mosque during the big Boogaloo Contest, there'll be trouble! Mark my words!" Nope. Makes no sense that way either... |
| Posted by: mojo 2003-10-28 1:09:12 PM |
| #7 In the south, the Thais (Buddhists in general) want to gradually impose their ways of living, allowing discos and other entertainment centers to be opened near to Muslim areas,â he added. Who says Muslims have to patronize these places if they don't conform to their beliefs? Nobody's forcing people to dance, are they? Sheesh. He also said that the Muslims want their own lifestyle and faith to be respected and warned that if the entertainment centers were not closed during Ramadan, âthere might be more serious incidents, who knows?â NOW who's imposing their way of living on others? |
| Posted by: Bomb-a-rama 2003-10-28 12:58:29 PM |
| #6 BH: Priceless, but it makes me think of gongarea |
| Posted by: Apopkatom 2003-10-28 12:05:00 PM |
| #5 Buddisiam is centurys older than Islam. Demands respect for Muslem tradition,but will not respect the rights of others. Not allowing danceing or entertainment to be around"Muslim areas,â thus imposing his beliefs on others. Yeap sounds like the average,devoted Muslem to me. |
| Posted by: Raptor 2003-10-28 11:13:59 AM |
| #4 If they're smart, the Thais will stomp this out RIGHT NOW. |
| Posted by: tu3031 2003-10-28 11:12:17 AM |
| #3 Oddly enough, whenever someone uses a phrase like "rich with Muslim culture", I think of yeast. |
| Posted by: BH 2003-10-28 10:30:47 AM |
| #2 Once upon a time in Japan, that wasn't a contradiction at all ... (See the ikko-ikki and Zen Buddhism of the Warring States period - VERY militant, the "original" jihadis, until Oda Nobunaga bloodily put them down and permanently - by slaughtering man, woman and child alike as well as razing their holy places to the ground.) |
| Posted by: Lu Baihu 2003-10-28 10:29:44 AM |
| #1 "war-mongering Thai Buddhistâs" - now there is a contradiction in terms.... |
| Posted by: CrazyFool 2003-10-28 9:39:02 AM |