This article continues with the theme of the last article I posted—namely, the recent terrorist attacks in southern Thailand. However, this article provided some interesting details the other did not. The insurgent group is thought to be composed of over 3000 Muslim militants, but they are not connected to a global jihad movement. Rather, this group is rebelling against perceived inequality and unfair treatment by the central government of Thailand. This portion of southern Thailand used to a Muslim state until it was annexed in 1902 by the largely Buddhist Thailand. Since the recent attacks last week, emergency rule has been declared in the region which effectively gives the military legal immunity and full reign to do what is necessary to quell the rebellion.
I find it interesting how we are going on a study abroad mainly to bridge cultural gaps and strengthen understanding between foreign nations, yet conflicts in these areas are the primary reasons behind the conflicts in southern Thailand. Obviously there is a huge cultural divide and sense of misunderstanding between the original Muslim inhabitants of southern Thailand and the rest of Thailand.
Trevor Habermeyerhttp://zeenews.india.com/news/world/army-chief-says-thailand-facing-3-000-militants_767870.html
Many people associate Muslims with the Middle East, however there are more Muslims that live outside of these Arab countries. Many of the countries we are visiting, such as China and Thailand, have sizable Muslim populations in different regions of the country. The tensions between these different groups in Asia (specifically Thailand, from this article) show that these countries are not homogeneous and are not static. They are continually trying to reconcile differences and ideas and sometimes tensions erupt, as they did in Thailand.
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