UNHOLY: Unrest in southern provinces tarnishes Islam
Yala Islamic Affairs Council president Ismael
Abd Latif Haree says insurgency cannot be accepted as a form of jihad
KOTA
BARU: THE majority of Malay Muslims in Thailand's southern region are against
the killings of their fellow citizens in the name of Islam.
Yala
Islamic Affairs Council president Ismael Abd Latif Haree said those who had
caused unrest in the south had tarnished the image of Islam by linking their
struggles with the religion.
"Violence
is not the way of life of Thai Muslims as we prefer to live in harmony with
others. Most of us do not accept extremist activities," he said in a
statement yesterday.
Since
the insurgency escalated in 2004, more than 4,500 people, comprising civilians,
soldiers and monks, have been killed in bombings, drive-by shootings and
murders in Yala, Pattani and Narathiwat.
The
three provinces, with predominantly Malay Muslim population, have become the
stage for separatist movements to wage a campaign for self-rule on the basis
that the region was once an Islamic kingdom.
Also,
militants in the south have for decades complained that their government
discriminates against and persecutes their community based on their faith.
Ismael
said the insurgency could not be accepted as a form of jihad (holy war) by the
people who understood the teachings of Islam.
"The
situation in the south is not jihad. Their acts of violence break the law and
rules of Islam," he said, adding that the terror acts were committed by
groups whose identities were difficult to ascertain.
For
Thai Muslims, he said, jihad remained a religious duty that chiefly concerned
their commitment to live life as a true Muslim and the efforts to build a good
Muslim society.
He
said there were no grounds for Thai Muslims to support violence as they had the
freedom to carry out their religious activities.
Besides,
he said, the government had provided support by building mosques and religious
schools for their children.
"The
Thai government also gives priority to our children to have proper
education."
However,
Ismael said, most of the people refused to speak out against the insurgents for
fear of personal safety.
ไม่มีความคิดเห็น:
แสดงความคิดเห็น