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liberationist ideology are invited to join the movement. 12
It is important to note, however, that the impact of Islamic schools on the Thai
insurgency seems to come not from the use of “Islamic studies” to indoctrinate
and recruit extremists, but rather through the dissemination of local histories, in
particular narratives of oppression and colonization. Indeed, according to
insurgents, the role of religious functionaries does not extend to tactical and
strategic matters. 13
Looking at religious scholars more broadly, there is a real division as to whether
the conflict in southern Thailand may be properly framed as a “jihad.” While
classical Muslim scholars stress that jihad can be expressed in many forms, the
concept itself has taken on a threatening note by virtue of the fact that Muslim
militants are using only one aspect of jihad—that which calls for armed struggle
against oppressive and hostile enemies of Islam—to sanction and legitimize their
actions.
One of the primary proponents of the view that the Thai conflict cannot be
properly described as a jihad is Ismail Lutfi, the respected Salafi cleric accused by
some of being the Wahhabi leader of Jemaah Islamiyah in Thailand. According to
Lufti, describing the ongoing conflict in southern Thailand as a religious struggle
betrays “a very general and simplistic understanding of jihad.” 14 In the literature
that he has produced, Lutfi echoes classic Islamic thought by stressing that only a
recognized religious authority (pemimpin agung bagi ummat Islam) can declare
jihad, and even then it can only be declared after other avenues of dakwah
(proselytisation) have been exhausted. 15 He further instructs that “Islam forbids
the spilling of Muslim blood,” a view that takes on greater currency in the
context of ongoing violence in southern Thailand, which has increasingly
witnessed the killing of fellow Muslims (including students of Islamic schools)
by militants. 16 Members of the Jemaat Tabligh proselytisation movement,
12
International Crisis Group, 26.
13
During an anti-government protest at Sungai Padi district, a known hotbed of the insurgency,
religious teachers were seen providing refreshment for the women and children protesters.
Interviews conducted with a member of the original BRN, and who is currently in charge of
several cells involved in the contemporary insurgency and on condition of anonymity, in May
2006 (he also instructed that were not to divulge where the meeting took place).
14
Interview with Ismail Lutfi, Pattani, 14 January 2006.
15
Ismail Lutfi Japakiya, Islam: Agama Penjana Kedamaian Sejagat (Alor Star, Kedah: Pustaka
Darussalam, 2005), 76.
16
Ibid., 81.
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