a502410

meanwhile, claim that the conditions for armed jihad have not been met in
southern Thailand because Islam has not been banned, and hence the spread of
Islam should be done via peaceful means. 17
Such benign views are counterbalanced by more malignant perspectives on jihad
and violence in southern Thailand that have also appeared on the discursive
landscape. An ustaz with known links to PULO, in the course of an interview,
said that jihad qital (armed jihad) had long been necessary in southern Thailand
because of the victimization of the Malay people by the oppressive Thai state. 18
This ustaz felt that offensive jihad was necessary to ensure the freedom not just of
religion, but of Malay identity, in the southern provinces.
Echoing a similar perspective, an ustaz with links to GMIP averred that the time
for jihad qital had descended upon the “tiga wilayah” (three provinces, referring to
the local nomenclature for the Malay-Muslim provinces of Narathiwat, Pattani,
and Yala).
19
This ustaz was especially critical of Ismail Lutfi’s views regarding the
appropriateness of jihad in southern Thailand. He suggests that these views stem
from Lufti’s “Saudi-oriented” perspective, which focuses on developments in
Islamic thought during the religion’s expansive phase of the Prophet in Mecca
(“zaman nabi di Makkah”), when the message focused on the spread of Islam
peacefully (“menyebarkan shari’a Islam dengan cara damai”). The ustaz took issue
with this perspective because, in his view, the conditions being encountered by
Thai Muslims today are similar to those which confronted the Prophet during the
Medinan era (“zaman nabi di Madina”). He defines this era as the “assault and
violation of Muslim lands by non-Muslims (orang yang mencerobuhi bumi kita)”
from polytheistic Mecca. Under these conditions, jihad qital is not only warranted;
it is necessary.
Yet another religious teacher claimed that if he discovered that his students were
active in militancy against the Thai state, he would not stop them because they
would be engaging in a “legitimate struggle” that is several centuries old. When
asked about Siamese aid and assistance to Patani, he reportedly responded: “Do
you know how humiliating it is for the Malays to seek assistance from Siam?”
20
17
Interview at Markaz Dakwah Yala, Yala, 14 January 2006. This ustaz however was not specific
as to what he meant by the “conditions” for jihad qital.
18
Ustaz interview, Pattani, 8 May 2006.
19
Ustaz interview, Pattani, 10 May 2006.
20
This anecdote was shared by Don Pathan during a seminar at the Rajaratnam School of
International Studies, Singapore, 9 July 2007.
81