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Shocker: Thai jihadists recruiting in Islamic schools

Jun 22, 2009 12:04 am By Marisol Seibold

And — surprise of surprises — they “do not appear to be linked to al-Qaeda or other foreign Islamist groups,” which should be a clear indication that the jihadist ideology did not originate with al-Qaeda or another currently active non-Thai group. These jihadists apparently “misunderstood” Islam all by themselves. Funny how that keeps happening. “Thai Rebels Recruiting in Schools, Study Says,” by Thomas Fuller for the New York Times, June 21:

BANGKOK “” Insurgents in southern Thailand are using a network of Islamic schools to recruit fighters, but their movement does not appear to be linked to Al Qaeda or other foreign Islamist groups, according to a study due to be released Monday.

An unanswered question: How are said Islamic schools combating or resisting this activity? Are they?

Since an increase in violence five years ago, analysts have sought to pinpoint the primary motivations of an insurgency that has left more than 3,400 people dead in towns and villages only several hours away from Thailand’s most popular beach resorts.

The 20-page study, by the International Crisis Group, describes a homegrown movement of Malay Muslim fighters seeking independence from Thailand and built around longstanding resentment toward the Thai Buddhist majority. Thai officials have in the past attributed the violence to the drug trade and other criminal activities.

A group known as the National Revolutionary Front-Coordinate was the main force in recruiting an estimated 1,800 to 3,000 fighters drawn from more than 100,000 students in southern Thailand’s Islamic school system, the report says.

“The classroom is the point of first contact,” the report says. “Recruiters invite those who seem promising devout Muslims of good character who are moved by a history of oppression, mistreatment and the idea of armed jihad to join extracurricular indoctrination programs in mosques or disguised as football training.”

The Crisis Group said the report was based on 16 months of interviews with religious teachers and students “” all of whom are unnamed “” involved in underground activities. […]

The insurgents use many of the same methods in their recruitment “” oath-taking, indoctrination and military training “” as other jihadist groups. But the difference in southern Thailand, the report says, is that recruiters “appeal to Malay nationalism and the oppression of Malay Muslims by Buddhist Thai rulers” rather than invoking a universal Islamic state or a global jihad….

In the eyes of many Malay Muslims, Malay and Muslim identity are inseparable, so much so that the Malaysian constitution defines Malays as Muslim. For that matter, Thai Muslims have said themselves that the conflict is not about money, development, or other matters. The agenda is the same as any other jihadist conflict: Imposing Islamic law.

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