Jihad in Thailand. Jihad in the Philippines. Jihad in Burma. Jihad in Bangladesh. Jihad in India. Jihad in Pakistan. Jihad in Afghanistan. Jihad in Iraq. Jihad in Syria. Jihad in Lebanon. Jihad in Israel. Jihad in Egypt. Jihad in Nigeria. Jihad elsewhere. And yet the mainstream analysis is that all this jihad, all these terror groups explaining and justifying their actions by referring to Islamic texts and teachings, have nothing to do with Islam and jihad.
How did this misunderstanding of Islam become so widespread?
“Car bomb blast kills three in Thailand,” SkyNews.com.au, July 26, 2014
A car bomb has exploded outside a hotel in southern Thailand, killing three people and wounding more than 30 others.
The blast ripped through a busy shopping street on Friday in the border town of Betong in Yala province, which is popular with tourists from neighbouring Malaysia.
Firefighters were seen battling to extinguish a blaze sparked by the bomb as a plume of black smoke rose.
Lieutenant Colonel Sophon Saisuree told AFP the blast happened about 4pm local time.
Of the wounded, three were in critical condition while 30 others had minor injuries, he said in an updated toll.
There was no immediate claim of responsibility but suspicion was likely to fall on Muslim insurgents waging a decade-long campaign against the Thai state.
More than 6100 people have been killed in near-daily bombings and shootings in the Muslim-majority region near Thailand’s southern border with Malaysia since 2004.
Buddhists and Muslims alike fall victim to the shadowy insurgents, who target security forces, civilians and perceived representatives of state authority.
Earlier this month three Muslim policemen were shot dead in an ambush by suspected militants as they returned from evening prayers….
They were considered collaborators with the Thai state, and thus essentially apostates.