The Minority Muslim Experience in Mainland Southeast Asia This book examines the lives of the Malay and Cham Muslims in Thailand, Cambodia and Vietnam and examines how they co-exist and live in societies that are dominated by an alternative consensus and are illiberal and non- democratic in nature. Focusing on two major Muslim communities in Southeast Asia, both of which live as minorities in societies that are not democratic and have a history of hostility and repression towards non-conforming ideas, the book explains their circumstances, the choices and life decisions that they have to make, and how minorities can thrive in an unfriendly, monocultural environment. Based on original fieldwork and research, the author analyses how people live, and how they adapt to societies that are not motivated by Western liberal ideals of multiculturalism. The book also offers a unique perspective on how Islam develops in an environment where it is seen as alien and disloyal. A useful contribution analysing historical and post-colonial experiences of Muslim minorities and how they survive and evolve over the course of state monopoly in mainland Southeast Asia, this book will be of interest to academics working on Muslim minorities, Asian Religion and Southeast Asian Studies. John Goodman has a PhD in Islamic Studies from Exeter University, UK. He lived and worked in Asia for more than 20 years and is the founder of Ogilvy Noor, an Islamic branding consultancy. Routledge Contemporary Southeast Asia Series The aim of this series is to publish original, high-quality work by both new and established scholars on all aspects of Southeast Asia. The History of South Vietnam The Quest for Legitimacy and Stability, 1963-1967 Vinh-The Lam Singapore after Lee Kuan Yew S. C. Y. Luk and P. W. Preston Affect, Narratives and Politics of Southeast Asian Migration Carlos M. Piocos III Translational Politics in Southeast Asian Literatures Contesting Race, Gender and Sexuality Edited by Grace V. S. Chin Political Continuity and Conflict in East Timor A History of the 2006 Crisis Ruth Nuttall Literature and Nation-Building in Vietnam The Invisibilization of the Indians Chi P. Pham The Minority Muslim Experience in Southeast Asia ADifferent Path John Goodman For more information about this series, please visit: www.routledge.com/Routledge-Contemporary-Southeast-Asia-Series/book- series/RCSEA The Minority Muslim Experience in Mainland Southeast Asia ADifferent Path John Goodman First published 2022 by Routledge 2 Park Square, Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon OX14 4RN and by Routledge 605 Third Avenue, New York, NY 10158 Routledge is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group, an informa business © 2022 John Goodman The right of John Goodman to be identified as author of this work has been asserted by him in accordance with sections 77 and 78 of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988. All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or reproduced or utilised in any form or by any electronic, mechanical, or other means, now known or hereafter invented, including photocopying and recording, or in any information storage or retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publishers. Trademark notice: Product or corporate names may be trademarks or registered trademarks, and are used only for identification and explanation without intent to infringe. British Library Cataloguing-in-Publication Data A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data A catalog record has been requested for this book ISBN: 978-1-032-00517-1 (hbk) ISBN: 978-1-032-01120-2 (pbk) ISBN: 978-1-003-17722-7 (ebk) DOI: 10.4324/9781003177227 Typeset in Times New Roman by Taylor & Francis Books Contents List of Illustrations vii Acknowledgements viii Names of Places and People – Usage and Spelling x First or Last? xi Maps xii 1 Introduction and Historical Context 1 2 The Trauma of New State Development 14 3 How State and Minority Relations Have Evolved Up to the Present Day 32 4 Implications of the Congruence Between Islam and Malay/Cham Minority Status 49 5 Changing Issues in Society and the Effect on Minority Muslims 70 6 Forms, Practices and Connections of Islam for Cham and Malay Minorities 92 7 Muslim Minority Involvement in Politics and Civil Society 113 8 The Muslim Interface with the Buddhist World (and the Complex of Religions in Vietnam) 135 9 Minorities in Monocultural Societies – the Southeast Asian Example 155 10 Conclusions 174 Appendix I: Results from a quantitative survey taken in Thailand in March−April 2019 182 vi Contents Appendix II: Sample discussion guide from qualitative interviews undertaken in 2018 and 2019 185 Bibliography 188 Index 204 Illustrations Figures Map A Border provinces of Thailand and Malaysia xii Map B Cham Locations in Cambodia and Mekong Vietnam xiii 1.1 The 387-year old wooden mosque in Bacho, Narathiwat, Thailand 11 3.1 Annual GDP growth rate, %, 1990 to 2017 34 5.1 One of the two remaining home weaving businesses in Phum Soai, a Vietnamese Cham village 87 7.1 The door of Krue Se mosque in Pattani, Thailand. Bullet marks from the 2004 siege are still visible 130 Tables 3.1 Gross Provincial Product per Capita in 2013 (USD) 42 5.1 Global ranking from 149 countries measured 83 6.1 UN voting on the Kampuchea Question 1980–81 (Muslim countries) 105 8.1 Intentional Homicide Rates (per 100,000) 145 8.2 Religions and their adherents in Vietnam 149 Acknowledgements First, I would like to thank my supervisor at the University of Exeter, Professor Sajjad Rizvi for his invaluable guidance and constructive suggestions. As a result of his comments my research and reading took many different and fascinating paths that would otherwise have been left unexamined. I would also like to thank Dr Philipp Bruckmayr of the University of Vienna, the leading authority on the Cham of Cambodia, for his insights and help in looking at this neglected corner of the Islamic world. Dr Ross Porter of Exeter was also most helpful in suggesting an anthropological approach to the question. My fieldwork would have been quite impossible without the help of my local assistants who acted as recruiters, translators and logistical managers. They were Ly Hanafy in Cambodia, Nguyen Ho Phong in Vietnam and Medina Adulyarat in Thailand. Khun Medina in particular was an endless source of help, information, suggestions and companionship during our visits to Pattani, Satun and Narathiwat provinces. In all I interviewed around 150 local people in the three countries. Although they cannot be named, I would like to put on record my gratitude for their openness, honesty and thoughtfulness in their interviews. I was fortunate to interview and obtain guidance from local academics and experts in both Cambodia and Thailand. In Bangkok they were Dr Phansasiri Kularb of Chulalongkorn University, Dr Phrae Sirisakdamkoeng of Princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn Anthropology Centre, her graduate student Thitimat Kamwong, and Professor Suwilai Premsrirat of Mahidol University. In Pattani I benefited greatly from the comments and insights of Dr Srisompob Jitpriromsri, Dr Samatcha Nilaphatama, Dr Walakkamol Changkamol and Dr Soraya Jamjuree, all of whom are associated with Prince of Songkla University and who are also active in the understanding, recording and development of the Southern situation of Thailand. In Cambodia I am grateful for the help and advice received from Farina So of the Documentation Centre of Cambodia and Osman Ysa, formerly of the DC-Cam and now an independent consultant. I would also like to thank four former colleagues from my ex-employer, Ogilvy & Mather – Shelina Janmohamed, Tahir Khan, Miles Young and Tim Acknowledgements ix Isaac – for their encouragement and support when I first proposed leaving the company in order to pursue this project. Finally, I would like to thank the two most important people in my life – my daughter, Kendya Goodman, and my wife, Eve Nambuya. Their tolerance, support and good humour kept me sane and motivated to continue at all times. Names of Places and People – Usage and Spelling Myanmar or Burma? Where necessary, for the purposes of this thesis I intend to use the name of Myanmar, rather than Burma, for two reasons. First, it is the official name of the country. Second, the word Burma implies a nation of the Burmans – just one of the many ethnic groups of Myanmar. Patani or Pattani? Throughout this book, I will follow the widely observed convention of using Patani with one ‘t’ to refer to the original Sultanate and the region of Thailand that matches the borders of the Sultanate, covering the current Thai provinces of Pattani, Yala and Narathiwat. When Pattani with two ‘t’s is used, it refers to the modern Thai province and also to the town with the same name. Songkhla or Songkla? The town and province are commonly spelled Songkhla, when transliterated into Roman characters. However, the University spells itself as Prince of Songkla University. Therefore I have followed this practice. First or Last? In Thailand and Cambodia it is customary to refer to people by their first name when shortening from the full name. Therefore I have followed that usage when using proper names in the text. However, in references I have used the second name, in order to facilitate indexing and reference-checking. So, for example, Thongchai Winichakul, author of Siam Mapped, is referred to as Thongchai when being discussed in the text, but after the first reference is cited as Winichakul. Where places or people are mentioned in direct quotes, I have retained the spelling originally used (or the transliteration, where the original was not in Roman script). Confusingly, Prince of Songkla University has campuses in the towns of Hat Yai and Pattani, but not in the town of Songkhla.