Thailand's Trouble with Islamists

By Hannah Beech

With its powder-soft beaches and golden-spired Buddhist temples, Thailand markets itself as a tourist haven. But the Southeast Asian nation has another side it would rather visitors not see: an Islamic insurgency in the country's far south that has claimed more than 2,100 lives since 2004. On May 31, a dozen paramilitary rangers were killed in an ambush. The following weekend, two civilians were shot dead, and 20 soccer players were injured by an on-field bomb.

Although Thailand is predominantly Buddhist, millions of Muslims live in the country's three southernmost provinces, which Thailand annexed a century ago. An insurgency has simmered for three years, with some militants calling for an independent homeland. Many Thai Muslims have long felt marginalized by the Buddhist majority, and the sense of alienation may get a lot worse. This spring, thousands of Buddhist monks took to Bangkok's streets clamoring for their beliefs to be designated in the constitution as Thailand's sole state religion. On June 4, charter writers rejected the call for an official faith, but growing pro-Buddhist (and, by extension, anti-Muslim) sentiment could doom the new constitution when it faces a referendum in August.

The mounting body count in the south dashes hopes that last September's military coup might ease the crisis, because junta leader General Sonthi Boonyaratglin is a Muslim. Since the putsch, violence has worsened. On June 4, insurgents were blamed for a train derailment that caused the entire railway network in the south to grind to a halt. With no end in sight to the conflict, Thailand's government will have to work even harder to keep the violence from distracting the tourist trade.