Home away from home

Home away from home

As the holy month of Ramadan rounds its last corner, we visit the Muslim enclave of Ramkhamhaeng, an area that young people from the South now call home

SOCIAL & LIFESTYLE
Home away from home

It is the final week of Ramadan, the Islamic holy month of fasting. During the day, one of Ramkhamhaeng’s busiest roads, Soi 53, is still devoid of activities. But come sunset, as the muezzin calls for evening prayer from the nearby mosque and announces the time of the fast-breaking meal, the soi comes alive and the air is filled with chatter and aroma of food and tea.

The area of Ramkhamhaeng University — colloquially called na ram — is a student hub and a predominantly Muslim enclave. Due to the vicinity’s strong Islamic influence, it has become a magnet for thousands of students from southern Thailand. Their Islamic clothing, olive complexion and sharp features often distinguish them from the crowd. Away from home, some for the first time, they often opt to reside in dormitories across the university because of the easy access to halal food and a mosque to pray. Over the years, the area has become a pocket of subcultural vibrancy that’s all the more pronounced during the month of Ramadan.

The southern lifestyle can be seen in the students who hang out after class at tea stalls along Khlong Saen Saep, while an open-air market offers a nice selection of homemade southern dishes that attract a sizeable crowd each day. The side-street also houses the Santichon Islamic School and Muslim Foundation, two respected institutions that enhance the Islamic character of the neighbourhood.

Most of the action during Ramadan starts an hour prior to the breaking of the fast, when residents block a narrow back alley to purchase food to be eaten in the ensuing hour.

At the heart of this Muslim community is
Jami-ul-Islam Mosque, which was built more than a century ago. Muslims from Pattani province first began building communities in and around Ramkhamhaeng from the early 1920s. Today, the mosque is surrounded by a handful of dormitories catering largely to Muslim students, with Khlong Saen Saep running parallel to it.  

At a time when the violence in the South puts Islam in a bad light and fosters tensions between communities, life around Ramkhamhaeng is testament to the belief in diversity shared by most people.

Muslims join an evening prayer at Jami-ul-Islam on Ramkhamhaeng 53. Ramadan ends in a week.

Imam Sookry "Sanguan" Chimhiran, who lead Jami-ul-Islam Mosque for 27 years prior to his retirement a few years ago, speaks to Life about the role of the mosque in the lives of the southern students.

He explains how the mosque was a refuge for the first wave of Muslim students coming to the capital because it is where they felt a sense of belonging and received spiritual teaching. The month of Ramadan, he says, makes this all the more important because Muslims are required to focus on prayer, fasting, charity-giving and self-accountability. Fast-forward to the present and one observes young Muslims continuing to make Ramkhamhaeng their place of abode and education for the same reasons as in the past.

“One of the biggest reasons Muslim parents allow their children to study at Ramkhamhaeng University is because a trusted acquaintance has convinced them that it is the best option for their son or daughter,” says Imam Sookry.

“Most parents are religious, so they are glad to hear that there is a mosque to help their children. In fact, we encourage our young people to use the mosque not just for prayer, but also for study. We never ask for monetary help. When our youngsters graduate and go on to hold important roles in the private and government sectors in the South, they never forget their humble beginnings and often visit us.”

During a candid moment, Imam Sookry, who is in his 80s, speaks fondly about how, unlike today, Muslims and Buddhists lived in harmony with each other. He blames politics for being behind the divisions we now see in society. He recalls vividly how in the past Muslims studied at temple schools, while Buddhists came to study at Islamic schools, and nobody raised an eyebrow.

“I still keep in touch with a Buddhist school friend, who is a senior monk.

"Despite the unrest between Muslims and Buddhists that we see in the South, he often tells me that nothing has changed between us. He tells me that we will always be friends, no matter what the political climate happens to be,” says the religious scholar.   

“Despite the fact that he is in a robe, because I am older than him, he always greets me with a wai. The escalating political tension [in southern Thailand] has given rise to mistrust between Buddhists and Muslims.

Imam Sookry ‘Sanguan’ Chimhiran gets a helping hand from university student Sithisak Hemnin.

"I do not blame people. Good governance can bring unity, while bad can bring about destruction and divide.”

Sithisak Hemnin is a fourth-year student at Ramkhamhaeng University, who volunteers his free time at the mosque. While he finds that the benefits of living in a predominantly Muslim enclave has benefits like eating and keeping up with his religious faith, there is a darker side that makes him disheartened.

The 24-year-old said he is sometimes discriminated against for being Muslim, adding that after the trouble in the South, society often thinks of all Muslims as terrorists. During political tensions in November last year, which resulted in deaths on Ramkhamhaeng University’s campus, he said Muslim students were the first to be blamed for instigating the unrest.

“Without an initial investigation, authorities thought Muslim students were behind the unrest. There was a climate of fear that made most of us stay in our rooms that day because authorities wanted to charge us for instigating unrest and protecting assailants who were behind the shooting on campus that day,” said Sithisak, who is from Phangnga.

Despite that being a one-off encounter, he said, being discriminated against for being a Muslim can come in all forms.

“If I am in a class where there are few Muslims, I have noticed most of my classmates are hesitant to speak with me when they know I am Muslim. I had a friend, who is from the Northeast, and he told me that his mother would not allow him to visit my province during summer vacations because she was afraid of bomb attacks. I just want society to cut us Muslims some slack. We are just as much Thai as the rest of you.”

Narathiwat-born Nionsori Waidoloe, a second-year student at Ramkhamhaeng University, said he opted to hangout with his Muslim friends if others ignored him, and after graduation he hopes to return to his home province to help bring about positive change.

“For too long, Thai Muslims in the South have felt that they have been treated unfairly by the government. These negative feelings run deep.

"As the political situation continues to improve by the day, I believe it is the young generation of Muslims, who have had the opportunity to study in Bangkok, that should spearhead efforts to bring about unity. We want to be seen as being as much Thai as people of other faiths who live in this country. We condemn all forms of violence and acts of terrorism, and pledge our allegiance to the father of our nation,” said the aspiring teacher.

Nionsori said that despite being away from family, he thinks of Ramkhamhaeng as his second home.

“I do not have to go in search of halal food because I get it in a number of food stalls managed by Thai Muslims. Also, my dorm is close to the mosque, which gives me a chance to keep close to my faith,” said the soft-spoken 23-year-old.

“However, during the month of Ramadan, a period of fasting and spiritual reflection, I would prefer to be at home because there are less vices to contend with. Bangkok, with its many temptations, can bring out the worst in a person.

“I miss my family when I am away from them,” said Nionsori. “They are afraid that I might go astray and tell me to study hard for a bright future. To be a pious Muslim in the midst of temptation, I have to strictly follow my faith to the very last detail.”

As the call to prayer from the mosque is sounded, Nionsori leaves to break his fast. He’ll finish college in two years, when he’ll leave Bangkok’s “Little South” to start a future in his hometown as a new batch of students arrive at Ramkamhaeng to nurture their hopes and face the challenges of a big city.

Ramadan will soon end, but the bittersweet memory of the southern children will continue.

The area around Ramkhamhaeng comes alive in the evening when food vendors — many of them offering Southern dishes — come out to set up their stalls prior to the breaking of the fast.

The Jami-ul-Islam Mosque has become a lifeline for Muslim students from southern Thailand who reside in dormitories along Ramkhamhaeng Road.

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