Postbag: In defence of Muslims

Postbag

Published: 5 Dec 2012 at 00.00
Newspaper section: News

I would like to reply to the letter from J C Wilcox that appeared in PostBag on Monday.

I do not think that the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation's (OIC) comments on the ongoing problems in the South were arrogant as mentioned. Maybe they were misleading and this was due to our failed effort to give them the correct views from the government's side.

It is to be remembered that this problem has been a lingering one since the Islamic Sultanate of Pattani was added into the Thai kingdom through war more than 100 years ago.

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domdunnn
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Discussion 8 : 06 Dec 2012 at 01.458
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OldThaiHand D4

You are being a bit selective, if you read the bible as a whole it is obvious that the Q'uran (both in style and content) is very much in the style of the Old Testament.
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kena
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Discussion 7 : 05 Dec 2012 at 17.157
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How well are guns restricted in southern Thailand? When guns are stolen from military/police arsenals, is anyone (possibly insiders) disciplined? Are there any dogs in Thailand which are trained to sniff out guns/ammo? If not, there should be.
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elvis
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Discussion 6 : 05 Dec 2012 at 12.196
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Agree with Dom Dunn D3. How on earth could the number of Muslims ever exceed the number of Buddhists in Thailand, since 95 % of the country is Buddhist and a mere 3 % is Muslim. On top of that, the two religions hardly ever intermarry, because a Buddhist would have to convert to Islam first before marrying a Muslim and that's a no go area for most fun loving Thais.(or anyone else for that matter).
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Renaissance
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Discussion 5 : 05 Dec 2012 at 11.485
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Mahamas: Your letter made some very good points about the aspirations for peace and the fears of ordinary Thai Moslem citizens. It would benefit unity and mutual understanding if more people made those points. But then you ruined the whole feeling of your letter and changed its focus and purpose in the last 3 paragraphs with a blanket criticism of the actions of Christian countries over the last few decades. Sadly, your initial wish for understanding began to sound like an anti-Christian rant in defense of Moslem violence.
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OldThaiHand
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Discussion 4 : 05 Dec 2012 at 11.364
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Mahamas
I am not religious. But, I take exception to your simplistic condemnation of Christians as the architects of the world's disasters.

So-called Christians may have perverted the religion and interpreted the bible for their own ends. But, the fact remains is that the central philosophy of Christianity is one of peace, tolerance and non-violence.

In stark contrast, the Q'uran advocates violence againsts infidels and Mohamed spread islam at the head of an army and at the point of a sword. Muslims may theoretically profess peace and love towards other Muslims. But, it doesn't extend to non-believers. Islam is a violent religion.
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domdunnn
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Discussion 3 : 05 Dec 2012 at 10.243
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A birth rate so high that Thailand will become a Muslim majority country, I seriously doubt this guy's sanity.
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mogy71
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Discussion 2 : 05 Dec 2012 at 09.482
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Agree with disc 1 - Mahamas you were going good but imploded under your own religious superiority complex. But what is even more worrying is your statement that there will be more Muslims than Buddhists in Thailand in a few generations. Does this mean that all Buddhist relics will be removed in the same manner as the Buddhas of Bamiyan in Afghanistan? Pity the future tourists to this country.
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jerradoug
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Discussion 1 : 05 Dec 2012 at 07.561
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Mahamas, you almost had a strong case that Wilcox's daily rant was inaccurate until you went off the deep end and blamed all Christians for all of the world's troubles. The deaths and wars that you mention were not religious based, as you profess, but in fact they were mainly about political ideologies and dominance. If you want to make the case that religions are the cause of conflict, maybe you and Wilcox should look in your own backyards too. A world without religion would be better and more peaceful - but the same could be said about a world without politics. Both religion and politics operate in the context of essentialism.
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Postbag: In defence of Muslims | Bangkok Post: opinion