Islam in Thailand before the Bangkok Period

ISLAM IN THAILAND BEFORE THE BANGKOK PERIOD
by
RAYMOND SCUPIN*
To understand the expansion of Islam into southern Thailand, it is necessary to view it
from the perspective of the spread oflslam to southeastern Asia. Although there were con-
tacts between Muslim and southeast Asian countries as early as the fourth century A.D., and
Persian-Arabic trading colonies were established as early as the ninth century A.D., mass con-
versions to Islam, in a sociological sense, did not begin until the thirteenth century A.D. I
In general, Persian and Arabic traders were not successful in transplanting their religious tradi-
tions. These colonies were, for the most part, transient or impermanent. 2 The intensification
of Islamic proselytizing in southeast Asia had to await the implantation of Islam in the
Gujerati area of northwest India and the increase of the Muslim population in the Malabar
and Coromandel coasts, the development of Sufism, and the fall of Baghdad in A.D. 12583.
In the context of the global movement of Islam, the Mongol invasion and the subsequent fall
of Baghdad led to an exodus oflearned Muslim scholars and missionaries to south, southeast,
and east Asia. This, coupled with the emergence of Sufism, the mystical variation of Islam,
paved the way for a successful missionary enterprise. Sufism, as were Hinduism and Bud-
dhism which preceded it, was eclectic enough to accommodate itself to indigenous mystical
and ~piritual patterns.4 And the Muslim traders from India, who were also enthusiastic about
Sufism, aided in the establishment of Islam in the merchant princedoms of northern Sumatra,
the Celebes, Java, and the ports of Malaysia.
Mass or 'political' conversions, when rulers or states adopted Islam, began during the
latter part of the thirteenth century A.D. The northern port of Sumatra, an important trading
outpost nearest to the Islamic centers of the Middle East and India, was the first town to
become 'Islamized'. Many scholars have noted that Marco Polo recorded this fact in his
journals of A.D. 1292. Pasai, a neighbouring coastal principality, was governed by a ruler
who became a Muslim around A.D. 1300. And from Pasai Islam spread to Malacca, pre-
sumably by a marriage contracted by a Malaccan ruler and a Muslim Pasai princess. 5
Later Pasai and Malacca both became missionary and theological centers for the further
expansion of Islam throughout the Malay-Indonesian archipelago.
* Department of Anthropology, University of California, Santa Barbara.
1. G.R. Tibbets, "Early Muslim traders in Southeast Asia" , Journal ofthe Malaysian Branch of the Royal
Society, 30 (I), pp. 1-45. 1957; S.Q. Fatimi, Islam Comes to Malaysia, Singapore: Malaysian Sociological Insti-
tute, 1963, p. 69; Cesar Adib Majul, International Association ofHistorians ofAsia, Proceedings, Second Biennial
Conference, Ta ipei, 6-9 Oct. 1962, p. 343.
2. G.R. Tibbets, loc. cit., p: 42.
3. Fatimi, op. cit., pp. 92-99; Majul, op. cit., pp. 394-397.
4. H.A.R. Gibb, Modern Trends in Islam, New York City : Octagon Books, 1972, p . 23.
5. O .W. Wolters, The Fall of Srivijaya in Malay History, Ithaca: Cornell University Press, 1970, p. 160;
Majul, op. cit., p. 345.
55 JSS 68.1 (Jan. 1980)

56 Raymond Scupin
It is difficult to establish a definitive date for the introduction of Islam into what ·is pre-
sent-day south Thailand. Although some early scholars have posited that Islam came to Patani,
the principal Muslim center of south Thailand, at an earlier date than its entry into Malacca,
no firm evidence has been established to corroborate this conclusion.6 Most specialists of
the area assume that local inhabitants were converted to Islam during the thirteenth or four-
teenth century A.D. 7 But thanks largely to the scholastic endeavors of Teeuw and.Wyatt on
the history of Patani, we do have some local traditions concerning the 'process' of Islam-
ization in this southern region. The sources of these local traditions are based upon a recently
discovered Malay manuscript of the Hikayat Patani, and a Thai translation or abridgement of
this Malay manuscript. The two sources relate a parallel legend ofhow the ruler ofPatani
became seriously ill and issued a proclamation to the effect that he would offer his daughter in
marriage to anyone who could cure him. A Muslim from Pasai who was living near Patani
offered to cure the ruler, on the promise that the ruler would convert to Islam. The ruler
agreed, was treated by the Muslim and recovered. However the ruler went back on his
word and refused to convert. After several relapses and several cures followed by broken
promises, the ruler finally decided to become a Muslim.8 Thomas Fraser, in gathering
ethnohistorical data in Rusembilan (a settlement near Patani) from Haji Wan Jussof,
arrived at essentially the same basic outline oflslamic conversion in Patani.9
Several interesting features are derived from these local traditions which illuminate the
structural and historical process of Islamization in Patani. The first significant aspect of
this tradition is that individuals occupying high-status positions were the initial converts.
This is in comf6rmity with what social historians ·have hypothesized about the emergence
of Islam throughout insular southeast Asia.l 0 In general it appears that Islam was adopt;d
by ruling families based on personal considerations and political self-interest. This factor is
reemphasized in that there is simply a nominal acceptance oflslam by the ruler rather than any
kind of mystical or revelatory experience.
As for the King himself it is true that he became a Muslim inasmuch as he gave up worshipping idols
and eating pork; but apart from that he did not alter a single one of his heathen habits.! I
6. Teeuw and David Wyatt, Hikayat Patani- The Story ofPatani, vol. I, The Hague: Niijhoff, 1970,
p. 4.
7. Thomas Ladd, "Bureaucratic attitudes and behavior as obstacles to political integration of Thai
Muslims", Southeast Asia: An International Quarterly, 3 (1), 1974, p. 545; Thomas Fraser, Rusembilan: A
Malay Fishing Village, Ithaca: Cornell University Press, 1960, p. 19.
8. Teeuw and Wyatt, ·op. cit., pp. 148-152; David Wyatt, "A Thai version of Newbold's 'Hikayat
Patani' ",Journal ofthe Malaysian Branch ofthe Royal Asiatic Society, 40, 1967, pp. 16-37.
9. Fraser, op. cit., p. 21.
10. Majul, op. cit., p. 377; J.C. Van Leur, Indonesian Trade and Society: Essays in Asian Social and
Economic History; vol. I, 1955, p. 144.
11. Teeuw and Wyatt, op. cit., p. 152.

ISLAM IN THAILAND 57
Another interesting aspect of this legend involves the offering of a daughter in marriage
by the local ruler. Other historians have also noted this regularity with respect to the spread
of Islam in Malaysia and Indonesia, whereby a Muslim immigrant would marry into an in-
digenous ruler's family. 12 The case of Malacca is the classical example of this process noted
above, but undoubtedly there were other cases. And finally, one other factor in the legend is
that, although the ruler himselfaccepted Islam, the majority of the population in the hinterland
did not do so.13 This would seem to indicate a continuous process ofIslamization rather than
any abrupt, millenarian type of conversion. This is consonant with the findings of other
specialists with regard to Islamization throughout insular southeast Asia.14 Hence this
Muslim folklore from Patani tends to confirm the conclusions of specialists studying
Islamization in Malaysia or Indonesia. And it indirectly elucidates our understanding of
the sociology of conversion in the Patani area, currently part of south Thailand. Apparently
the expansion of Islam into this area was similar to the way it came to the Malayan-Indo-
nesian world.
Thai sovereignty in the Islamic provinces
According to official Thai historiography, the area of Patani, including Yala, Narathi-
wat, and Satun, was incorporated into what was considered the Thai kingdom shortly after the
coming oflslam. A Thai government pamphlet on 'Islam in Thailand' issued by the Ministry
ofForeign Affairs states:
According to historical records, the 4 provinces have been an integral part of Thailand since the period
of King Ramkhamhaeng. . . They were then called the Territories to the South (Hua Muang Pak
Tai).IS
This would put the date for this event within the thirteenth century, during the Sukhodaya
period. This historiography may to some extent reflect exogenous sources; for, as Bastin
and Wyatt show, there were early arguments in Western treatises that the entire Malay
Peninsula belonged to Sukhodaya from the mid-thirteenth century until the Portuguese
conquest of Malacca in A.D. 151 p6 On this issue most Western historians follow Coedes,
who used epigraphic sources combined with Chinese and Pali documents to conclude that
the greater part of the Malay Peninsula submitted to Ram Gamhen at least as early as A.D.
1294.17 But Bastin and Wyatt conclude that the Pali and Chinese sources are really incon-
12. Brain Harrison, Southeast Asia: A Short History, London, New York: Macmillan Co., 1966, pp.
201-202.
13. Teeuw and Wyatt, op. cit., p. !52; Wyatt, 1967, foe. cit., p. 21.
14. Majul, op. cit., p. 397.
15. Thailand, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Islam in Thailand, English ed., Bangkok : Thai Government,
1976, p. 9.
16. John Bastin and David Wyatt, "Mainland powers on the Malay Peninsula, A.D. 1000-1511 ",
International (:o1rjerence on Asian History, '5-10 August 1968, unpubl., Kuala Lumpur: Department of History,
University of Malaya, p. I .
17. George Coedes, Indianized States of Southeast Asia, Honolulu : East-West Center, 1968, p. 373; A.B.
Griswold and Prasert na Nagara, "On kingship and society at Sukhodaya",inG. WilliamSkinner and A.
Thomas Kirsch (eds.), Change and Persiscence in Thai Society, Ithaca and London: Cornell University Press,
1975, p. 42; Lawrence P. Briggs, "The Khmer empire and the Malay Peninsula", Far Eastern Quarterly, 9,
1950, p. 301.

58 Raymond Scupin
elusive about the Thai advance southward. 18 Based upon evidence from local chronicles of
Nagara Sri Dhammaraja (Nakhon Si Thammarat) it does appear that Nagara Sri Dhamma-
raja was in fact in some sort of dependent vassal relationship vis-a-vis Sukhodaya.I9 Nagara
Sri Dhammaraja had served as a maritime outlet for Sukhodaya, and apparently a Sukho-
dayan king even visited the area in the latter part of the thirteenth century.20 And
furthermore, Nagara Sri Dhammaraja had tributary vassal relations with many of the
southern provinces including Patani. Thus Nagara Sri Dhammaraja conceivably could have
been an intermediate appendage of the Sukhodaya kingdom which maintained some link
with the southernmost provinces.
Thus,it appears that the official governmentaccount of the incorporation of the Muslim
southern provinces is not definitely wrong, yet it is only partially correct. For it cannot be
denied rigorously that Patani and the surrounding area did not have some relationship with the
northern Sukhodaya kingdom. And yet to say that these provinces were an 'integral' part of
the kingdom is definitely an overstatement of historical reality. The nu.b of this problem
involves a preciseconception of the structure of the vassalage network between the southern
provinces and the northern kingdom. Most recently Tambiah deals with the problem in an
illuminating analysis of what he terms "galactic polity".21 The model of the galactic polity,
a variant of Weber's "patrimonial bureaucracy", is applied to the Sukhodayan and Ayudhyan
kingdoms. In the galactic polity the king directly controls the manpower and resources in the
central geographical lccation, while the provinces in the outlying districts are essentially
autonomous replications of the center. Although this model is not new to southeast Asian
specialists,having been utilized by Heine-Geldern (1942), Leach (1960), Gullick (1958), Geertz
(1973), eta!., it is systematically sharpened in respect to the Thai data by Tambiah. 22 He
concludes that the galactic polities of Sukhodaya and Ayudhya were modelled on India or,
more precisely, Buddhist cosmological ideals and legal conceptions. But he is quick to
admit that these notions could have only taken root in Thailand because of preexisting
indigenous social conditions.23 .·
With the use of Wales's description of the Sukhodaya kingdom, Tambiah employs the
galactic model to illustrate the specific conditions of a typical, traditional southeast Asian
polity. After Sukhodaya gained autonomy from the declining Khmer empire, it brought
18. Bastin and Wyatt, foe. cit., pp. 21-23.
19./bid., p. 25; David Wyatt, The Crystal Sands: The Chronicles of Nagara Sri Dharmaraja, Data Paper
No. 98, Ithaca: Cornell University Press, 1975, pp. 92-93; Nantawan Haemindra, "The problems of the
Thai Muslims in the four southern provinces of Thailand (Part One)", Journal of Sourheast Asian Studies,
7(2), 1976, p. 198; Charnvit Kasetsiri, The Rise of Ayudhya: A History of Siam in the Fourteenth and Fifteenth
Centuries, Kuala Lumpur, London, New York, Melbourne: Oxford University Press, 1976, pp. 24, 39.
20. Kasetsiri, op. cit., p. 96.
21 . Stanley Tambiah, World Conqueror and World Renouncer, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press
1976, chaps. 7-8.
22. R .Heine-Geldern,"Conceptions ofstate and kingship in Southeast Asia", Far Eastern Quarterly, 2, 1942
pp. 15-20; Edmund R. Leach, "The frontiers of Burma", Comparative Studies in Society and Histor;:, 3, 1960
pp.49-68; J.M. Gullick, Indigenous Political Systems of Western Malaya, London School of Economics Mono-
graphs on Social Anthropology No. 17, London: Athlone Press, 1958; Clifford Geertz, Islam Observed,
Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1973.
23. Tambiah, op. cit., p. 103.

under its control three ofits neighbouring muangs (provinces) which were all located within a
distance of two days' march. In spite of this, these regions were largely independent satel-
lites, ruled by sons of the king, and were considered as having the status of children vis-a-vis
the capital province of Sukhodaya. And there were outlying regions beyond these four
provinces which were independent kingdoms that had tributary relationships with Sukho-
daya. As Tambiah concludes,
When King Ram Kamheng claimed as part of his kingdom various Lao polities of the north and
northeast, the old kingdom of Nagara Sri Dhammaraja in the south, and the kingdom of Pegu to the west,
he was at best claiming this indirect overlordship.24
Thus, like the early Indonesian kingdoms classified by Geertz as "theater states"25,
Sukhodaya appeared to have an 'exemplary center' where political symbolism was well de-
marcated, but where an effective administrative structure was absent in respect of outlying
areas. Political boundaries were constantly fluctuating in accordance with the exigencies at any
particular time. In territorial terms, the political center was linked to peripheral regions by
indefinite, tenuous ties.26 Clearly, the four southernmost provinces were not an 'integral' part
·of the Sukhodaya kingdom, but rather loosely circumscribed tributary polities which were
extremely localized. Nagara Sri Dhammaraja appears to have been a mediating node between
some ofthese southern Malay states and the Sukhodayan central provinces. And, apparently
after the death of Ram Garnhen and the succession of his son Lodaiya, the tie between the
southern Malay states and the Sukhodayan political center was severed.27
The Ayudhyan kingdom also exhibits the same structural features of the 'galactic polity'.
Tambiah specified the territorial configuration for the Ayudhyan kingdom at two points of
time: between 1460 and 1590, and between the seventeenth and eighteenth century. During
the former period Nagara Sri Dhammaraja was a second-class province of Ayudhya which
was ruled as an autonomous entity by a local hereditary ruler. In other words, as Wales
remarks, its "status differed little from that which it had enjoyed since the time of Rama
Garnhen".28 And at that time the more southern Malay states were foreign, 'independent'
polities on the perimeter of Ayudhya which triennially sent formal tribute, bunga mas, or gold
and silver trees, to the Thai king. But during the latter part of the Ayudhyan period, after
King Naresuan's reforms (A.D. 1590-1605), Nagara Sri Dhammaraja was upgraded.to a
first-class province which reflected a greater degree of centralization, and it extended Thai
sovereignty. Yet, the status of the southernmost dependencies does not seem to have
been transformed dramatically.
During the Ayudhyan period, Patani, and its immediate environs, though independent,
24. Ibid., p. 113.
25. Geertz, op. cit., p. 331.
26. Donald E. Brown, Principles of Social Structure: Southeast Asia, London: Duckworth Press, 1976, pp.
100-108.
27. Griswold and Prasert na Nagara, loc. cit., p. 49.
28. H.G. Quaritch Wales, Ancient Siamese Government and Administration, New York: Paragon Book
Reprint Corp., 1965, p. 106.

60 Raymond Scupin
did maintain formal ties with the northern capital. The basis of the alliance appears to be
related to a straightforward, calculated self-interest, in Patani that was in direct competition
with Malacca as a commercial entrepot until the seventeenth century. 29 Hence connections
between Ayudhya and Patani fluctuated in response to local economic contingencies. But
after the beginning of the seventeenth century and the decline of Portuguese trade, Patani
became the principal port for Japanese and Thai traders. At that time political relations
between Patani and the Ayudhyan center became much more substantive. 30
It was not until the beginning of the Bangkok period (A.D. I782) that the Thai state
began to become more deeply involved in the affairs of the southern vassalage network.
Tambiah has aptly characterized the transformation of the Ayudhyan 'galactic polity' into a
patrimonial bureaucratic state of Chakri design which he terms the 'radial polity'. 31 The
concept of the radial polity consists ofa state with a primate city (Bangkok) which attempts
to exert direct political control of the provinces through its governmental agents. In respect
of the historical record of the southern Malay states, following the Ayudhyan period the
Burmese occupied the whole of the south from Mergui as the political center. Eventually
they captured the Thai centers of Nakhon Si Thammarat and Songkhla. 32 But following
the ascendancy of Rama I these areas were recaptured and designated as administrative
centers in order to extend Thai hegemony over Patani and its environs. Songkhla was
detached from Nakhon Si Thammarat and accorded a superior rank with jurisdiction over
a somewhat rebellious Patani. This policy led to a divisive struggle between these two Thai
centers which did not aid Bangkok in the implementation of the vassalage. 33 Shortly
thereafter Patani was divided into seven districts called muang which were governed by
Songkhla. Then in Chulalongkorn's reign the seven muang were grouped as monthon
(circle) Patani, and were ruled under the supervision of a special royal commission.34
During this period under Prince Damrong's administrative reforms (1892) all muang were
divided into areas of direct or indirect rule. In the muang classified as being directly ruled,
indigenous rulers were replaced by centrally appointed officials who were responsible to the
Ministry of the Interior. But in areas ofindirect rule as monthon Patani was, local rulers were
not replaced but were subject to the jurisdiction of the central bureaucracy in Bangkok. In
return for this administrative jurisdiction, the local sultans were appointed as titular heads
of their respective areas and were given an annual salary and part of the rice'tax. Most of
the loc.al rulers agreed to this scheme, were given Thai names, and were appointed to the
Ministry of the Interior.3S In the next major administrative changes following the coup
d'etat of 1932, all monthon, were abolished, each muang was given some degree of self-
29. Teeuw and Wyatt, op. cit., pp. 7-9; Fraser, op. cit., pp. 19-20.
30. Teeuw and Wyatt, op cit., p. 13.
31. Tambiah, op. cit., p. 197.
32. Klaus Wenk, The Restoration of Thailand Under Rama I, 1782-1809, Tucson: University of Arizona
Press, 1968, p. 60.
33. ibid., p. 66; W.F. Vella, Siam Under RamalII, 1824-1851, Locust Valley, New York: J.J. Augustin, 1957,
p. 61.
34. Tambiah, op. cit., p. 197; Haemindra, foe. cit., p.202; M. Vickery,"Thai regional elites and the reforms
of King Chulalongkorn", Journal ofAsian Studies, 39(4), 1970, pp. 876-877.
35. Fraser, op. cit., p. 28.

government within limits and was classified as changwat. 36 The changwat ofPattani, Satun,
Yala, and Narathiwat were absorbed into the radial polity which extended outwards from the
Bangkok metropolis.
One factor which must be stressed in attempting to account for the establishment of
Thai sovereignty over these Muslim areas, is the degree to which Thai immigrants from the
north were settling in the Malay Peninsula. There is some epigraphic evidence to suggest
that Thai settlers were progressively moving down the Peninsula during the twelfth century.37
Folklore accounts for Thai settlers in the southern Peninsula during the Sukhodaya period.38
In the later Ayudhyan era there appeared to be a governmental policy armed towards
assimilation, and Thai settlers were introduced into these southern provinces. 39 As Vella
remarks, by the time of Rama III the Thai segment cf the population was increasing more -
rapidly than the resident Malay population.40 Whether this development was the intended
result of a project by Thai authorities appears to be a matter of interpretation, but the con-
sequences of this southward migration did facilitate the incorporation precess.
Islam in central Thailand
The genesis ofIslam in central Thailand is distinctly different and separate from the spread
of Islam to southern Thailand. The earliest evidence indicating a link between central
Thailand and the Islamic world has been discovered only recently. In 1957, while excavating
at Wat Rajaburana in ancient Ayudhya, archeologists from Silpakorn University uncovered
two gold coins with Arabic script on both sides. Wat Rajaburana was built during the early
Ayudhyan period, in the reign of King Sam Praya Boromaraja (A.D. 1418 -1434). The
script on one side of each gold coin was read as "Sultan AI-Adil", while that on the
other side was read as "Zain-ui-Abiden-Malik".41 The provenance of the coins was
Kashmir, and they had been minted during the reign of Sultan Zain-ui-Abiden (A.D. 1420-
1470), at Saraf Kadal, known as Tanki Sarai.42 Ostensibly Ayudhya was a stopping
place for Muslim traders from Kashmir on the salt trade route to China in the fifteenth
century. 43 Aside from this particular datum, there is nothing to indicate any Muslim
contact with Ayudhya or central Thailand until the expansion of trade in the seventeenth
century.
As in other parts of southeast Asia, trade was the important factor in the migration
of Muslims to central Thailand. Although foreign trade was relatively unimportant in
respect to the Thai economy as a whole, by the end of the sixteenth century an overseas
36. R. Landon, Siam in Transition, Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1939, p. 84.
37. Kasetsiri, op. cit., pp. 35-36.
38. Francis H. Giles, "The Koh Lak tradition", Journal ofthe Siam Society, 30, 1938, p. 15.
39. Wenk, op. cit., p. 102; Teeuw and Wyatt, op. cit., p. 23.
40. Vella, op. cit., p. 59.
41. Direk Kulsiriswasd, The Historical and Literary Relations of Muslims in Siam, Bangkok: Silpakorn
University (in Thai), 1973, pp. 14-15.
42. R.K. Parmu, A History ofMuslim Rule in Kashmir 1320-1819, Delhi: People's Publishing House, 1969,
p. 155.
43 . Ibid., pp. 1-5.

62 Raymond Scupin
trade began to stimulate a demand for Thai exports. 44 A circular trading network involved
the importation of Indian cloth for Thai consumption in exchange for non-monetary
commodities. These commodities were sent on to the Japanese market and exchanged for
silver and other products, which eventually were sent to India. Thai exports included mainly
unprocessed natural products such as deerskins, other animal hides, aloe wood, rice, pepper,
sugar, ivory and elephants.4 5 This trade gathered momentum during the seventeenth century,
leading to the eventual penetration of the European economic powers. But Muslim traders
from various countries had been participating in the Thai foreign trade almost from the
beginning.
During the seventeenth century the Thai economy was not a fully developed market
economy but was rather an administered economy. Both Thai and European records
indicate that the King of Ayudhya strictly and absolutely controlled both domestic and
foreign trade.46 King Mongkut, in writing on Thai trade history late in Chakri dynastic
times, stated that the kings themselves had established royal monopolies in order to gain ·
revenue for the royal treasury. Many commodities were monopolized by the king, while
others were denied to traders until the king had as much as he wanted to buy. This royal
control had also prevailed during the Ayudhyan period. Private traders had been allowed
to trade in certain so-called 'vulgar' commodities, but most export goods had been subject
to royal prerogative. Although this institutional framework was not conducive to the
development of indigenous entrepreneurs, ironically it led to some opportunities for foreign
traders. For example, at times various Thai kings would lend capital to foreign traders in
order to stimulate trade in particular commodities and ultimately derive some of the profits
for the royal coffers. 47 Because of this economic and political climate, many Muslims
came and established themselves in the Ayudhyan capital to become successful traders.
Persian Muslims
One of the most influential ethnic trading communities in seventeenth-century Ayudhya
was that of Iranian or Persian Muslims. Iranian navigation and commercial activities were
evident well before the Islamic era.48 But during the Islamic period this commercial activity
became more intense, resulting in the establishment of Iranian outposts in various parts of
southeast Asia. In the inscription of Ram Gamhen of 1292, a Persian word translated as
44. Teeuw and Wyatt, op. cit., p. 13; W.H. Moreland, From Akbar to Aurangzeb: A Study in Indian Economic
History, New Delhi : Oriental Books Reprint Company, 1923, p. 65.
45. James C. Ingram, Economic Change in Thailand, Stanford: Stanford University Press, 1971, p. 21;
Muhammad ibn Ibrahim, The Ship ofSulaiman, trans. John O'Kane, Persian Heritage Series No. II, London:
Routledge and Kegan Paul, 1972, p. 151.
46. Ingram, op. cit., pp.21, 26, 27; Simon de La Loubere, The Kingdom ofSiam, Oxford: Oxford University
Prer.s, 1969, p. 112; Nicholas Gervaise, The Natural and Political History of the Kingdom of Siam A.D. 1688,
Bangkok, 1928, p. 132; G.W. Hutchinson, 1688 Revolution in Siam: The Memoire of Father de Beze, S.J.,
Hong Kong: Hong Kong University Press, 1968, p. II.
47. Gervaise, op. cit., pp. 131-133; Hutchinson, op. cit., p. II.
48. Paul Wheatley, The Golden Khersonese: Studies in the Historical Geography of the Malay Peninsula
Before A.D.l500, Kuala Lumpur: University of Malaya Press, 1961, p. 283.

"bazaar" was used to designate a market in Sukhodaya.49 This suggests that there may have
been a trading relationship between Persia and Sukhodaya in this early period. There is some
linguistic evidence to suggest that Iranians may have known about the city of Ayudhya from
its foundation in the fourteenth century. In one important navigational tract dated in 1462,
the city of Ayudhya is referred to as "Shar-i-Naw". The translation of Shar-i-Naw is usually
rendered as "new town". so Thus it may be inferred that Iranians knew about Ayudhya at
the time of its initial establishment in A.D. 1350.51
The first Persian Muslims mentioned in the Ayudhyan chronicles were two brothers,
Shayk Ahmad and Muhammad Sa-id, who came during the reign of King Naresuan (A.D.
1590-1605). These Muslims were referred to by the Thais as "khaek'' which was a general term
covering Arab, Persian, Indian, and Malay immigrants and their descendants. Thus it is some-
what equivalent to the term "pathee" as used by the Burmese. 52 For that reason some writers
have mistakenly referred to these brothers as Arabs. 53 In fact they were Iranians who estab-
lished a settlement in the area south of Wat Suan Luang near Klong Krajan. This area is
known as "Tha-Ka-Ji" which was a Thai distortion of the Persian word "aqa" which meant
"leader" or "chief", with the suffix "ji" added to denote respect. 54 ln this area there are
the remains of what is called Kudithong or "Golden Mosque" which is identified with the
·personage of Shayk Ahmad.ss
Shayk Ahmad, Muhammad Sa-id and their descendants laid the foundations of the
Bunnag family, a politically prominent family in Thai society for over three centuries.S6
Although not much is known regarding the life of Muhammad Sa-id, Shayk Ahmad became
an influential political leader during the early seventeenth century in Ayudhya. Following
M.R. Kukrit Pramoj's account, Shayk Ahmad helped mastermind the coup staged by King
Songtam against Pra Sin Si in A.D. 1620.57 He was on good terms with Cha-mun Sri Sorarak,
later known as King Prasot Thong or the "Bottled Spider". Cha-mun Sri Sorarak had
also aided Songtam in his coup. For their efforts both Cha-mun Sri Sorarak and Shayk
49. A.B. Griswold .and Prasert na Nagara, "Epigraphic and Historical Studies, No.9: the inscription of
King Rama Gamhen of Sukhodaya (A.D. 1292)", Journal ofthe Siam Society, 59 (2), July 1971, p. 213.
50. Ayed Naquib AI-Attas, '~ Note on the opening of relations between China and Malacca, 1403-05",
Journal ofthe Malaysian Branch ofthe Royal Society, 38, 1965, p. 261; George Hans Penth, "An account in the,
Hikayat Atjeh on relations between Siam and Atjeh", in Felicitation Volumes ofSoutheast Asian Studies Offered
to Prince Dhani Nivat, Bangkok: The Siam Society, 1965.
51. It must be added that in John O'Kane'stranslation oflbn Muhammad Ibrahim's account ofa seventeenth-
century Persian voyage to Thailand, the city of Ayudhya is called "Shar-i-Nav" which is translated as "City
of the Boat". This also makes sense in that Ayudhya was completely surrounded by canals, and boats were
the principal means of transportation. See Ibrahim, op. cit., p. 88.
52. Moshe Yegar, The Muslims of Burma, Wiesbaden : Otto Harrassowite, 1972, p. 7.
53. M .R. Kukrit Pramoj, "A history of Muslims in Thailand", in Thai, lecture delivered at Suan Kularb
College, Bangkok: Aksornsarn Press 1968, p. 3.
54. Kulsiriswasd, op. cit., p. 15.
55./bid., p. 15; Pramoj, op. cit., p. 4.
56. David Wyatt, "A Persian mission to Siam in the reign of King Narai", Journal of the Siam Society,
62(1), 1974, pp. 154-155; David Wyatt, "Family politics in nineteenth-century Thailand", Journal of Southeast
Asian History, 9(2), Sept. 1968, pp. 208-228; Akin Rabibhadana, 71ze Organization of Thai Society in the Early
Bangkok Period, 1782-1873, Interim Report Series No. 12, Data Paper No. 74, Southeast Asia Program, Ithaca:
Cornell University Press, 1969, p. 213.
57. Pramoj, op. cit., p. 5.

64 Raymond Scupin
Ahmad were given high political posts. Ahmad received the title "Praya Rathanarasetthi".
Later during the weii-known attempts at political intrigue on the part of the Japanese samurai
population in Ayudhya, Ahmad and Cha-mun helped in suppressing these activities. They
were rewarded with yet higher positions. Ahmad was appointed as "Samuhanaiyok" and
remained so until he was 87 years old. For a time he·was appointed as the "Phraklang" or
Minister of Foreign Trade which oversaw and regulated foreign trade and had some part in
controiiing the foreign population of Ayudhya. This position was divided between depart-
ments (krom) of the Central Port or harbor. A Left-Wing Port Department (Krom Tha
Sai) headed by a person of Chinese descent dealt with the Chinese; and a Right-Wing
Department (Krom Tha Kwa), headed by a khaek, was in charge of activities dealing with
khaek and other foreigners. ss
For later accounts of the Iranian community we must turn to Western sources and Ibn
Muhammad Ibrahim's perceptive journal. In terms of population size, Ibrahim mentions
that about 30 traders were living in Ayudhya at the time of his visit in the latter part of the
seventeenth century.59 However, there must have been a considerable number of other
Iranians, for other scholars have noted that there was a substantial number of Muslims from
the Middle East.60 Many of the Iranians were descendants of the aristocratic or upper
classes of Iran; and the community included not only merchants but also a fair number
of other educated people, such as architects, artisans, scholars, and poets.61 In other words
the stream of Muslims from Iran consisted of people, many highly educated, with various
occupational roles. Though trade provided the major impetus for immigration, other types of
Iranians followed in the wake of the merchants. In effect, the Iranian immigrants comprised
a f'u'ily developed ethnic 'community' in this early Ayudhyan kingdom.
The sociopolitical structure of this Iranian community, within the context of the Ayudh-
yan bureaucracy, has been commented on by La Loubere and Ibrahim, both visitors in
the seventeenth century. The Iranians had their own quarter of the city, or Ban, headed
by a political leader, or Nai, appointed by the king to manage the affairs of the community.62
As mentioned above, the Phraklang of the Krom Tha Kwa was in charge of all the foreign
residents with the exception ofthe Chinese. And since the period of Shayk Ahmad's ascendan-
cy to this position, the Phraklang was held by the leader of the Iranian community for most
of the seventeenth century. Thus the Nai of the Ban, and Phraklang, were offices jointly
held by the same individual. This gave the Iranian community ·a great deal of political
leverage in dealings with the royal authorities. There were also other royal appointments held
by members of the Iranian community. Some positions were adjunct to the Krom Tha Kwa,
while others were high-ranking titles such as "Khan Upra" or prime minister. 63 Ibrahim
58. Thailand, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, History of the Bureaucratic Structure of the Ministry of Foreign
Affairs, in Thai, Bangkok: Thai Government, 1976, p. 19.
59. Ibrahim, op . cit., p. 94.
60. La Loubere, op. cit., p. I 12; Wales, op. cit., p. 65; Larry Sternstein, •· 'Krung Kao': the old capital of
Ayutthaya", Journal ofthe Siam Society, 53, 1965, p. 1078.
61 . Ibrahim, op. cit., pp. 46, 57, 102-103.
62. Ibid., p. 125; La Loubere, op . cit., p. I12.
63. Ibrahim, op. cit., p. 51; La Loubere, op. cit., p. I 12; Gervaise, op. cit., p. 131.

indicates that this Muslim community was governed by its own religious and secular judges
in accordance with customary practices.64 This suggests that the Sharia, or Islamic law,
may have been operative for this community. Although this was definitely the case for the early
trading colonies within China,65 we do not have the evidence to confirm the application of
the Sharia during the Ayudhya period.
In terms of Islamic ideology, the Iranians were of the Shia sect, as Iran was the center
of Shiism in the Muslim world. Important Shia rituals such as the Muharram to honor
'Ali', the son-in-law of the Prophet and his descendants, were performed regularly in
Ayudhya. In fact it was in the context of such a ritual that the well-known King Narai
instigated and successfully implemented a coup in A.D. 1656.66 Though Thailand was a
Buddhist country, the royal administration was generally tolerant and even supportive of the
Muslim religious rites in this era. For example, several mosques were established at royal
expense and the king contributed lavishly towards the Muharram and other Muslim rites.67
There was, however, a split between official policy and practice regarding the proselytization
of Islam in Thailand. According to an edict from the mid-seventeenth century, anyone
allowing themselves or their kin to be converted to a foreign religion would be considered
an enemy of the state. They could be imprisoned, have their property confiscated, or have
other punitive measures taken towards them.68 Yet, peculiarly enough, for some time
during the Ayudhya period Thais who did convert to Islam were exempted from the
corvee.69 And as Ibrahim observed on his sojourn throughout the kingdom, there was
some success in the spread of Shia doctrine among the Thais.70
Hence, in most respects, the Iranian community had developed a fairly secure social and
political niche in Ayudhya, and even had limited success in proselytizing Shiism. But this
security would not persist into the eighteenth century, for with the entrance of the Western
political and economic powers and their maneuverings, the Iranian community was set on a
decline. This factor, in conjunction with internal dissension within the community as a conse-
quence of incompetent leadership, weakened the political influence of the Iranians. Initially
divisiveness and factionalism in the community may have been a result of the recruitment of a
large number of Iranians from India to serve as a royal militia. These recruits were dissatisfied
with the treatment given them by both the Thai royalty and the Iranian leadership.71 Regard-
less ofthe cause of the split in the ranks, it led to the candidacy of the Greek adventurer Con-
stantine Phaulkon to the Phraklang. The exploits of this Phraklang are well known to Asian
64. Ibrahim, op. cit., p. 125.
65. Tibbets, op. cit., p. 41.
66. Ibrahim, op. cit., pp. 94-95; Ronald Smith, Siam, or the History of the Thais 1569 A.D. to 1824 A.D.,
Bethesda, Maryland : Decatur Press, 1967, p. 57.
67. Ibrahim, op. cit., p. 77; La Loubere, op. cit., p. 112; Gervaise, op. cit., p. 95.
68. Wales, op. cit., p. 66.
69. La Loubere, op. cit., p. 112.
70. Ibrahim, op. cit., p . 50.
71. Ibid., p. 100.

66 Raymond Scupin
specialists, and they will not be recounted here.72 But it can be concluded that Phaulkon,
in pursuing his own interests and European goals, did his utmost to work against the
political and economic interests of the Iranian community.73 Therefore the expansion of
Western political and economic interests, combined with internal schisms within the Iranian
community, led to the diminution of Muslim influence in central Thailand. Following this,
many of the Iranian traders departed from Thailand, and others were deprived of their
preeminent political positions.74 Although the descendants of some of these Iranian Muslims
were influential with respect to the Thai political scene, this Iranian Muslim community no
longer had a decisive role in Thai economic and political affairs after the seventeenth
century.
Due to the influential socioeconomic position of the Iranian Muslims in Ayudhyan
society during the seventeenth century, Persian culture inevitably had an effect on the Thai
Buddhist sociocultural heritage. Whereas the Thai sociopolitical structure was embryonic
during this period, the Persian Muslims had migrated from a centralized kingdom which had
been flourisliing for centuries. Thai royalty was especially eager to learn about Iranian
political life and court etiquette. Since many of the Iranians seem to have been connected to
the royal or aristocratic class, they were able to describe in considerable detail the customs
and practices of Iranian royalty and ruling techniques. Some of these Persian cultural
influences have been treated popularly by M.R. Kukrit, and in a more scholarly fashion by
Direk Kusilsriswasd. Ibrahim noted many of the details of this cultural 'diffusion' in his
journal of the seventeenth century.
Persian intellectual influence on Thai royal affairs came through the translation or com-
pilation of some Persian literature by a khaek noble who served in the Ayudhyan court.75
This work in Thai is known as the Iran Rajadhamma or Nithan Sibsawng Liam ("Tale of the
Twelve Angels"). The work of literature deals with courts, customs, and ruling techniques
of ancient Iranian and Moghul kings. Much of it is drawn from the famed Shanama ("Book
of Kings") of the medieval Persian poet Firdawsi. It was compiled in A.D. 1752 during the
reign of King Boromoraja. M.R. Kukrit remarks that the Thai king would regularly have
this Persian court literature read to him.76 It is not inconceivable that Iranian and Shia
concepts of legitimacy and divine right have had an impact on the Thai Buddhist institution
of kingship.
All research concurs regarding the direct effect of Iranian custom on the dress of Thai
royalty. As Ibrahim notes, King Narai wore Iranian dress with the customary dagger.77
72. Smith, op. cit., pp. 60-69; Hall, op. cit., pp. 342-352; John F. Cady, Southeast Asia: Its Historical
Development, New York: McGraw Hill Book Co., 1964, pp. 270-277; W.A.R. Wood, A History of Siam, from
the Earliest Times to the Year A.D. 1781, with a Supplement Dealing with More Recent Events, Bangkok:
Siam Barnakich Press, 1933, pp. 198-213.
73. Ibrahim, op_. cit., p. 60; Gervaise, op. cit., pp. 28, 95, 132; Maurice Collis, Siamese White, London:
Faber and Faber, 1965, pp. 62-63.
74. Ibrahim, op. cit., p. Ill; La Loubere, op. cit., p. 112; Gervaise, op. cit., p. 132.
75. Kulsiriswasd, op. cit., pp. 39-45.

Evidently dietary patterns and culinary etiquette were copied from the Persian Muslims by
the Thai royalty. 78 As evident from some Ayudhyan pagodas, artistic and architectural
styles were borrowed from Persian forms. Some of the porcelain used in the pagodas was
imported from Iran.79
Indian Muslims
Muslim merchants from India also migrated to central Thailand during the Ayudhya
period. As mentioned above there was a healthy trading relationship between India and
Tha.iland. Evidently an important diplomatic connection was established between King
Narai and the Moghul emperors; for at the National Museum in Bangkok there is a
lacquer cabinet (the 'LouisjAurangzeb Cabinet') which allegedly depicts Aurangzeb Alamgir,
the famed Moghul emperor (A.D. 1658-1707), next to Louis XIV of France. Indian Muslim
dominated the economic scene in Mergui (Tenasserim) which was part of Thai territory.80
Ibrahim, in his journal, notes some of the Indian Muslims at Mergui were followers of the
Shafii school of Islamic law, while others were Hanafi.81 Although good historical data do
not exist regarding the Indian Muslims for this period, it appears that their numerical
strength was limited.
Indonesian Muslims
A contingent of Indonesian Muslims also settled in central Thailand in the Ayudhya
period. The conquest of the port of Macassar by the Dutch naval commander Cornelius
Speelman in 1667 led to the migration of various political refugees.82 King Narai offered
political asylum to an exiled prince of Macassar and his cohorts. Ibrahim describes this
community on his visit in 1686.83 Although no precise population data are referred to,
these Macassar Muslims did reside in their own neighborhood or Ban of Ayudhya. 84 Like
other Muslims of Indonesia and Malaysia they followed the prescriptions of the Shafii school
of Islamic law and were Sunni. But Ibrahim also mentions non-Islamic magical practices
and customary ritual dances that were important cultural features of this group. In A.D.
1686, a coup d'etat was sponsored and attempted by some members of the Macassarese
community in Ayudhya against King Narai. Though Western sources and Ibrahim's
account offer conflicting interpretations this historical episode, all sources agree that the
Macassar community was decimated following the failure of the revolt. 85
Cham Muslims
Another group of Muslims who were settled in Ayudhya before the eighteenth century
were from Cambodia. The Cambodian Muslims have a long history extending back to the
78. Ibid., p. 68.
80. Collis, op. cit. , pp. 36, 40.
82. Hall, op. cit., p. 300; Cady, op. cit., p. 219.
83. Ibrahim, op. cit., pp. 135-136.
84. La Loubere, op. cit., p. 112.
85. Ibrahim, op . cit., p . 138; Wood, op . cit. , p. 207; Smith, op. cir., p. 64.

68 Raymond Scupin
Champa kingdom in what is present-day Viet Nam. The Champa kingdom flourished as a
Hindu-Buddhist state from the second century A.D. until its defeat at the hands of the
Annamese (southern Vietnamese) in A.D. 1471.86 Although no precise date can be given for
the appearance of Islam in Champa, it is clear that there were Arab and Persian settle-
ments as early as the second half of the eighth century.87 Middle Eastern traders had been
traveling to China since the seventh century, so it is likely that Champa was an important
intermediate node on this route between the two countries. Documents translated by M.
Ravaise indicate that there was an urban center in Champa where some of these Muslims
came to settle. They selected a "Seih es Suq", the "syndic of the marketplace", to represent
them in the eyes of the local authorities. A "Sheik ul Islam", or Mufti, looked after their
spiritual and religious needs, and a "Qadi" (Islamicjudge) administered the Sharia, 88 The
evidence suggests that this communit~· of Muslims included merchants and artisans living
in Champa in a self-contained social environment similar to the Persian Muslims of
Ayudhya. But there is no historical evidence to suggest that Islam was adopted by the
indigenous Cham population outside of these Arab-Persian communities.
It was not until after the collapse of Champa that Islam was accepted as a popular
religion by the Chams. After the Annamese victory in A.D. 1491, Cham refugees fled to
Malacca, Java and Cambodia. Afterwards Islam slowly took root among the Cham
refugees, mainly through the influence of Malayan-Indonesian culture. Chams are the only
sizable Malayo-Polynesian speaking group north of Malaya.89 Consequently, the Chams
had extremely close cultural ties with the Malaysian world. After the Cham refugees
settled in Cambodia, many Malay Muslims went there and were successful in propagating
Islam. Most of these refugees settled at Kampong Thorn and Kampong Cham near the
Mekong River, about 120 kilometers from present-day Phnom Penh.9°
It is not known how some of these Cham Muslims came to settle in Ayudhya. But
from the evidence that exists it appears that they were primarily involved as military vo-
lunteers. The Cham volunteer corp was organized into a krom designated Krom Asa-Cham.
The term krom usually is translated as "department" or "palace" , "court" or "chamber".91
Krom Asa-Cham was subdivided into a left wing and a right wing, both under the command
of Phraya Jawang, or Chang-Wang. The soldiers and officials of Krom Asa-Cham were
classified to suit their respective positions within the Sakdi Na socio-political system as
instituted by King Boromotrailokanat (Trailok) in the Laws of Civil and Military Hierarchy
of A.D. 1454. The Sakdi Na system was a broadly devised scheme to supplement the
maintenance of authority over and control of manpower in the Thai state. lt was a struc-
ture of ranks or statuses with prescriptive dimensions which applied to every conceivable
level in the society from common men and slaves to the senior princes of the realm.
A key feature of the status arrangement was the quantification of status designations which
86. G . Maspero, Kingdom of Champa, New Haven : Yale University Press, 1949, pp. 1-54.
88. Fatimi, op. cit. , p. 53.
89. Maspero, op. cit., pp. 15-16.
89. Robbins Burling, Hill Farms and Padi Fields: Life in Mainland Southeast Asia, Englewood Cliffs, New
Jersey: Prentice Hall, 1965, p. 121.
90. Donald P. Whitaker et a/., Area Handbook for the Khmer Republic (Cambodia) , Washington : U.S.
Government Printing Office, 1973, p. 73.
91. Tambiah, op. cit., p. 141 .

corresponded to royal land grants. Statuses ranged from 100,000 for the Upparat (the
highest government official), 10,000 for a minister, to 10-25 for a phrai (cmhmoner), to 5
for a that (slave).92 The officials of Krom Asa-Cham were classified into the ranks shown
in the following chart, listed with their allocated areas of land in units of rai (equivalent
to 0.16 hectare).
KROM ASA-CHAM
LEFT WING
I_ 2 directors_
(1,600 rai each)
Chang-Wang
(2,000 rai)
l deputy
(800 rai)
2 left deputies
(800 rai each)
2 right deputies
(800 rai each)
RIGHT WING
I_2 directors_
(I ,600 rai each)
2 left deputies
(800 rai each)
2 right deputies
(800 rai each)
_1 accountant-general_ _1 accountant-general_
(400 rai) (400 rai)
'--------;-----1I
Khun Asa-Cham
(400 rai)
IMuen Asa-Cham
(200 rai)
92. Rabibhadana, op. cit., p. 22.

70 Raymond Scupin
In religious terms, though there was anearly Shiite influence among the Chams, in general
they subscribed to the form of Islam found in Ma1aysia.93 That is, they were Sunni and fol-
lowers of the Shafii legalistic school of thought. Historically the Chams of Cambodia were
always inclined towards orthodoxy. This is in distinct contrast to the Chams who remained
in the area of Viet Nam. These Vietnamese Chams refer to themselves as Muslims, but
their ideology and practices diverged radically from normative Islamic doctrines.~4
The
Chams in Ayudhya came from Cambodia and hence were probably more steadfast in respect
to orthoprax Islam.
Chinese Muslims
Another channel for the entrance of Islam into Thailand was through the 'Islamicized'
portion of China. In Burma, these Chinese are referred to as Min Chia or Chinese Lisu, but
most authorities refer to them as Chinese Haw.95 The areas where the largest groups of Chinese
Muslims were residing were Yunnan Province in the southwest part of China, and the Provinces
of Shensi, Kamsu, and Sinking in the northwest. The Haw Muslims in Thailand originate
from the southwestern part of Yunnan. Historically this ethnic group operated an expansive
trading network between the Shan States, China, and northern Thailand. For example, they
carried Chinese silk and metal products into north Thailand and returned to China with
cotton.96 Although some of these Muslims gradually settled in the northern Provinces of
Chiang Mai, Chiang Rai, Mae Hong Son, and Lamphun, it appears that they were a transient
population until the nineteenth century.
In explaining the entrance of Islam into Thailand, the historical processes for two divergent
cultural areas must be considered: the insular southeastAsian states of Malaysia, and the main-
land central and northern regions of Thailand. The Islamization of south Thailand must be
evaluated within the broader context of the global expansion of Islam into insular southeast
Asia and the transformation of the Thai 'bureaucratic polity'. During the thirteenth century
Islam was diffused throughout the ports and principalities of the Malayan world including the
present-day area of Pattani, Satun, Yala, and Narathiwat Provinces. Shortly after this the
93. Fatimi, op. cit., p. 47; Anton Cabaton, "Indochina", in B. Lewis et al., The Encyclopaedia of Islam,
London, Leiden: E.J. Brill, 1971, pp. 1209-1210.
94. Ibid., p. 1210.
95. Edmund R . Leach, Political Systems ofHighland Burma, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1954,
p. 59; William Skinner, Chinese Society in Thailand: An Analytical History, Ithaca: Cornell University Press
1957, p. 81; Frederick W. Mote,"The rural Haw (Yunnanese Chinese) of northern Thailand", in Peter Kunstadter
(ed.), Southeast Asian Tribes, Minorities, and Nations, vol.2, Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1967, p. 490.
96. Michael Moerman, "Chiang Kham's trade in the 'old days'". in G. William Skinner and A. Thomas
Kirsch (eds.), Change and Persistence in Thai Society, Ithaca and London: Cornell University Press, 1975, pp.
154-155; Suthep Soonthornpasuch, "lslamic identity in Chiang Mai City: a historical and structural comparison
of two communities", unpubl. diss. (anthrop.), University of California, Berkeley, 1977, pp. 49-50.

Sukhodayan and Ayudhyan kingdoms became involved in the internal affairs of these
Provinces, albeit in a limited way. Hanks, in a characterization of the Thai state previous to
the Chakri era, likens the Thai political structure to a chain store, operating where it had
affiliates.97 Thus before the Bangkok period, the 'galactic polities' of Sukhodaya and Ayudhya
were only loosely tied to their southern tributary Malay states. But as the Chakri kings
established themselves in Bangkok and t~eir kingdom expanded into a 'radial polity', political
authority was exercised in a more direct way throughout the Islamic provinces. This process,
coupled with the immigration of Thais from the north, cinched the full-scale incorporation
of the southern domains.
Very different historical conditions apply to the Muslims of central Thailand. Although
there were attempts at the proselytization of Islam on the part of Muslim migrants and visitors
to central Thailand, they had very little success.98 In contrast to the situation in Malaya and
Indonesia, the establishment of Islam in central Thailand was due solely to immigration and
intermarriage. The Iranian, Indian, Indonesian, and Cham Muslims settled in Ayudhya and
at times intermarried with Thais to create the original nucleus of the Muslim population in
the central Thai region.
The principal reasons for the relatively insignificant success in converting the majority of
Thais to Islam in the central zone are similar to those proposed for Burma by Yegar.99 First,
geographically and commercially these areas, unlike insular southeast Asia, were not part of
the major trading arc between southeast Asia and the Middle East. But perhaps more impor-
tantly, Buddhism had been adopted as the popular religion by a massive population in central
Thailand, and it was not just the religious form adopted by a few virtuosos and a small elite.tOO
This was in contrast to what was the prevailing cultural milieu in insular southeast Asia where
Buddhism had become simply a 'high-status' religion. And Buddhism also had become insti-
tutionalized as the state religion during the Ayudhya period.1o1 Hence, Buddhism had apparent-
ly filled an ideological void in central Thailand as islam had in Malaysia, Indonesia and the
southern Philippines.
97. Lucien Hanks, "The Thai social order as entourage and circles", in G.William Skinner and A. Thomas
Kirsch(eds.), op. cit., p. 209.
98. Gervaise, op. cit., p. 95; Ibrahim, op. cit., p. 50.
99. Yegar, op. cit., pp. 26-28.
100. Charles F. Keyes, The Golden Peninsula: Culture and Adaptation in Mainland Southeast Asia, New York:
Macmillan Publishing Co., 1977, p. 82.
101. Wales, cp . cit.,p. 131 .

Islam in Thailand before the Bangkok Period

Islam in Thailand before the Bangkok Period

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