Bangkok- Bangkok is launching a series of initiatives aimed at improving relations between Buddhists and Muslims in the south of the country, at the centre of a pro-Muslim and separatist rebellion which has claimed over 2,100 lives since January 2004. Local reports on Monday said Bangkok is inaugurating Malay language courses in the Muslim-majority provinces of Yala, Narathiwat and Pattani. Most local public employees hail from other parts of the country and often ignore the local Malay dialect, the ‘yawi‘. The culture ministry is also setting up a school training Muslim clerics.
The news follows recent reports saying that many universities in the country were planning to create departments of Islamic studies for Thai Muslim students who wanted to continue their studies without having to relocate to Saudi Arabia, Pakistan, Egypt or Indonesia - all countries which offer better opportunities and often scholarships.
Bangkok reportedly fears Muslims studying abroad can embrace fundamentalist doctrine.
Thailand only currently has two Islamic higher education centres, both in the south.
Source: www.adnki.com (18 Mei 2007)
