I find the letter from the Norwegian journalist, Hans Schilde, to be a bit odd.
1) Who said that Col. Nerdah Mya wrote the book, ‘War in Karen Country’? Tom Bleming’s name is on the front cover of the book.
2)Col. Nerdah Mya told me in an email that Tom was his “good friend” and that he was acting as consul general in the U.S.
3) Col. Nerdah Mya invited me to come over and “bring extra boots and equipment” for his troops
4) I think Hans is just showing his ass by adding that part in there stating that Viet Nam vets have mental problems. It would have been nice if Hans Schilde had just stuck with the facts like any legitimate journalist, but he instead had to inject some of his own prejudices into the conversation (Yes, Mr. Schilde, I know who you are, as well as your agenda)
5) Yes, the discussion of the authorship of the book is closed. Tom Bleming wrote it.
Tulya: It is clear that you haven’t read the posts at NM very carefully, if at all. Your childish rant and use of profanity does not fit here, where there is serious discussion of this topic.
re: nganadeeleg PS. I hope you don’t mind me addressing you as Lleij (I thought it might be better than the usual LSS, but still saves on typing)
I don’t mind at all.
I see what you and Srithanonchai are saying about ignoring commands. My main point is the danger in translating words that carry a pragmatic force that are untranslatable in a certain sense.
What I found absolutely bizzare in Ungpakorn’s piece, especially considering it’s self-proclaimed Marxist viewpoint, was that he failed to address the fact that the insurgency is unwinnable, in its current state, because insurgencies are primarly won through ideological warfare.
The Thai government has shown a steady refusal to combat the insurgents on the battlefield of ideas, which is quite sad as I was hoping that progress in the South would have been one of the good things to come out of the coup. I was hopeful that prominant Thai Muslim members of the junta, like Sonthi B. and Aree Wong-araya, would possess an understanding of the religo-cultural concepts that formulates the causa belli of the insurgency. [It wouldn’t be a LSS post without at least one egregious use of Latin, now would it?] However, even if, in fact, they did, it would be a monumental task to combat the ideology of the insurgents, as they are, in Ungpakorn’s words, so “radical”. I am, of course, using the term in its original sense, that is, the insurgents’ beliefs are grounded in the “roots” of orthodox interpretations of the Qur’an, the Sunna, authorative Hadith and centuries of Qur’anic exegesis by numerous faqih (jurists of Islamic law). [As an aside, what I also found to be equally bizzare was Ungpakorn’s implication that somehow Communism and Islam were mutally exclusive; 10 million Hui prove him wrong.]
Ungpakorn is absolutely correct in his assertion that the concept of the Westphalian nation-state, along with the related principle of cuius regio, eius religio, has a great deal to do with motivating the conflict in the South. The concept of the nation-state runs directly counter to Islamic geo-political concepts, namely the Hanafi “theory of the abodes” that was developed a short time after Muhammad’s death. In short, in orthodox Islam, the world is divided into two spheres, Dar al-Islam (the Abode of Islam) and Dar al-Harb/Dar al-Kufr (the Abode of War/the Abode of the Kafir [Infidels]). Further divisions would come latter in the history of Islamic thought, such as Dar al-Hudna (the Abode of Conditional Cease-Fire), Dar al-Dawa (the Abode of Invitation, i.e. a land where Islam is being introduced for the first time), and finally Dar al-‘Ahd (the Abode of Treaty; an Ottoman-specific concept that described Christian lands under the suzeranity of the Sublime Port). Now while Islam, as a univeralist religion like Christianity, and to some extent Buddhism, claims dominion over the whole world, there is considerable debate on how to accomplish such a goal.
Nevertheless, all major schools of Islamic fiqh agree that once a land enters into Dar al-Islam it is permenantly part of the Islamic world and cannot fall back into Dar al-Kufr, even if no Muslims currently reside in that land. Therefore, since the Pattani Sultanate was part of Dar al-Islam, any claim by kafir harbi (infidels from the Abode of War) over such land is illegitimate. As such a claim is defined as fitna (disruption of the peace), a great sin in Islam, it becomes fard al-ayn (obligatory for every Muslim) to engage in defensive jihad against the “disruptors”, as mandated by Qur’an 2:190,4:95, and 22:39.
Now, of course, there are many ways in which a mujihad may engage the enemy. Jihad bis sayf (struggle by the sword), is one option; however, jihad bil lisan and jihad bil yad (struggle by the tongue and struggle by the hand) also exist. Thus, one could argue there exists a synergy between the violent acts of the armed wing of the insurgency, and the non-violent protests of the “women’s auxillary”. Nevertheless, many authorative faqih cite Qur’an 2:216 and 2:251 as mandating jihad bis sayf for defensive jihad.
Further adding to the problem, the increasing popularity of the Salafi and Deobandi movements across the whole (thanks to Saudi funding; Islam as vehicle of Arab imperalism is a discussion best left for another time) of the umma al-Islamiyah (global Muslim community) makes addressing the insurgency on ideological ground even more difficult as both schools of thought are grounded in the importance of the Sunna and the concept of Muhammad as uswa hasana, al-Ins─Бn al-K─Бmil (the perfect man, whose actions are to be emulated as fully as possible), emulating the deeds of the Sahaba (the companions of Muhammad), and belief in taqlid wal-ittib─Б (giving preference to earlier muhaddith and faqih). Indeed, it is a quite mainstream belief in Sunni Islam that in the modern era, there exists no one righteous enough to qualify as a mujtahid, i.e. someone who can perform independent Qur’anic exegesis, and thus create new interpretations of sharia (Islamic religious law). To attempt to alter sharia without being recognized as a competent mujtahid is to commit the sin of bid’ah.
In this short comment, I hope to have shown the enormous task that lies ahead of those who would attempt to fight the insurgency on ideological grounds, considering that these beliefs are grounded in mainstream concepts that hundreds of millions of people share around the world. Yet, unless one attempts to counter the ideology that drives the insurgents to believe they are engaged in a sacred war of defense, the only option the insurgents will accept is full independence from the Thai nation-state. As Ungpakorn points out, the Southern insurgency shares many characteristics with Islamic irridentist movements around the world. Whatever the final outcome is in the South, it will have ramifications, both sacred and profane, that will be felt in places like Kosovo, Israel/Palestine, and Xinjiang.
I look at this as a tourist (of sorts) and to me it says “provinces”, there is Lampang (horse and cart), Maehongson (the flowers, the “long neck”), Chiangmai (zoo/panda, peasant, maybe the beauty with her parasol), and Chiangrai (hill tribe kiddo). That is, the photo suggests a splash of the north, and it’s all sanuk mak or muan tae. A part of what is interesting here is the anchoring of visual icons to administrative divisions (provinces and such). I have worked in Phayao and of course I feel slighted by the hegemony of some other provinces when it comes to imagining the north, as Lanna and otherwise, and “we” are best known for the girls of Dok-Kham-Tai …
I vaguely recall a shampoo ad from about 1994 that showed people from all over the country, with their regional and ethnic markers, all somehow united through clean hair. While silly, it was nice to have the image of some Mien people, southern Muslims, and others as belonging to the assembly of imagined Thai. There is plenty of the opposite, of some well-dressed urban moderns as the only visual association available when commercial products are being hawked
This statement is on behalf of Col.Nerdah Mya:
1.I never wrote a book called War in karen country
2.) I never ever appointed the author Mr.Bleming to be counsel general for the karen.
3.)
I never encourage foreigner to fight with us.We have enough soldiers of our own.
4.)
Concerning foreigners to come to our country: The Karen people arevery warmhearted and friendly.Therefore we treat any one with respect and share the little we have with them.
But we are not able to cure people who com to us with mental problems they got mostly during the war in vietnam.
5.)
For me the discussion on Mr.Bleming and his book is closed.
Nerdah Mya
My understanding is that this link leads to a rapid share version of the Thai Conference CD. I haven’t actually used it though so I can’t confirm details.
The criticism I make is not based on prejudice or racism, that much is clear. It is based on reasonable examination of the evidence. I was angry at people like Paul Handley too, but that was before I read the book. Now I can see his point without all the (irrational) anger and hatred that I used to (and that you still) have.
Please, if you are Buddhist, р╣Гр╕лр╣Йр╣Гр╕Кр╣Йр╕кр╕Хр╕┤р╣Бр╕ер╕░р╣Ар╕лр╕Хр╕╕р╕Ьр╕ер╣Ар╕Юр╕╖р╣Ир╕нр╕Юр╕┤р╕Ир╕гр╕Ур╕▓р╕кр╕┤р╣Ир╕Зр╣Ар╕лр╕ер╣Ир╕▓р╕Щр╕╡р╣Й р╣Др╕бр╣Ир╣Гр╕Кр╣Ир╣Гр╕Кр╣Йр╣Бр╕Хр╣Ир╕нр╕▓р╕гр╕бр╕Ур╣Мр╕Чр╕╡р╣Ир╕Цр╕╣р╕Бр╕Ыр╕ер╕╣р╕Бр╕Эр╕▒р╕Зр╕бр╕▓р╕Фр╣Йр╕зр╕вр╣Вр╕Чр╕гр╕Чр╕▒р╕ир╕Щр╣М р╕Фр╣Йр╕зр╕вр╕кр╕╖р╣Ир╕нр╕Хр╣Ир╕▓р╕Зр╣Ж р╣Ар╕Юр╕гр╕▓р╕░р╕Щр╕▒р╣Ир╕Щр╣Ар╕Ыр╣Зр╕Щр╣Ар╕Юр╕╡р╕вр╕Зр╕ар╕▓р╕Юр╕ер╕зр╕Зр╕Хр╕▓ р╕Др╕╕р╕Ур╣Др╕бр╣Ир╕Ир╕│р╣Ар╕Ыр╣Зр╕Щр╕Хр╣Йр╕нр╕Зр╕гр╕▒р╕Бр╣Гр╕Щр╕лр╕ер╕зр╕Зр╣Ар╕Юр╕╖р╣Ир╕нр╣Ар╕Ыр╣Зр╕Щр╕Др╕Щр╣Др╕Чр╕вр╕Чр╕╡р╣Ир╕Фр╕╡ р╣Бр╕Хр╣Ир╕нр╕вр╣Ир╕▓р╕Зр╕кр╕┤р╣Ир╕Зр╕Чр╕╡р╣Ир╣Бр╕Щр╣Ир╕Щр╕нр╕Щр╕Др╕╖р╕нр╕Цр╣Йр╕▓р╕Др╕╕р╕Ур╕гр╕▒р╕Бр╣Гр╕Щр╕лр╕ер╕зр╕Зр╣Бр╕Ър╕Ър╣Др╕бр╣Ир╕ер╕╖р╕бр╕лр╕╣р╕ер╕╖р╕бр╕Хр╕▓ р╣Бр╕Ър╕Ър╕Чр╕╡р╣Ир╣Др╕бр╣Ир╕кр╕▓р╕бр╕▓р╕гр╕Цр╕Яр╕▒р╕Зр╣Ар╕лр╕Хр╕╕р╕Ьр╕е р╕бр╕╕р╕бр╕бр╕нр╕З р╕лр╕гр╕╖р╕нр╕Др╕│р╕зр╕┤р╕Ир╕▓р╕гр╕Ур╣Мр╕Вр╕нр╕Зр╕Др╕Щр╕нр╕╖р╣Ир╕Щр╣Др╕Фр╣Й р╕Др╕╕р╕Ур╕Бр╣Зр╣Др╕бр╣Ир╣Гр╕Кр╣Ир╕Др╕Щр╕Юр╕╕р╕Чр╕Шр╕Чр╕╡р╣Ир╕Фр╕╡ р╕ер╕нр╕Зр╕нр╣Ир╕▓р╕Щр╕лр╕▓р╕Бр╕▓р╕ер╕▓р╕бр╕кр╕╣р╕Хр╕гр╕нр╣Ир╕▓р╕Щр╕Фр╕╣р╕Др╕гр╕▒р╕Ъ
Thanks, Observer, for responding. Paul Handley, if you’re there – please post it somewhere…anywhere. Maybe Prachatai? (I’m giving you a VERY high waih as I say this – you get one, anyway, for The Book!)
BTW, 2 items for the Significant Trivia Department, re. possible damage-control following TKNS: 1. On the way home recently, driving along Ratchadamnoen, I was looking at the royal photos, & realised that over the last few months HMK has been depicted smiling on these big blow-ups, and 2. in a tourist booklet published by the Bangkok admin., given to me last year by a Thai colleague, there is a page on Wat Bovornives, which states that HMK spent ***10 days*** there, as a monk. (First time I’ve ever seen the length of time mentioned, apart from TKNS.)
The Handley piece on the Privy Council was accidentally posted to a website for a short time. I printed a copy, but did not save a hard version before it was removed.
I don’t know why it hasn’t reemerged. It is quite good.
A Short Review of Aye Kyaw’s “The Burma we love” and “The Rohginya and the Rakhaing”
by Abid Bahar
Aye Kyaw’s “The Burma we love” and The Rohginya and the Rakhaing are two maliciously written papers with a chauvinistic tenor, written against Burmese minority peoples who are neither mongoloid by race nor Buddhist by religion. The lines in his paper are as if taken directly from Hitler’s Mein kampf. Aye Kyaw is trying to develop a victim complex among his Burmese Rakhine hoodlums against Rohingyas, says about the Rakhines, “they lost their religion-Buddhism, that they preserved and promoted for many many centuries; and, more importantly they lost their race that they love and respected for many many centuries.”(1) Here, in this work he seems to be addressing/ inciting people that Rakhine Burmese“…lost their race”i. e. the “purity of their race”due to the presence of other races among the Rakhines; justifying the reasons to his followers for committing crimes against humanity through encouraging genocide and producing refugees so as to create room for his kind.
Aye Kyaw presenting himself as a historian says: “Rakhaing have been enjoying their life since the beginning of their history with King Marayu in B.C 3325. In ancient time Rakhaingland comprised the area of present Bangladesh and the area west of the Rkhaing Roma (Arakan Mountain Range). In 1853 the Governor of Pathein annexed the southern portion of Thandwe District. By 1935 Burma Act, the Paletwa Township was given to the Chin Division. These areas had been in the Rakhaing Kingdom for more than two thousand years. We ask whether or not these areas would be in the newly created Rakhaing State under the new Federal Constitution?”(2) Aye Kyaw writes so inconsistently, but while promoting racism, ironically he boldly mentions his educational background. This is an oxymoron of a smart –flat mentality.
Aye Kyaw confesses about his collaboration with the military junta to declare the Rohingya and some non Buddhist minorities as the noncitizens of Burma. He says, “Present at that meeting in his office was U Kyaw Nyein who later became Misnister of Education. I submitted my proposal that those people who appeared in the Inquest (census) of King Bodawpaya taken in the 1880s ought to be regarded as ethnic minorities. Through the discussion, we agreed that those people who were in Burma before the end of the First Anglo-Burmese War in 1826 should be regarded as ethnic minorities. Those people who came along with the British colonial administration were regarded as non-ethnic minorities.”(3) Clearly, he demonstrated the Burma he loves is a nondemocratic, uniracial and military ruled xenophobic Burma.
It is not difficult to understand who will benefit from this type of xenophobic propaganda. I am also surprised seeing this xenophobic person’s writing style. Firstly, while he pretends himself as a scholar/ authority, he however, doesn’t care to cite any source for his information about history. He says:“… the Rohingyas are a new creation, which is not found in the Arakanese chronicles and in the British records as well. Their primary objective is to establish a State. On the other hand, The Rakhaing lost their land that they owned for many many centuries; they lost their religion-Buddhism, that they preserved and promoted for many many centuries; and, more importantly they lost their race that they love and respected for many many centuries.”(4) Whereas Francis Buchanan found some people of Burma identifying themselves as Rohingyas before the British occupied Burma. (5)
Is Aye Kyaw a historian? Surely it doesn’t demonstrate in his works! On the contrary, the paper shows he could only be a popular proto-historian of contemporary Arakan. If I am right, here he seems to be addressing not an educated audience but his ultra-nationalist Arakanese-Burmese exclusive club, the ANC. The ultra-nationalists are also the believers of Arakan’s independence and are against the Burman rule in Arakan. To them both the Burmans (Burmese military) and the Rohingyas (the“Kulas”) are enemies.(6)
Aye Kyaw’s spurious expressions can be forgiven for the reasons that his first language is not English. But what unwarrantable is his chauvinism; and here ofcourse, his ideas are to deny Burmese people’s birth rights. Surely, it derives from his impulsive mind-set of hating Burmese people of other races of mankind for the Burma he loves is clearly a racist Burma.
Surprisingly, these half baked and prejudiced papers are now put on the net for distribution. The xenophobic Arakanese websites and yahoo groups feed these ideas to ordinary Arakani citizens creating more obstacles to democratic development in Burma. The pumped up and prejudiced Aye Kyaw’s xenophobic thinking shows he has strayed away from the classical Arakanese Buddhist tradition of compassion and his expression in these papers further show him the disappointing medieval Mogh pirate that still lives in this fake Buddhist heart.
Endnotes
(1 ) Aye Kyaw,”THE BURMA WE LOVE” A Position Paper of the Arakanese Perspective Presented at the Oslo Burma Seminar on January15-17, 2004 http://www.arakanland.com/index_4.html
(2) (This paper was written in response to a conference on the Rohigya and the democratic movement of Myanmar, July 16, 2007 held in Tokyo. } Original Message from AYE KYAW to [email protected] ; [email protected], [email protected], Thursday, August 09, 2007.
(3) Ibid
(4) Aye Kyaw,”THE BURMA WE LOVE”
(5) Francis Buchanan, “A Comparative Vocabulary of Some of the Languages Spoken in the Burma Empire.” in SOAS Bullitin of Burma Research 1.1 (Spring 2003), 40-57; Also “Francis Buchanon” in South East Bengal (1798) His journey to Chittagong, the Chittagong Hill Tracts, Noakhali and Comilla, Edited by Willem van Schendel, (Dhaka: University Press Ltd. 1992.)
(6) In the Arakan poll taken by these ultra-nationalists Who is serious Arakanese antagonist? http://www.arakanland.com/index_4.html
This is despite the fact that Muslims settled in Burma before the establishment of the first Burman empire that was by Anawrahta in 1044 A.D. It is hard to understand the meaning of being indigenous in Burma.
In the end it is all about racism and Theraveda Buddhist fundamentalism that also caused genocide in Cambodia, ethnic unrest in Sri Lanka, and Thailand. As opposed to the Mohaiyana Buddhism, Theraveda Buddhism is a fundamentalist branch of Buddhism. Make no mistake, Buddhism here helps in the persecution of minorities. See the link, monks destroying Mosques. http://sanooaung.wordpress.com/2007/12/15/photos-of-anti-muslim-riots-in-bagopegu/
“On the network, you could begin by reading Handley, TKNS; Handley on the Privy Council; McCargo in Pacific Review; Kasian’s estimate of numbers, the Journal of Contemporary Asia special issue; Kobkua’s book and so on….”
Thanks. I have never seen a bibliography on this topic. Maybe someone should make one.
BTW Collins book mentioned above really opens a whole new area of Buddhist humanities. Western humanities are dominated by the West’s Greek and Roman literary inheritances, which both construct and deconstruct notions of kingship btw. Pali Buddhist literature does the same, as Collins demonstrates (perhaps that is why the book is not widely available in Thailand?), the only problem being in my estimation, that this corpus of thought has remained in the hands of the Sangha, off limits to lay people. (Pali Buddhist literature is a very rich philosophical, intellectual, and literary inheritance that Thailand, Burma, and Sri Lanka share in common.)
Srithanonchai: Didn’t you hear? Everything from China is illegitimate now. Moving the Panda to northern Thailand and making it native in the minds of citizens, re-legitimizes the Panda and it’s survival! Thank you DTAC!
Advertisements always take social science intricacies into account. However, unlike social scientists, those advertisers use the science and intricacy for wrong! I will refrain from the Star Wars analogies.
Since when are advertisements required to take social-science sensitivities into account? Ads placed in Bangkok are not any better than this one. That is, to me, most ads are bizarre anyway. Interesting that the Panda on loan from China has now been naturalized into a northern Thai icon. In fact, there are two of them in the Chiang Mai zoo. But the second one is truly northern in using AIS!
I can’t say I agree with you Andrew, those Thais are completely out of line trying to be in on the Panda’s huge, global appeal. Less pernicious?! There are only 2-3,000 Pandas left, yet there are 63 million Thais!
With this ratio of around 1:25,000 (Pandas to Thais), that there is one Panda in the advert, more highlights there being 99,996 missing Thais. That there are not will totally desensitize DTAC customers and potential customers into believing that the Panda is fine, not endangered and able to be forced into slave labor, (driving your cart, pre-chewing your shoots) like those common elephants.
Maybe soon the coat and skin of the Great Panda will be accepted as symbolism for political authority!
Dog Lover (or anyone else), where can I get a copy of Handley on the Privy Council? I did ask some time ago where I could get the Thai Studies conference papers, but there was no response.
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Volunteering to fight in Burma
I find the letter from the Norwegian journalist, Hans Schilde, to be a bit odd.
1) Who said that Col. Nerdah Mya wrote the book, ‘War in Karen Country’? Tom Bleming’s name is on the front cover of the book.
2)Col. Nerdah Mya told me in an email that Tom was his “good friend” and that he was acting as consul general in the U.S.
3) Col. Nerdah Mya invited me to come over and “bring extra boots and equipment” for his troops
4) I think Hans is just showing his ass by adding that part in there stating that Viet Nam vets have mental problems. It would have been nice if Hans Schilde had just stuck with the facts like any legitimate journalist, but he instead had to inject some of his own prejudices into the conversation (Yes, Mr. Schilde, I know who you are, as well as your agenda)
5) Yes, the discussion of the authorship of the book is closed. Tom Bleming wrote it.
Reynolds on Handley’s The King Never Smiles
David W- thanks. I’ve tried downloading & can’t get it to open. Quelle dommage! Mai pen rai…
Mr X – Yes please, I’d like them all. Please send to : [email protected] Thanks a lot!
More debate on The King Never Smiles
Tulya: It is clear that you haven’t read the posts at NM very carefully, if at all. Your childish rant and use of profanity does not fit here, where there is serious discussion of this topic.
Sufficiency going forward, diversity going backward
re: nganadeeleg
PS. I hope you don’t mind me addressing you as Lleij (I thought it might be better than the usual LSS, but still saves on typing)
I don’t mind at all.
I see what you and Srithanonchai are saying about ignoring commands. My main point is the danger in translating words that carry a pragmatic force that are untranslatable in a certain sense.
An unwinnable war?
What I found absolutely bizzare in Ungpakorn’s piece, especially considering it’s self-proclaimed Marxist viewpoint, was that he failed to address the fact that the insurgency is unwinnable, in its current state, because insurgencies are primarly won through ideological warfare.
The Thai government has shown a steady refusal to combat the insurgents on the battlefield of ideas, which is quite sad as I was hoping that progress in the South would have been one of the good things to come out of the coup. I was hopeful that prominant Thai Muslim members of the junta, like Sonthi B. and Aree Wong-araya, would possess an understanding of the religo-cultural concepts that formulates the causa belli of the insurgency. [It wouldn’t be a LSS post without at least one egregious use of Latin, now would it?] However, even if, in fact, they did, it would be a monumental task to combat the ideology of the insurgents, as they are, in Ungpakorn’s words, so “radical”. I am, of course, using the term in its original sense, that is, the insurgents’ beliefs are grounded in the “roots” of orthodox interpretations of the Qur’an, the Sunna, authorative Hadith and centuries of Qur’anic exegesis by numerous faqih (jurists of Islamic law). [As an aside, what I also found to be equally bizzare was Ungpakorn’s implication that somehow Communism and Islam were mutally exclusive; 10 million Hui prove him wrong.]
Ungpakorn is absolutely correct in his assertion that the concept of the Westphalian nation-state, along with the related principle of cuius regio, eius religio, has a great deal to do with motivating the conflict in the South. The concept of the nation-state runs directly counter to Islamic geo-political concepts, namely the Hanafi “theory of the abodes” that was developed a short time after Muhammad’s death. In short, in orthodox Islam, the world is divided into two spheres, Dar al-Islam (the Abode of Islam) and Dar al-Harb/Dar al-Kufr (the Abode of War/the Abode of the Kafir [Infidels]). Further divisions would come latter in the history of Islamic thought, such as Dar al-Hudna (the Abode of Conditional Cease-Fire), Dar al-Dawa (the Abode of Invitation, i.e. a land where Islam is being introduced for the first time), and finally Dar al-‘Ahd (the Abode of Treaty; an Ottoman-specific concept that described Christian lands under the suzeranity of the Sublime Port). Now while Islam, as a univeralist religion like Christianity, and to some extent Buddhism, claims dominion over the whole world, there is considerable debate on how to accomplish such a goal.
Nevertheless, all major schools of Islamic fiqh agree that once a land enters into Dar al-Islam it is permenantly part of the Islamic world and cannot fall back into Dar al-Kufr, even if no Muslims currently reside in that land. Therefore, since the Pattani Sultanate was part of Dar al-Islam, any claim by kafir harbi (infidels from the Abode of War) over such land is illegitimate. As such a claim is defined as fitna (disruption of the peace), a great sin in Islam, it becomes fard al-ayn (obligatory for every Muslim) to engage in defensive jihad against the “disruptors”, as mandated by Qur’an 2:190,4:95, and 22:39.
Now, of course, there are many ways in which a mujihad may engage the enemy. Jihad bis sayf (struggle by the sword), is one option; however, jihad bil lisan and jihad bil yad (struggle by the tongue and struggle by the hand) also exist. Thus, one could argue there exists a synergy between the violent acts of the armed wing of the insurgency, and the non-violent protests of the “women’s auxillary”. Nevertheless, many authorative faqih cite Qur’an 2:216 and 2:251 as mandating jihad bis sayf for defensive jihad.
Further adding to the problem, the increasing popularity of the Salafi and Deobandi movements across the whole (thanks to Saudi funding; Islam as vehicle of Arab imperalism is a discussion best left for another time) of the umma al-Islamiyah (global Muslim community) makes addressing the insurgency on ideological ground even more difficult as both schools of thought are grounded in the importance of the Sunna and the concept of Muhammad as uswa hasana, al-Ins─Бn al-K─Бmil (the perfect man, whose actions are to be emulated as fully as possible), emulating the deeds of the Sahaba (the companions of Muhammad), and belief in taqlid wal-ittib─Б (giving preference to earlier muhaddith and faqih). Indeed, it is a quite mainstream belief in Sunni Islam that in the modern era, there exists no one righteous enough to qualify as a mujtahid, i.e. someone who can perform independent Qur’anic exegesis, and thus create new interpretations of sharia (Islamic religious law). To attempt to alter sharia without being recognized as a competent mujtahid is to commit the sin of bid’ah.
In this short comment, I hope to have shown the enormous task that lies ahead of those who would attempt to fight the insurgency on ideological grounds, considering that these beliefs are grounded in mainstream concepts that hundreds of millions of people share around the world. Yet, unless one attempts to counter the ideology that drives the insurgents to believe they are engaged in a sacred war of defense, the only option the insurgents will accept is full independence from the Thai nation-state. As Ungpakorn points out, the Southern insurgency shares many characteristics with Islamic irridentist movements around the world. Whatever the final outcome is in the South, it will have ramifications, both sacred and profane, that will be felt in places like Kosovo, Israel/Palestine, and Xinjiang.
Multiculturalism
I look at this as a tourist (of sorts) and to me it says “provinces”, there is Lampang (horse and cart), Maehongson (the flowers, the “long neck”), Chiangmai (zoo/panda, peasant, maybe the beauty with her parasol), and Chiangrai (hill tribe kiddo). That is, the photo suggests a splash of the north, and it’s all sanuk mak or muan tae. A part of what is interesting here is the anchoring of visual icons to administrative divisions (provinces and such). I have worked in Phayao and of course I feel slighted by the hegemony of some other provinces when it comes to imagining the north, as Lanna and otherwise, and “we” are best known for the girls of Dok-Kham-Tai …
I vaguely recall a shampoo ad from about 1994 that showed people from all over the country, with their regional and ethnic markers, all somehow united through clean hair. While silly, it was nice to have the image of some Mien people, southern Muslims, and others as belonging to the assembly of imagined Thai. There is plenty of the opposite, of some well-dressed urban moderns as the only visual association available when commercial products are being hawked
Volunteering to fight in Burma
This statement is on behalf of Col.Nerdah Mya:
1.I never wrote a book called War in karen country
2.) I never ever appointed the author Mr.Bleming to be counsel general for the karen.
3.)
I never encourage foreigner to fight with us.We have enough soldiers of our own.
4.)
Concerning foreigners to come to our country: The Karen people arevery warmhearted and friendly.Therefore we treat any one with respect and share the little we have with them.
But we are not able to cure people who com to us with mental problems they got mostly during the war in vietnam.
5.)
For me the discussion on Mr.Bleming and his book is closed.
Nerdah Mya
Reynolds on Handley’s The King Never Smiles
Leave your email address, I’ll send you a copy.
Would you like to have Somchai’s and Prawit’s papers on Less Majesty Law (on the same panel) as well?
Reynolds on Handley’s The King Never Smiles
Land of Snarls,
My understanding is that this link leads to a rapid share version of the Thai Conference CD. I haven’t actually used it though so I can’t confirm details.
http://rapidshare.com/files/83934265/10_Thai_Studies.rar
More debate on The King Never Smiles
I’m Thai and I don’t love the King. How’s that?
The criticism I make is not based on prejudice or racism, that much is clear. It is based on reasonable examination of the evidence. I was angry at people like Paul Handley too, but that was before I read the book. Now I can see his point without all the (irrational) anger and hatred that I used to (and that you still) have.
Please, if you are Buddhist, р╣Гр╕лр╣Йр╣Гр╕Кр╣Йр╕кр╕Хр╕┤р╣Бр╕ер╕░р╣Ар╕лр╕Хр╕╕р╕Ьр╕ер╣Ар╕Юр╕╖р╣Ир╕нр╕Юр╕┤р╕Ир╕гр╕Ур╕▓р╕кр╕┤р╣Ир╕Зр╣Ар╕лр╕ер╣Ир╕▓р╕Щр╕╡р╣Й р╣Др╕бр╣Ир╣Гр╕Кр╣Ир╣Гр╕Кр╣Йр╣Бр╕Хр╣Ир╕нр╕▓р╕гр╕бр╕Ур╣Мр╕Чр╕╡р╣Ир╕Цр╕╣р╕Бр╕Ыр╕ер╕╣р╕Бр╕Эр╕▒р╕Зр╕бр╕▓р╕Фр╣Йр╕зр╕вр╣Вр╕Чр╕гр╕Чр╕▒р╕ир╕Щр╣М р╕Фр╣Йр╕зр╕вр╕кр╕╖р╣Ир╕нр╕Хр╣Ир╕▓р╕Зр╣Ж р╣Ар╕Юр╕гр╕▓р╕░р╕Щр╕▒р╣Ир╕Щр╣Ар╕Ыр╣Зр╕Щр╣Ар╕Юр╕╡р╕вр╕Зр╕ар╕▓р╕Юр╕ер╕зр╕Зр╕Хр╕▓ р╕Др╕╕р╕Ур╣Др╕бр╣Ир╕Ир╕│р╣Ар╕Ыр╣Зр╕Щр╕Хр╣Йр╕нр╕Зр╕гр╕▒р╕Бр╣Гр╕Щр╕лр╕ер╕зр╕Зр╣Ар╕Юр╕╖р╣Ир╕нр╣Ар╕Ыр╣Зр╕Щр╕Др╕Щр╣Др╕Чр╕вр╕Чр╕╡р╣Ир╕Фр╕╡ р╣Бр╕Хр╣Ир╕нр╕вр╣Ир╕▓р╕Зр╕кр╕┤р╣Ир╕Зр╕Чр╕╡р╣Ир╣Бр╕Щр╣Ир╕Щр╕нр╕Щр╕Др╕╖р╕нр╕Цр╣Йр╕▓р╕Др╕╕р╕Ур╕гр╕▒р╕Бр╣Гр╕Щр╕лр╕ер╕зр╕Зр╣Бр╕Ър╕Ър╣Др╕бр╣Ир╕ер╕╖р╕бр╕лр╕╣р╕ер╕╖р╕бр╕Хр╕▓ р╣Бр╕Ър╕Ър╕Чр╕╡р╣Ир╣Др╕бр╣Ир╕кр╕▓р╕бр╕▓р╕гр╕Цр╕Яр╕▒р╕Зр╣Ар╕лр╕Хр╕╕р╕Ьр╕е р╕бр╕╕р╕бр╕бр╕нр╕З р╕лр╕гр╕╖р╕нр╕Др╕│р╕зр╕┤р╕Ир╕▓р╕гр╕Ур╣Мр╕Вр╕нр╕Зр╕Др╕Щр╕нр╕╖р╣Ир╕Щр╣Др╕Фр╣Й р╕Др╕╕р╕Ур╕Бр╣Зр╣Др╕бр╣Ир╣Гр╕Кр╣Ир╕Др╕Щр╕Юр╕╕р╕Чр╕Шр╕Чр╕╡р╣Ир╕Фр╕╡ р╕ер╕нр╕Зр╕нр╣Ир╕▓р╕Щр╕лр╕▓р╕Бр╕▓р╕ер╕▓р╕бр╕кр╕╣р╕Хр╕гр╕нр╣Ир╕▓р╕Щр╕Фр╕╣р╕Др╕гр╕▒р╕Ъ
Reynolds on Handley’s The King Never Smiles
Thanks, Observer, for responding. Paul Handley, if you’re there – please post it somewhere…anywhere. Maybe Prachatai? (I’m giving you a VERY high waih as I say this – you get one, anyway, for The Book!)
BTW, 2 items for the Significant Trivia Department, re. possible damage-control following TKNS: 1. On the way home recently, driving along Ratchadamnoen, I was looking at the royal photos, & realised that over the last few months HMK has been depicted smiling on these big blow-ups, and 2. in a tourist booklet published by the Bangkok admin., given to me last year by a Thai colleague, there is a page on Wat Bovornives, which states that HMK spent ***10 days*** there, as a monk. (First time I’ve ever seen the length of time mentioned, apart from TKNS.)
Multiculturalism
Grasshopper: But the Pandas are a lot more cute than PM Samak, whose Chinese family has been around for much longer than the Pandas!
Reynolds on Handley’s The King Never Smiles
Snarls,
The Handley piece on the Privy Council was accidentally posted to a website for a short time. I printed a copy, but did not save a hard version before it was removed.
I don’t know why it hasn’t reemerged. It is quite good.
Education in Burma: where some are more equal than others
This is about the Rohingya Muslims of Burma
A Short Review of Aye Kyaw’s “The Burma we love” and “The Rohginya and the Rakhaing”
by Abid Bahar
Aye Kyaw’s “The Burma we love” and The Rohginya and the Rakhaing are two maliciously written papers with a chauvinistic tenor, written against Burmese minority peoples who are neither mongoloid by race nor Buddhist by religion. The lines in his paper are as if taken directly from Hitler’s Mein kampf. Aye Kyaw is trying to develop a victim complex among his Burmese Rakhine hoodlums against Rohingyas, says about the Rakhines, “they lost their religion-Buddhism, that they preserved and promoted for many many centuries; and, more importantly they lost their race that they love and respected for many many centuries.”(1) Here, in this work he seems to be addressing/ inciting people that Rakhine Burmese“…lost their race”i. e. the “purity of their race”due to the presence of other races among the Rakhines; justifying the reasons to his followers for committing crimes against humanity through encouraging genocide and producing refugees so as to create room for his kind.
Aye Kyaw presenting himself as a historian says: “Rakhaing have been enjoying their life since the beginning of their history with King Marayu in B.C 3325. In ancient time Rakhaingland comprised the area of present Bangladesh and the area west of the Rkhaing Roma (Arakan Mountain Range). In 1853 the Governor of Pathein annexed the southern portion of Thandwe District. By 1935 Burma Act, the Paletwa Township was given to the Chin Division. These areas had been in the Rakhaing Kingdom for more than two thousand years. We ask whether or not these areas would be in the newly created Rakhaing State under the new Federal Constitution?”(2) Aye Kyaw writes so inconsistently, but while promoting racism, ironically he boldly mentions his educational background. This is an oxymoron of a smart –flat mentality.
Aye Kyaw confesses about his collaboration with the military junta to declare the Rohingya and some non Buddhist minorities as the noncitizens of Burma. He says, “Present at that meeting in his office was U Kyaw Nyein who later became Misnister of Education. I submitted my proposal that those people who appeared in the Inquest (census) of King Bodawpaya taken in the 1880s ought to be regarded as ethnic minorities. Through the discussion, we agreed that those people who were in Burma before the end of the First Anglo-Burmese War in 1826 should be regarded as ethnic minorities. Those people who came along with the British colonial administration were regarded as non-ethnic minorities.”(3) Clearly, he demonstrated the Burma he loves is a nondemocratic, uniracial and military ruled xenophobic Burma.
It is not difficult to understand who will benefit from this type of xenophobic propaganda. I am also surprised seeing this xenophobic person’s writing style. Firstly, while he pretends himself as a scholar/ authority, he however, doesn’t care to cite any source for his information about history. He says:“… the Rohingyas are a new creation, which is not found in the Arakanese chronicles and in the British records as well. Their primary objective is to establish a State. On the other hand, The Rakhaing lost their land that they owned for many many centuries; they lost their religion-Buddhism, that they preserved and promoted for many many centuries; and, more importantly they lost their race that they love and respected for many many centuries.”(4) Whereas Francis Buchanan found some people of Burma identifying themselves as Rohingyas before the British occupied Burma. (5)
Is Aye Kyaw a historian? Surely it doesn’t demonstrate in his works! On the contrary, the paper shows he could only be a popular proto-historian of contemporary Arakan. If I am right, here he seems to be addressing not an educated audience but his ultra-nationalist Arakanese-Burmese exclusive club, the ANC. The ultra-nationalists are also the believers of Arakan’s independence and are against the Burman rule in Arakan. To them both the Burmans (Burmese military) and the Rohingyas (the“Kulas”) are enemies.(6)
Aye Kyaw’s spurious expressions can be forgiven for the reasons that his first language is not English. But what unwarrantable is his chauvinism; and here ofcourse, his ideas are to deny Burmese people’s birth rights. Surely, it derives from his impulsive mind-set of hating Burmese people of other races of mankind for the Burma he loves is clearly a racist Burma.
Surprisingly, these half baked and prejudiced papers are now put on the net for distribution. The xenophobic Arakanese websites and yahoo groups feed these ideas to ordinary Arakani citizens creating more obstacles to democratic development in Burma. The pumped up and prejudiced Aye Kyaw’s xenophobic thinking shows he has strayed away from the classical Arakanese Buddhist tradition of compassion and his expression in these papers further show him the disappointing medieval Mogh pirate that still lives in this fake Buddhist heart.
Endnotes
(1 ) Aye Kyaw,”THE BURMA WE LOVE” A Position Paper of the Arakanese Perspective Presented at the Oslo Burma Seminar on January15-17, 2004 http://www.arakanland.com/index_4.html
(2) (This paper was written in response to a conference on the Rohigya and the democratic movement of Myanmar, July 16, 2007 held in Tokyo. } Original Message from AYE KYAW to [email protected] ; [email protected], [email protected], Thursday, August 09, 2007.
(3) Ibid
(4) Aye Kyaw,”THE BURMA WE LOVE”
(5) Francis Buchanan, “A Comparative Vocabulary of Some of the Languages Spoken in the Burma Empire.” in SOAS Bullitin of Burma Research 1.1 (Spring 2003), 40-57; Also “Francis Buchanon” in South East Bengal (1798) His journey to Chittagong, the Chittagong Hill Tracts, Noakhali and Comilla, Edited by Willem van Schendel, (Dhaka: University Press Ltd. 1992.)
(6) In the Arakan poll taken by these ultra-nationalists Who is serious Arakanese antagonist?
http://www.arakanland.com/index_4.html
Education in Burma: where some are more equal than others
It is not easy to be a Muslim in Burma.
This is despite the fact that Muslims settled in Burma before the establishment of the first Burman empire that was by Anawrahta in 1044 A.D. It is hard to understand the meaning of being indigenous in Burma.
In the end it is all about racism and Theraveda Buddhist fundamentalism that also caused genocide in Cambodia, ethnic unrest in Sri Lanka, and Thailand. As opposed to the Mohaiyana Buddhism, Theraveda Buddhism is a fundamentalist branch of Buddhism. Make no mistake, Buddhism here helps in the persecution of minorities. See the link, monks destroying Mosques.
http://sanooaung.wordpress.com/2007/12/15/photos-of-anti-muslim-riots-in-bagopegu/
Reynolds on Handley’s The King Never Smiles
“On the network, you could begin by reading Handley, TKNS; Handley on the Privy Council; McCargo in Pacific Review; Kasian’s estimate of numbers, the Journal of Contemporary Asia special issue; Kobkua’s book and so on….”
Thanks. I have never seen a bibliography on this topic. Maybe someone should make one.
BTW Collins book mentioned above really opens a whole new area of Buddhist humanities. Western humanities are dominated by the West’s Greek and Roman literary inheritances, which both construct and deconstruct notions of kingship btw. Pali Buddhist literature does the same, as Collins demonstrates (perhaps that is why the book is not widely available in Thailand?), the only problem being in my estimation, that this corpus of thought has remained in the hands of the Sangha, off limits to lay people. (Pali Buddhist literature is a very rich philosophical, intellectual, and literary inheritance that Thailand, Burma, and Sri Lanka share in common.)
Multiculturalism
Srithanonchai: Didn’t you hear? Everything from China is illegitimate now. Moving the Panda to northern Thailand and making it native in the minds of citizens, re-legitimizes the Panda and it’s survival! Thank you DTAC!
Advertisements always take social science intricacies into account. However, unlike social scientists, those advertisers use the science and intricacy for wrong! I will refrain from the Star Wars analogies.
Multiculturalism
Since when are advertisements required to take social-science sensitivities into account? Ads placed in Bangkok are not any better than this one. That is, to me, most ads are bizarre anyway. Interesting that the Panda on loan from China has now been naturalized into a northern Thai icon. In fact, there are two of them in the Chiang Mai zoo. But the second one is truly northern in using AIS!
Multiculturalism
I can’t say I agree with you Andrew, those Thais are completely out of line trying to be in on the Panda’s huge, global appeal. Less pernicious?! There are only 2-3,000 Pandas left, yet there are 63 million Thais!
With this ratio of around 1:25,000 (Pandas to Thais), that there is one Panda in the advert, more highlights there being 99,996 missing Thais. That there are not will totally desensitize DTAC customers and potential customers into believing that the Panda is fine, not endangered and able to be forced into slave labor, (driving your cart, pre-chewing your shoots) like those common elephants.
Maybe soon the coat and skin of the Great Panda will be accepted as symbolism for political authority!
Reynolds on Handley’s The King Never Smiles
Dog Lover (or anyone else), where can I get a copy of Handley on the Privy Council? I did ask some time ago where I could get the Thai Studies conference papers, but there was no response.