A Note on the 'Protection' of Islam in Thailand

Abstract

 The king of Thailand is traditionally considered to be the akkhasātsanūpat-hamphok , the protector or upholder, of sātsanā, and sātsanā (religion) in Thailand is virtually tantamount to Buddhism. This royal epithet, however, underwent a semantic change when the political upheaval of 1932 introduced western-style constitutionalism and the modern concept of religious liberty into this traditional Southeast Asian kingdom. Royal protection was then extended to all religions in the land, including the Islam of Thai-Malay subjects which had long been regarded with indifference by the Siamese government. The first legal expression of the new religious policy was "The Royal Decree on the protection of Islam" (1945). Royal protection of Islam is being brought about through a reorganization of the religion into a centralized hierarchy with the Chulārātchamontri as its head. The process of reorganization seems, however, to be slower and more complicated than that of the Buddhist sangha, for historical, cultural and structural reasons.