Living together: The transformation of multi-religious coexistence in southern Thailand

• Main Author: Alexander Horstmann
• Other Authors: Mahidol University
• Format: Article
• Published: 2018
• Subjects: Arts and Humanities; Social Sciences
• Online Access: https://repository.li.mahidol.ac.th/handle/123456789/11395

In this article, I provide a preliminary analysis of Buddhista-Muslim coexistence in the Songkhla Lake area in southern Thailand as it unfolds on the margins of a violent conflict in the Deep South (Patani, Yala and Narathiwat provinces). I argue that in the Songkhla Lake area, social, religious, economic and political alliances are reflected in multi-religious ritual traditions that have the potential to transcend cultural difference or manage difference constructively. The article then analyses the transformation of multi-religious coexistence and concludes that the revitalisation of Theravada Buddhism and Islam results in the uneasy coexistence of old and new practices and in a dialectic of sharing and competition. © 2011 The National University of Singapore.