From ancient byways to modern highways, glimpses of faith are everywhere...

Tuesday, May 22, 2012

Football: Interfaith spirit in Thailand



Ever since the recent suicide of Tiaina Baul “Junior” Seau Jr., people have been questioning whether the overall “cost” of football is just too steep.  It is therefore heartening to note that football is once again making uplifting headlines such as this AFP one:  Football bridges religious divide in Thai south.

According to this article, Muslims and Buddhists in Thailand’s troubled south have been sharing a “passion for football.”  This has fostered an “elusive peace” between the two groups after years of bloodshed.  Since 2004, there have been approximately 5,000 lives lost in the “near-daily bomb or gun attacks against both Buddhists and Muslims.”

Just last month, Newsweek Magazine ran an article subtitled:  A deadly Thai insurgency has Buddhists scramblingfor guns.  This insurgency, reportedly led by “ethnic Malay Muslims,” rallies around the belief that the three southernmost provinces that border Malaysia (and have a Muslim majority) should be “independent of Thailand, where more than 90 percent of the rest of the population is Buddhist.”

Wikipedia states that out of Thailand’s entire population of 64 million, approximately 94% is Buddhist and 5% Muslim.  The remaining 1% includes Christian (mainly Catholic), Hindu, Sikh, Jewish, Confucian, Taoist, and Animist adherents.  Although Thai law generally provides for freedom of religion, the activities of certain groups are restricted.  A 2006 “bloodless coup d’etat” resulted in a repeal of the 1997 constitution which had “required that the monarch be a Buddhist.”

Although the repealed 1997 constitution had also required the state to “promote good understanding and harmony among followers of all religions,” it seems that football is now helping to accomplish what government alone could not.

Resources

http://news.yahoo.com/football-bridges-religious-divide-thai-south-084209205.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Junior_Seau
http://www.thedailybeast.com/newsweek/2012/04/15/thailand-s-buddhists-take-up-arms-against-insurgency.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Freedom_of_religion_in_Thailand

Copyright May 22, 2012 by Linda Van Slyke   All Rights Reserved















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