Thank you so much, Nick, for this reminder that at the heart of politics there are human beings after all. In particular thanks for the perceptive comments in the paragraph third from the end. We miss you very much and wish you all the best for you and your family in the future in Germany.
Great piece, Nick. It all seems like another era, almost another planet, compared to where Thailand is today. Your reports and especially your thousands of insightful set of photographs of the various street demonstrations and fighting captured that period (2006 thru 2014) as no one else did. For you and your fellow Expat Journalists, it was a difficult challenging and often very risky time which stimulated you all to do your best work. Kind of a Golden Age for Expat/Foreign Correspondent journalists/photographers in Bangkok.
[…] This means that even without Yingluck her Pheu Thai Party remains a contender to win the next election. The demographics are in its favour, and the brand of the party is strong. It has shown before, with Samak Sundaravej’s election in 2008, that it doesn’t need a Shinawatra at the helm to win government. It has progressive and talented thinkers and speakers, including Chaturon Chaisang and Nattawut Saikua. […]
Mmmm – I often read Pew surveys and find them a valuable source of information. However, relying too heavily on the 2012 survey might be problematic. I don’t think theres as much of a “sudden rise” over the last, say, five years, that hasn’t been part of a far longer trend. However, in the last five years, certain trends have gained traction which may have been somewhat peripheral before that.
I’d be interested to see a comparison between 2012 and 2017… as well as more in depth research into regional data. Rising piety is, as you suggested, a complicated and often paradoxical phenomenon, and my hunch is that its not occuring evenly nationwide.
Looks like Chiang Mai is rising as a centre of resistance against Prayut. Reports I’m seeing on Thai TV suggest Yingluck may be holed up their in the Shinawatra stronghold. Which would pose one helluva dilemma for Prayut : could he rally enough troops to forcibly get her ? This Chiang Mai academic conference may have been a harbinger fire-taste of immense power struggle.
Thailand’s brief flirtations with democracy, and the rule of laws made by the people’s representatives, were probably the last chance for stable and bloodless changes of government. Governments never go on forever, but future changes are likely to be violent, and sourced in factional conflict in the military. The previous king was a focus of loyalty that kept the military together. The present king is unfit for that role. The present dictatorship has set the precedent for it’s own demise, but their fate will be worse than that of the Thai people’s last representatives, languishing in prison or exile. The dictatorship can expect to end their lives on marble floors in pools of blood, slaughtered by their comrades-in-arms. Subsequent governments, propped up as ever by hierarchies of grovelling, lying careerists, will be no better than theirs. But their fates will be similar.
Also – and apologies for harping on – the headline says “Letter from colleagues of Prof Chayan”. Whilst it’s certainly impressive that he has over 400 colleagues, in locations from Chennai to Oslo, it seems odd that he evidently has almost no Thai colleagues.
Yet the list includes four academics who are working in Thailand, so it clearly doesn’t EXCLUDE them. But two of them are non-Thais, and therefore presumably have no voting rights, or any other rights, in Thailand. I’m not clear why a military government would have the slightest interest in or concern about this?
Indicator of muslim piety are numerous. But among them, the ones use in this article is correct: praying in mosque often and reading Quran often are good indicator of muslim piety. But what you said is also correct: zikr and night prayer (although night prayer is often perform if a muslim want to ask a specific thing from God like passing an exam or getting a job) even out of a mosque is also good indicator of muslim piety. As is participation in Yasinan, and pengajian (religious talks in mosque).
Ziyarah to tombs of prominent Islamic figures are not normally considers as pious behaviour since it can be interpreted that a muslim put their faith and prayed to those figures and not God which is a grave sin in Islam. Pious muslim often do ziyarah to remember that everyone must die so they should do good in the world and be closer to God.
In short: doing something that is not specifically said as mandatory practice in canon indicates that that muslim is more pious. The more thing he does the more pious he is.
So if one would do survey of muslim piety, it should have question about all non mandatory practice the muslim does and how often he/she does it. Because I think we can all agree if a muslim that often prays in mosque and attend pengajian (religious talks in mosque) are more pious than muslim that only do night prayer and nothing else.
I am truly grateful for this letter of concern signed by notable scholars to the Thai government. If I had been an academic I would have signed the letter without hesitation. Thank you on behalf of the Thai
[…] already signed a similar statement urging the government to drop the charges. The statement also mentioned that the conference proper “was marred by the intimidating presence of uniformed and […]
You should check your facts. Duterte never claimed that those 7k are drug lords. How can he say that when all of us here in the country knows that most of those killed are from the ghettos. You westerners,tsk. You actually helped me realized how unfair life could be.
So what ? Prayut couldn’t give a damn about puffed-up, self-important academics. He’s a realist : “political power grows out of the barrel of a gun”. The sword IS mightier than the pen.
As I read it, and I wasn’t involved in it, the letter is meant to be a “international” letter. It also seems it is meant to be kind of “extra-Thai Studies” as there are only a few Thai Studies scholars on the list and little overlap with the one from participants at ICTS13.
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Capturing Yingluck
Thank you so much, Nick, for this reminder that at the heart of politics there are human beings after all. In particular thanks for the perceptive comments in the paragraph third from the end. We miss you very much and wish you all the best for you and your family in the future in Germany.
Capturing Yingluck
Great piece, Nick. It all seems like another era, almost another planet, compared to where Thailand is today. Your reports and especially your thousands of insightful set of photographs of the various street demonstrations and fighting captured that period (2006 thru 2014) as no one else did. For you and your fellow Expat Journalists, it was a difficult challenging and often very risky time which stimulated you all to do your best work. Kind of a Golden Age for Expat/Foreign Correspondent journalists/photographers in Bangkok.
Review of Nattawut Saikua biography
[…] This means that even without Yingluck her Pheu Thai Party remains a contender to win the next election. The demographics are in its favour, and the brand of the party is strong. It has shown before, with Samak Sundaravej’s election in 2008, that it doesn’t need a Shinawatra at the helm to win government. It has progressive and talented thinkers and speakers, including Chaturon Chaisang and Nattawut Saikua. […]
Capturing Yingluck
“ultra-nationalist fanatic Kaewsan Athibodhi” > This is a very apt description of that individual. Must keep it in mind for future use.
Update on charges against ICTS13 attendees
I would like to comment on this, but feel constrained by the prospect of being identified and charged. Such is the situation in this country.
Letter from colleagues of Prof Chayan
You can read it with the other letters and statements of support. But I do agree that the junta is unlikely to be at all interested or influenced.
Distinguishing piety and fundamentalism in Indonesian Muslims
Mmmm – I often read Pew surveys and find them a valuable source of information. However, relying too heavily on the 2012 survey might be problematic. I don’t think theres as much of a “sudden rise” over the last, say, five years, that hasn’t been part of a far longer trend. However, in the last five years, certain trends have gained traction which may have been somewhat peripheral before that.
I’d be interested to see a comparison between 2012 and 2017… as well as more in depth research into regional data. Rising piety is, as you suggested, a complicated and often paradoxical phenomenon, and my hunch is that its not occuring evenly nationwide.
Update on charges against ICTS13 attendees
Looks like Chiang Mai is rising as a centre of resistance against Prayut. Reports I’m seeing on Thai TV suggest Yingluck may be holed up their in the Shinawatra stronghold. Which would pose one helluva dilemma for Prayut : could he rally enough troops to forcibly get her ? This Chiang Mai academic conference may have been a harbinger fire-taste of immense power struggle.
Thailand’s triple threat
Thailand’s brief flirtations with democracy, and the rule of laws made by the people’s representatives, were probably the last chance for stable and bloodless changes of government. Governments never go on forever, but future changes are likely to be violent, and sourced in factional conflict in the military. The previous king was a focus of loyalty that kept the military together. The present king is unfit for that role. The present dictatorship has set the precedent for it’s own demise, but their fate will be worse than that of the Thai people’s last representatives, languishing in prison or exile. The dictatorship can expect to end their lives on marble floors in pools of blood, slaughtered by their comrades-in-arms. Subsequent governments, propped up as ever by hierarchies of grovelling, lying careerists, will be no better than theirs. But their fates will be similar.
Letter from colleagues of Prof Chayan
Also – and apologies for harping on – the headline says “Letter from colleagues of Prof Chayan”. Whilst it’s certainly impressive that he has over 400 colleagues, in locations from Chennai to Oslo, it seems odd that he evidently has almost no Thai colleagues.
Letter from colleagues of Prof Chayan
Yet the list includes four academics who are working in Thailand, so it clearly doesn’t EXCLUDE them. But two of them are non-Thais, and therefore presumably have no voting rights, or any other rights, in Thailand. I’m not clear why a military government would have the slightest interest in or concern about this?
Distinguishing piety and fundamentalism in Indonesian Muslims
Indicator of muslim piety are numerous. But among them, the ones use in this article is correct: praying in mosque often and reading Quran often are good indicator of muslim piety. But what you said is also correct: zikr and night prayer (although night prayer is often perform if a muslim want to ask a specific thing from God like passing an exam or getting a job) even out of a mosque is also good indicator of muslim piety. As is participation in Yasinan, and pengajian (religious talks in mosque).
Ziyarah to tombs of prominent Islamic figures are not normally considers as pious behaviour since it can be interpreted that a muslim put their faith and prayed to those figures and not God which is a grave sin in Islam. Pious muslim often do ziyarah to remember that everyone must die so they should do good in the world and be closer to God.
In short: doing something that is not specifically said as mandatory practice in canon indicates that that muslim is more pious. The more thing he does the more pious he is.
So if one would do survey of muslim piety, it should have question about all non mandatory practice the muslim does and how often he/she does it. Because I think we can all agree if a muslim that often prays in mosque and attend pengajian (religious talks in mosque) are more pious than muslim that only do night prayer and nothing else.
ICTS13 attendees speak out for academic freedom in Thailand
Pravit just liked my question on his FB : “what if Yingluck is in Chiang Mai ?”
Letter from colleagues of Prof Chayan
I am truly grateful for this letter of concern signed by notable scholars to the Thai government. If I had been an academic I would have signed the letter without hesitation. Thank you on behalf of the Thai
ICTS13 attendees speak out for academic freedom in Thailand
[…] already signed a similar statement urging the government to drop the charges. The statement also mentioned that the conference proper “was marred by the intimidating presence of uniformed and […]
Duterte’s “drug war” migrates to Indonesia
You should check your facts. Duterte never claimed that those 7k are drug lords. How can he say that when all of us here in the country knows that most of those killed are from the ghettos. You westerners,tsk. You actually helped me realized how unfair life could be.
International academic statement in support of Prof Chayan and colleagues
So what ? Prayut couldn’t give a damn about puffed-up, self-important academics. He’s a realist : “political power grows out of the barrel of a gun”. The sword IS mightier than the pen.
Letter from colleagues of Prof Chayan
As I read it, and I wasn’t involved in it, the letter is meant to be a “international” letter. It also seems it is meant to be kind of “extra-Thai Studies” as there are only a few Thai Studies scholars on the list and little overlap with the one from participants at ICTS13.
Letter from colleagues of Prof Chayan
Is it really true that only two Thai academics signed it?
ICTS13 attendees speak out for academic freedom in Thailand
I strongly support the statement and humbly join my signature
Juan Manuel López Nadal
Spain