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Acknowledgements
- ISEAS–Yusof Ishak Institute
- Chapter
- Additional Information
xxi ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS In writing this book I have accumulated a great many debts of gratitude. It is with deep appreciation that I acknowledge the support of Barry Desker, Dean of the S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies, who granted me time away from heavy administrative responsibilities so that I could conduct field research and later write up my research findings. Research for this book first began as part of a larger project on Islamic education in Southeast Asia. Concomitantly, a word of thanks is due to my fellow project members Bob Hefner, Rick Kraince, Tom McKenna, and Bjorn Blengsli, who laboured with me to better understand the complicated dynamics and nuances of Islamic education in the region. It was during our many meetings discussing this project that my interest in the Islamic schools of southern Thailand was nursed, and it was they who first forced me to think through this topic carefully in order to define and refine research questions and methodologies. Thanks also to the National Bureau of Asian Research for funding this Islamic education project, and to Michael Wills, Aishah Pang, and Mercy Kuo for supporting it. The person who learns most from any book is its author. In the course of writing this particular one, I have learnt and profited a great deal from my interactions with friends and colleagues from the Thai studies, Islamic studies, Southeast Asian studies, and security studies communities who helped me think through the issues it raises. I am particularly indebted to Saroja Dorairajoo, Raymond Scupin, Duncan McCargo, Michael Montesano, Chaiwat Satha-Anand, Ibrahim Narongraksakhet, Nilor Wae-u-Seng, Hasan Madmarn, Sukri Langputeh, Imtiyaz Yusuf, May Mullins, Muhammad Arafat, Suleemarn Wongsuphap, Worawit Baru, Ahmad Somboon Bualuang, Michael 00 IslamEdu&Reform Prelims 4/23/09, 2:30 PM 21 xxii Acknowledgements Vatikiotis, Pakorn Priyakorn, Surin Pitsuwan, Greg Fealy, Bob Hefner, Greg Barton, Farish Noor, Patricia Martinez, John Funston, Francesca Lawe-Davies, Christoph Marcinkowski, and Anthony Davis, for whatever may be of value in the book. In Bangkok, Jim Klein patiently took me through the Asia Foundation’s projects in Thailand’s religious schools, while Alayas Haji Salah kindly accompanied me on visits to pondoks and Islamic schools in the city and its vicinity. Similarly, research for the brief discussion on Chiang Mai benefited from the kind assistance of Suchart Sethamalinee and Kannaporn “Pam” Akarapisan. Francesca Lawe-Davies shared her data on religious education, reproduced in Chapter Two, based on her own research on the National Reconciliation Committee. In Pattani, Kariya (Zakaria) Langputeh kindly hosted me at the Yala Islamic College, while prominent local Islamic scholars such as Ismail Lutfi Japakiya, Nidae Waba, and Abdurrahman Khahama patiently and candidly answered my many questions. I wish also to acknowledge the valuable contribution to this work made by a number of people who assisted in research and translation. Ustaz Muhammad Haniff Hassan was kind enough to share with me parts of his own analysis of Ismail Lutfi Japakiya’s doctoral dissertation, while Abdul Rahim Zakaria allowed me to use segments of his Master’s dissertation on Haji Sulong. Shahirah Mahmood, Mohamed Nawab, and Afif Pasuni helped in the translation of some Arabic and Jawi material; Shahirah patiently assisted me by ploughing through the entire manuscript as I prepared it for publication. Don Pathan was characteristically generous with his own time, contacts, and insights. As administrative responsibilities made it difficult for me to visit the southern provinces as often as I would have liked, I had to rely on local help to sustain the research on the ground. Owing to the precarious security situation in southern Thailand, however, I am unable to acknowledge by name those who were instrumental in arranging interviews for me, and at times conducting them as well. They know who they are, and they know how important their contribution has been to this book. There are many others — religious teachers and local Malay-Muslim community leaders as well as government officials — whose names cannot be revealed here for personal and security reasons. To them I owe a heartfelt gratitude and appreciation for their candour and honesty in sharing with me their views on the topic. Preliminary findings of this research were presented at a research seminar at the S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies (2006), a panel at the Association of Asian Studies Annual Conference (2006), and the Thailand Update at the Australian National University (2007). I would like to express my gratitude to those who attended these sessions and for contributing 00 IslamEdu&Reform...