Missionarizing Border: Religious Space and Movement, Re-identification of Muslim Migrants along Thai-Burma Borderland

Abstract

Religious and community Spaces are related to the identities of Muslim migrants along the Thai-Burma border, through the missions and establishing a network of Islamic propagation. It shows through the organization, the structure and function of religion. On one side, the Muslim movement is impact on the negative and violence stereotype construction on the discourse of security matter and contradiction cause as a myth in Thai society. The other side of the religious movement and using the religious spaces of migrants, in the case of Burmese Muslim in this study, are reflect an understanding of the against and negotiation process. Also this can show facilitates on the making of alternatives and opportunities for Muslim migrants in their everyday lives. This study is leads to the empowerment of Muslim migrants in social and cultural spaces, and adapt to a new space on the borderline. Finally, this paper will reflect that the process of religious space construction is living at the border, has developed the integration with nationality, ethnicity, locality and universality. It occurs in cooperate, conflict, negotiating and compromise on the situation of the power relation in the specific of time and place. Including the participation in religious space of the migrants, this also the process of re-position on social relations in the new context that they are faced with the problem of lack of security in life, economic, social crisis, the adaptation to new cultures and changing in their status.