Thailand speaks to Muslims all over the world and therefore makes it a great Muslim-friendly holiday destination to discover. With Islam being the second biggest religion in Thailand, Muslim-friendly services are always near. Halal restaurants are common where you can savour a selection of traditional Thai dishes.
Muslims are the second largest religious group in Thailand at 4% to 5% of the population. Thailand's southernmost provinces — Pattani, Yala, Narathiwat, Satun, Trang, and part of Songkhla — have large Muslim populations, consisting of both ethnic Thai and Malay.
Demographics and geography
The rest are scattered throughout Thailand, with the largest concentrations being in Bangkok and throughout the southern region.
Muslims comprise Thailand's largest religious minority and are concentrated mainly in the southernmost provinces of Narathiwat, Pattani, Yala, and Satun.
Just about every city and town has at least a few halal restaurants, and large cities such as Bangkok will have hundreds. Although Thailand is predominantly a Buddhist country, it's worth knowing that their second biggest religion is Islam.
Most Thai Muslims in this district are Pattani descent migrating to Minburi since 1786 (B.E. 2329) and represent the common cultural practices Thailand's southernmost provinces sharing with Malaysia. It is estimated that there are 600,000 Muslims in Bangkok living mostly in the east of Bangkok.
Australia is renowned for its commitment to the strict standards required for producing Halal meat and meat products and, along with the involvement and expertise of the Islamic organizations, registered to supervise and certify the production processes.
The largest Muslim population in a country is in Indonesia, a country home to 12.7% of the world's Muslims, followed by Pakistan (11.1%), India (10.9%) and Bangladesh (9.2%).
Unlike Christianity and Judaism, Islam isn't formally recognized in Italy. This means that mosques cannot receive public funds, Islamic weddings have no legal value and Muslim workers aren't entitled to take days off for religious holidays. Now that lack of recognition may change — but not without a cost.
Serious crimes take place throughout Thailand, and sometimes British Nationals are affected. Violent sexual assaults and unprovoked attacks have been reported in tourist destinations across Thailand. These are particularly common during Full Moon parties and other similar events and late at night near bars.
According to 2010 estimates, the vast majority of the Thai population (93.6%) identify as Buddhist.
NGOs, academics, and religious groups state that 85 to 95 percent of the population is Theravada Buddhist and 5 to 10 percent Muslim. Other groups, including animists, Christians, Confucians, Hindus, Jews, Sikhs, and Taoists, constitute the remainder of the population.
The country with the largest number (about 209 million) is Indonesia, where 87.2% of the population identifies as Muslim. India has the world's second-largest Muslim population in raw numbers (roughly 176 million), though Muslims make up just 14.4% of India's total population.
About 6.4% of the population of the Philippines is Muslim as of 2020, making Islam the second largest religion in the country. The majority of Muslims live in parts of Mindanao, Palawan, and the Sulu Archipelago – an area known as Bangsamoro or the Moro region.
People with no religious affiliation (atheist, agnostic or other irreligious life stances) form the second largest group at 20% of the population. Christianity comes in at 18.9%. Islam, at 15.6%, is followed mainly by Malays, though there are also Indians adhering to it.
Studies in the 21st century suggest that, in terms of percentage and worldwide spread, Islam is the fastest-growing major religion in the world.
Islam is the state religion in Saudi Arabia. The country is home to Mecca and Medina. The two holiest cities of Islam attract millions of Muslim Hajj pilgrims every year.
The states and territories with the highest proportion of Muslims are New South Wales (3.58%) and Victoria (3.32%), whereas those with the lowest are Queensland (0.95%) and Tasmania (0.49%). 4.2% of people in Greater Melbourne are Muslim. Many Muslims living there are Bosnian and Turkish.
KFC chicken in Australia is halal-certified by the ANIC, meaning that it is prepared according to Islamic guidelines for slaughter and preparation. However, not all KFC restaurants in Australia are halal-certified, so it's important to do your research and ensure that you are eating at a halal-certified location.
McDonald's meat patties are produced from 100% pure halal beef with no additives, preservatives or flavor enhancers.
The Central Mosque of Pattani is one of the largest and most beautiful mosques in Thailand. Built in 1954, the construction of this mosque took almost nine years. It is the center for Islam in the South.
There are two Muslim groups in Vietnam: Sunni Muslims and Bani Cham Muslims. The Bani branch is considered unorthodox because its practices are different from mainstream Islam and it is influenced by Cham folk beliefs.
This historic area is called Bangkok Yai. Back in the mid-1600s, more than a century before Bangkok became the Thai capital, Malay Muslims gathered here, next to one of the city's largest canals.