Muslims make up the second largest minority group in Thailand, after the ethnic Chinese population. And while some Thai Muslims are ethnically Persian, Cham (Cambodian Muslim), Bengali, Indian, Pakistani and Chinese, most are Malay, a predominantly Muslim ethnic group living in the Malay Peninsula and parts of Sumatra, Borneo and Malaysia. Although Thailand's Muslims live in different parts of the country, Malay Muslims live mainly in Thailand's southern provinces of Pattani, Yala Naratiwat, Songkhla and Satun, bordering Malaysia.
Unlike their fellow non-Malay Muslims who tend to be more assimilated, Malay Muslims have found it difficult to become an integrated part of Thai culture. A significant number of separatist movements have emerged as a result. And measures by the Thai government to suppress these movements have resulted in decades of violent conflict.