KUALA LUMPUR, September 14 (IslamOnline.net) - Muslim leaders in south Thailand are striving to defuse tensions among Muslim communities in Pattani, Narathiwat and Yala after local Thai officials started a “witch hunt” that went wrong in these areas, leading Muslims to refuse to assist the authorities in their ‘war against terrorism”.

“There are no terrorists in South Thailand, nothing that is close to the alleged al-Qaeda or the JI, which should not be called the Jemaah Islamiyah anyway,” said Mansor Saleh, a writer and social worker from South Thailand.

Saleh told IOL during an interview that Muslims did not believe the government when it said two Muslim scholars and a doctor were arrested for their connections with the alleged regional "terror network" called the Jemaah Islamiyah.

Saleh added that he was mainly involved in easing tensions between Muslims and local officials by urging the government to allocate more funds to the Muslims for the development of land and other projects needed to help Muslims there assimilate their faith with better living conditions.

“Not all Muslims are fighters, some are members of a new group called the Mujahideen, and they are those ready to die for the cause of separatism. We cannot stop that as long as there is no development that allows Muslims to progress in the South,” said the writer.

“That is why I left my farm to write books and articles in my own newspaper in both Malay and Thai languages to boost the confidence of the young Muslims in the region,” added Saleh.

The arrest of the three Muslims in the South in June this year, followed by the arrest of Hambali and a recent operation by Thai officials in Islamic schools and mosques as well as remote villages have angered the Muslims.

“As long as they are targeting good Muslims, the war against terrorism will fail and the authorities will never be able to contain the young generation of Muslims here from making demands and from being involved in acts of desperation against the authorities,” said Yusria, another Thai Muslim living in Malaysia.

The war against terrorism is dividing Southern Thailand Muslims into three camps. It is also separating the Muslims away from the officials of the Thai government in the South, creating major tension and suspicion among Muslims in the region.

Southern Thailand remains a tourist catchments area Thailand, a country heavily dependent on foreign currency earned from tourism activities in the country.

The Yala Islamic Provincial Committee and several religious leaders made a complaint Saturday to General Surayud Chulanont during a meeting. The General held the meeting in a bid to seek the cooperation of the Yala Islamic Provincial Committee’s cooperation in fighting terrorism.

“There is no war against terror, there is no terror. It is all fictional. No Thailand Muslims are part of any terror groups. There are those who still believe in fighting for the separation of Southern Thailand from Thailand, and they are not many,” Salleh said to IOL.

Local Thai officials reportedly searched schools and other buildings for Muslims wearing long white shirts with long beards. This boosted tension in the area, sad Arifin Jehmah, the president of the Yala Islamic Provincial Committee at a press conference in Yala.

Several religious leaders were afraid for their safety and sought shelter in Malaysia during the course of last week, IOL was told by Muslims in Kelantan, the Malaysian state bordering Thailand.

On the other hand, General Surayud said the recent capture of Hambali in Ayuthaya had made Thais suspicious of Muslims, reported the Bangkok Post newspaper.

He asked religious leaders to watch out for anyone causing trouble.

Suhaini Ma-keh, chairman of the Narathiwat Provincial Islamic Committee, said he went to Ayuthaya after Hambali's arrest to look into reports that he sought shelter with local Muslims.