THAILAND — Once, on Friday (03/14/2025), after Zuhr prayer at the As-Safier Mosque of the Indonesian Embassy in Bangkok, there was something interesting that I found when talking to a young man named Ibrahim. He is a local staff member of the consular protocol section of the Indonesian Embassy in Bangkok.
Ibrahim said that he had just taken care of the death of an Indonesian citizen who was on vacation in Pattaya due to illness. The young man, whose real name is Song Pon, revealed that he was arranging the funeral of the Indonesian citizen. It turns out that if he doesn’t have to be repatriated to Indonesia, the body can be buried in Thailand. This is because it is quite easy to find a burial ground for Muslims from Indonesia in Bangkok. One of them is the Javanese Mosque cemetery on Soi Charoen Rat 1 Yaek 9, Sathorn, Bangkok.
This is a privilege and convenience for Muslims from Indonesia. This is because the cost of repatriating the body to Indonesia is not cheap, which is around 100,000 baht or almost 50 million rupiah, when converted at today’s exchange rate.
Furthermore, the young man from Chiang Mai, who converted to Islam in 2015, revealed that almost all mosques in Thailand, especially in Bangkok, have cemetery land. The land is free of charge and there is no need to rent it, only to pay for the costs of handling the body, such as bathing, shrouding, and digging the grave. The total cost is only about 10,000 baht or around 500 thousand rupiah. Sometimes there are donations from the mosque fund for those who cannot afford it.
However, behind these various conveniences, there are of course several rules that apply. For example, the Darul Aman Mosque in Soi 7. This mosque requires membership for Muslims who want to be buried in the Javanese Mosque cemetery. This is implemented due to the limited cemetery land.
Even so, for Indonesian Muslims, it is sometimes still permissible to be buried in the Darul Aman Mosque cemetery even if they are not yet members, because of the good relationship between Indonesian Muslims and the Darul Aman Mosque management. This was revealed by Sofian, a staff member of the Indonesian Embassy in Bangkok who is indeed familiar with the Imam and the management of the Darul Aman Mosque.
Muslim burial grounds in Bangkok are usually located within mosque compounds. Some examples of mosques in Bangkok that have burial grounds are Al Atiq Bang Uthit Mosque on Charoen Krung Road, Darul Aman Mosque in the Ratchathewi area, and Java Mosque in the Sathorn area.
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Apart from mosques, there are also several Muslim villages in Bangkok that have cemetery grounds, such as the Muslim village in Petchaburi Soi Jet. This village is one of the largest Muslim communities in Bangkok and has various facilities, including mosques, schools, and of course cemetery grounds.
According to data from the Islamic Center of Thailand, by 2023 there will be 4,059 mosques throughout Thailand. More than 170 of them are in Bangkok. The Islamic Center of Thailand also points out that these statistics only include mosques that are registered with and supported by the Islamic Center. Meanwhile, there are still many centers in other areas that have not been fully surveyed and added to the statistics.
Mosques in Thailand do not only function as places of worship, but also as community centers that provide various facilities, including burial grounds. The existence of a cemetery in almost every mosque in Bangkok is a means of preaching and spreading Islam. With this facility, it certainly shows how easy Islam is as well as the face of solidarity of Muslims in the middle of this city decorated with Buddhist temples. One interesting thing that we can possibly use as a means of preaching.
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One important thing to remember is that mosques in Thailand are truly functional for widespread use, being a home for Muslims from all over the world, not just a place of prayer that is then locked up tightly afterwards. (Dompet Dhuafa)
Text and photos: Dai Ambassador assigned to Thailand, Ustaz Raji Luqya Maulah
Editor: Ronna