Most of Bangkok's Muslims trace their roots to southern Thailand. In the 18th century, the Siamese government enslaved many Muslims and moved them to Bangkok, forcing them to dig canals and perform other manual labour. Today, these Muslims speak Thai and call themselves Thai Muslims. Bangkok is also home to Muslims from other parts of the world, such as Cambodian Cham Muslims, Iranians, Arabs, Pakistanis, Afghanis, Indians and Burmese.
Many Muslims in Bangkok live along the city’s canals. To visit a Muslim community you may need to ride a motorcycle or to walk carefully along a small canal-side walkway. Even though many of Bangkok's Muslims separate themselves from the Buddhist majority, Buddhists and Muslims can also be found living together peacefully in the same community.
While some of Bangkok’s Muslims are wealthy, having sold land to developers as the city grows, Muslims can be found in every socioeconomic class. In general, Thai Muslims live at a lower economic standard than the Buddhist majority.
Bangkok's Muslims look to the local mosque to help them maintain their faith and customs in the face of a majority-Buddhist culture and the temptations of materialism. The mosque bonds the Muslim community together, a strong bond that makes it very rare that a Muslim would consider converting to Buddhism or Christianity.
In the last 15 years, Muslims in Bangkok have begun to observe Islamic practices more strictly, fasting during Ramadan, praying five times a day and enrolling their children in religious education. Muslims are also urged to replace “worldly patterns” of behavior with "proper" Islamic forms, such as head covering for women.
(External links)
Wikipedia
A Thai Muslim's Perspective
Thai Language
Map of Mosques in Bangkok