More than 2,000Malaysians in the northern borderstate of Kelantan recently gathered in a vast Islamic education centre to say special prayers for Muslims living in conflict zones.
While they prayed for Muslims in Afghanistan, Palestine and Iraq, their most fervent prayers were for Muslims in neighbouring Thailand, where 87 ethnic Malay Muslims died last month when Thai soldiers quelled a protest outside a police station.
Fiery speakers from Malaysia's fundamentalist opposition Islamic Party of Malaysia (Pas) and other Islamic organisations denounced Thaksin Shinawatra, the Thai prime minister, and demanded Kuala Lumpur do more to help Thai Muslims in the area that once was the independent sultanate of Pattani.
"It is time for Pattani to fight the Siamese kafirs [unbelievers]," said Zainuddin Abdullah of the Kelantan Labour Federation. "We will stand by our Muslim brothers and sisters in southern Thailand to fight Siam."
The passions aroused by the growing Islamic insurgency in mainly Buddhist Thailand is provoking worries among Malaysian government officials that the violence could spill across the border and harm the normally amicable ties between Kuala Lumpur and Bangkok.
"Malaysia could soon find a Chechnya on its doorstep," said Andrew Tan at Singapore's Institute of Defence and Strategic Studies.
Five Thai government schools were burnt down this week, a Muslim intelligence agent shot and seriously wounded, and two alleged Muslim insurgents shot dead in the latest attacks by angry Muslims. The violence has so far cost more than 550 lives this year.
The intensifying conflict, which Thailand partly blames on insurgents sheltering in Malaysia, poses a political dilemma for Kuala Lumpur because Pas is likely to use the issue to win renewed support after it lost heavily in recent general elections.
Kelantan is the only Malaysian state to be governed by Pas and many of the local citizens have strong historical, cultural and social ties with the southern Thai region, where many of their relatives live.
But Malaysia is also determined to prevent Kelantan from being used as a base for the Thai Muslim militants because they also could pose a potential security threat to the moderate government of Abdullah Badawi.
Many in Kelantan say the Thai Muslims have been treated for decades as "second-class citizens" by contemptuous Bangkok officials and the rest of Thai society.
Mr Thaksin is blamed for provoking the current wave of violence with his heavy-handed tactics, his insensitivity towards the Muslims' long-standing grievances and his refusal to heed suggestions of moderate Islamic community leaders on reducing tensions.
Zulkifli Yakub, president of the Pas youth wing in Kelantan, warned that unless Bangkok changes its approach to the south, young Malaysians could be inspired to take up arms against Thailand and "do jihad for their people".
"We would like to warn Thaksin, 'Don't play with fire'," Mr Zulkifli said. "Muslims will not let any non-Muslims treat Muslims with injustice." He denied Thai allegations that Pas was supporting the insurgent fighters in Thailand and fostering unrest in other ways, but said Pas would give Thai Muslims "moral support" to fight injustice.
"It will be difficult to stop people going across the border to fight or for refugees seeking sanctuary in Malaysia," said Abdul Razak Baginda, head of the Malaysian Strategic Research Centre. "But the government will act tough in stopping Malaysian territory from being used as a base camp to launch raids into Thailand."
Malaysia is pursuing "positive engagement" with Thailand to seek a solution to the crisis, although its involvement is hampered by the fact that members of the Association of South-East Asian Nations adhere to a strict policy of non-interference in each other's internal affairs.
"Malaysia feels Thailand is handling the situation in the wrong way, but it doesn't want to do anything that would affect Asean co-operation," said Mr Razak.
But some local Muslim leaders in Kelantan believe the government should do more, especially since Malaysia is the current head of the Organisation of Islamic Conference.
Abdul Halim, a leader in Kelantan of Jamaah Islam Malaysia, a local Muslim group, said Malaysia should use Asean as a venue to discuss the situation. "This is not trying to intervene in Thailand's internal affairs, but it is about the neighbourhood and stability," he said. Otherwise, "it could be a very ugly situation".
Mahathir Mohamad, the former Malaysian prime minister, has suggested southern Thailand should be granted political autonomy that would allow greater local participation in decision-making. But Mr Thaksin was clearly irritated with Dr Mahathir's idea.
Jon Ungpakorn, a Thai senator, said it would require a "change of leadership" before Bangkok would be receptive to suggestions or assistance from Malaysia.
Meanwhile, most regional security analysts believe that the situation in southern Thailand will deteriorate further unless Bangkok changes its hardline approach.
