primarily from Israel. There are Jewish synagogues in Phuket, Chiang Mai, and Ko Samui, but no community there. Other religions Sikhism The first Sikh known to have come to Thailand was Ladha Singh, who arrived in 1890. Other Sikhs joined him in the early 1900s, and by 1911 more than a hundred Sikh families had settled in Thailand, mainly in Thonburi Region. There were at that time no gurdwaras (Sikh temples), and religious prayers were held in private homes every Sunday and on gurpurab days. The Sikh community continued to grow, and in 1912 it was decided to build a gurdwara. It stands today in Bangkok's Pahurat area and imitates the Golden Temple in Amritsar Punjab, India. A tiny but influential community of Sikhs live in the country's cities, most engaged in retail commerce. Freedom of religion Thai law provides for freedom of religion, and the government generally respects this right in practice. It does not, however, register new religious groups that have not been accepted into one of the existing religious governing bodies on doctrinal or other grounds. In practice, unregistered religious organisations operate freely, and the government's practice of not recognising any new religious groups does not restrict the activities of unregistered religious groups. The government officially limits the number of foreign missionaries that may work in the country, although unregistered missionaries are present in large numbers and are allowed to live and work freely. There have been no widespread reports of societal abuses or discrimination based on religious belief or practice. However, in the far southern border provinces, continued separatist violence has resulted in mistrust in relations between the Buddhist and Muslim communities. Notes References Citations Sources See also Religion in Myanmar Religion in China Religion in Laos Religion in Vietnam Jainism in Southeast Asia Thailand