Muslim Friendly Certificate Thailand (MFCT) – Siam Friendly Starndard

Brief Summary of the Muslim Friendly Certificate (MFC) Initiative by the Private Sector

1. Background for Understanding the Current Situation

Joint research organizations CrescentRating and Mastercard confirm that the Muslim tourist market is set to grow to 225 million people, rising to number one. The research indicates that Thailand is a country that can grow within this market, provided it accelerates knowledge-building for entrepreneurs. At the same time, we are a destination for Islamic weddings, with couples coming to marry in Thailand and continuing to travel afterward, with numbers increasing every year.

2. Current Problems

Entrepreneurs who have the potential and knowledge to properly care for Muslim customers are limited in number. Changing services to fully accommodate halal requirements risks lost income and uncertainty. In addition, entrepreneurs lack the appropriate tools to grow the Muslim market. Currently there is only one religious organization issuing certificates nationwide, with insufficient personnel to cover the whole country and high costs of entry into the system.

3. The Feasibility of Implementing a Muslim Friendly Certificate (MFC) by the Private Sector

The model of the private sector leading, with government and religious sectors following, is one that has genuinely occurred since 2012, such as Salam Standard, which arose from a private company setting ratings and creating the MFC standard. As it grew, the Malaysian government’s tourism authority and the religious sector came in to support it, pushing it forward and linking it with the OIC, developing it into a world-class private enterprise with more than 55,000 participating hotels, generating enormous income for Malaysia. MFC requires indicators that are simpler than halal, such as having a prayer mat and other items, and is widely used in many countries, such as Japan, for example.

4. Benefits to Various Sectors

This developed model will benefit entrepreneurs as well as workers of every religion, increasing Thailand’s capacity to serve the Muslim market in a multicultural atmosphere, with simple, standardized indicators and reasonable costs of entry into the system. It will increase good mutual understanding between people of every religion in Thailand toward Islam, the country will receive good rankings at the global level, and it will generate returns for supporters.

5. Setting Goals

The private sector will develop its own dedicated system and model, while at the same time seeking additional support from the government and religious sectors and religious scholars — from developing indicators, conducting necessary training, issuing certificates, supporting marketing, and connecting with tourism networks — in the form of a Muslim Friendly Model with a core centered on a multicultural atmosphere, so that non-Muslim entrepreneurs can access it easily at a reasonable cost.

6. Implementation Plan
Create indicators, organize training, and issue certificates to groups of entrepreneurs with high potential — among hotels, cafes, spas, hospitals, travel companies, and others — that are friendly toward multiculturalism, within a narrow group first to maintain quality, then expand the group as appropriate, alongside seeking cooperation from the government and religious sector.

7. About the Operator and Project Developer

Araya Nikah Planner and Consult Co., Ltd., Tax ID 0105565138468

A company providing consultation, training, and marketing planning for the Muslim and multicultural markets for entrepreneurs.
Issuing certificates for learning about Islam, conversion to Islam, and organizing international Islamic weddings in Thailand.

Project: Implementation of a Muslim Friendly Certificate (MFC) by the Private Sector

1. Background Information for Understanding the Current Situation

How can we help non-Muslim entrepreneurs and non-Muslim personnel in Thailand gain the knowledge, expertise, and tools to look after Muslim customers from around the world?  According to data from CrescentRating and MASTERCARD, private companies that produce Muslim Friendly ratings and are headquartered in Singapore, the number of potential Muslim tourists is increasing significantly, reaching 225 million people by 2028, or four years from now, and these tourists are spread across destinations worldwide. To serve this market, they have developed the GMTI as an indicator and scoring system for countries that have made good progress in accommodating Muslim tourists, to encourage more tourists to visit those areas and to receive convenience in religious and cultural activities, such as halal food and prayer facilities.

Global Muslim travel statistics, GLOBAL MUSLIM TRAVEL INDEX 2024

For Thailand, overall tourist numbers in the first quarter of 2024 increased from 8 million to 12 million people, which is considered a substantial increase (of this number, Muslim tourists accounted for as many as 2.2 million people).  CrescentRating and Mastercard rank Thailand among the group of countries with the potential to attract an increasing number of Muslim customers from around the world. Although our ranking score has fallen each year over the recent period, from 2nd place down to 5th place among Non-OIC countries, this is not because we have declined, but because neighboring countries such as Taiwan and Hong Kong, and several other countries, are racing to develop infrastructure to serve this market, showing that they place great importance on the Muslim tourism market.

However, based on Thailand’s score under the ACES 3.0 Framework in the GLOBAL MUSLIM TRAVEL INDEX 2024 report, the analysis shows that we still have room to increase Thailand’s competitiveness, such as in the Destination Marketing indicator, which measures marketing efforts around Thailand’s Muslim Friendly status, Stakeholder Awareness, which measures stakeholders’ knowledge and understanding of Muslim travelers, and the Communication Proficiency indicator, which reflects readiness in the languages needed in the world of Muslim tourists, among others. These indicators show the benefits that would arise if the number of entrepreneurs with knowledge and understanding of Muslim Friendly practices in Thailand were increased.

Score table under the ACES 3.0 model, GLOBAL MUSLIM TRAVEL INDEX 2024

Besides general Muslim tourists, Thailand is also a destination for Islamic wedding couples — both couples who are already Muslim and couples marrying through conversion to Islam. It has been found that couples who come to Thailand to have an open and sincere Islamic wedding with Araya Nikah Planner and Consult Co., Ltd. come from a wide variety of countries, such as Taiwan, Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia, the Philippines, Kuwait, Pakistan, China, the United States, Myanmar, Cambodia, and others, working with a professional Islamic wedding planning company. This is because Thailand has an atmosphere conducive to organizing Islamic weddings, and these couples, once married, tend to stay and travel in Thailand for at least one further week. Combined with the existing Islamic weddings of Muslims already in Thailand, Islamic weddings in a multicultural atmosphere, together with tourism by Muslims from around the world, is a matter that should not be overlooked and is of real importance.

An Islamic wedding of a French national and a Thai national, held at a banquet hall run by a non-Muslim operator, looked after by Araya company

2. Current Problems

It is clear that the opportunity to serve the Muslim market from around the world visiting Thailand is an important economic opportunity. However, these Muslim tourists have specific needs that differ from general tourists, and to serve this market entrepreneurs necessarily need additional knowledge in management — in marketing, in communication methods suited to customers’ culture, in providing customer information, in service delivery, and in products. Furthermore, as the trend of Muslim tourists entering Thailand continues to grow, the country cannot rely on Muslim entrepreneurs alone to serve this entire market. It is therefore essential to further develop non-Muslim entrepreneurs in the private sector (non-Muslim Entrepreneurs), who make up the majority of the country’s population, so that they too can serve this customer group, now and into the future.

However, due to religious and cultural differences, it is difficult for entrepreneurs outside the Muslim market (non-Muslim Entrepreneurs) to access and understand the market of followers of Islam, both in terms of knowledge and concerns around religious practice, resulting in high management and transition costs, along with differences in the management systems or the systems for goods and services. Furthermore, entering the Muslim market may require an entrepreneur to give up their business’s entire identity, such as completely overhauling a hotel’s systems or discontinuing the sale of alcohol to serve Muslim customers, with no assurance measures at all as to whether making such a change would attract sufficient customers.

As for standards currently usable in Thailand, only the halal standard has been officially issued. Thailand’s standard was developed from the document GENERAL GUIDELINES FOR USE OF THE TERM “HALAL,” which was produced jointly by the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) and the World Health Organization (WHO). The original document contains criteria on halal food covering only two A4 pages, whereas the details required to obtain halal certification in Thailand are complex and costly, because the highest level of standard is required for halal certification. However, not every entrepreneur needs to meet every one of these indicators in order to look after Muslim customers, and applying every standard indicator may affect entrepreneurs — particularly entrepreneurs outside the Muslim market — through changes to their internal management. The complexity of these indicators makes it hard for entrepreneurs to enter the market, affecting the number of quality entrepreneurs. This problem occurs in many regions, especially in Japan as well as in Thailand.

Cultural and religious differences, and the feeling of concern about serving Muslim customers for fear of making a religious mistake, are problems present across many service sectors. Solving this problem therefore requires applying a multicultural framework, together with knowledge and understanding of the constraints of Islam presented in a concise form, so as to invite non-Muslim entrepreneurs to enter the market with greater comfort and confidence. One possibility for making this project succeed is to let a diverse and capable private sector, with knowledge and understanding, take the lead, with support from the government and religious sector of Thailand going forward. This model can genuinely work, with one model country being a private company in Malaysia.

3. The Feasibility of Implementing a Muslim Friendly Certificate (MFC) by the Private Sector

Malaysia is one of the countries where a private company has led in MFC since 2012. The private company Tripfez Travel provides Muslim Friendly ratings for hotels and accommodations and offers consultation on developing facilities and services friendly to Muslims, later developing into what is known as SALAM STANDARD in 2015. As the company grew and became well known, the SALAM STANDARD was recognized and received support from Malaysia’s Ministry of Tourism and Culture and the Islamic Tourism Centre, and was presented to COMCEC, the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), in 2017, with more than 55,000 hotels having received certification.

A group of hotels participating in the Salam Standard developed by the private company Tripfez Travel  

The private company CrescentRating was founded in 2008, a private company established in Singapore, developing halal tourism and Muslim Friendly practices. In 2015, it partnered with MasterCard to create the Global Muslim Travel Index, an indicator trusted worldwide, cooperating with countries such as the tourism departments of the Philippines, Japan, and Indonesia, among others. In 2024, it developed the RIDA FRAMEWORK for tourism operators wishing to serve Muslim tourists.

Certification for Muslim Friendly status by private companies is common practice across many regions of the world. In Japan, halal inspection and certification is carried out by non-profit organizations, religious companies, public companies, sole proprietorships, and others. Halal certification fees in Japan are high, ranging from 300,000 yen to 2 million yen. Japanese entrepreneurs face the same problems as Thai entrepreneurs — the cost of obtaining halal certification and the loss of non-Muslim customers when fully converting to a halal system. Many Japanese entrepreneurs instead shift their businesses toward becoming “Muslim Friendly,” even without halal certification, as a way of showing their best effort to provide food, products, and services that meet Muslim needs, by issuing a “policy sheet” stating how far they are able to meet halal requirements. If you visit a Muslim-friendly restaurant, you can find this policy sheet on the table.

As for the indicators for Muslim Friendly status, these are quite simple. In the case of Salam Standard, for example, the first condition for obtaining the Bronze level standard for a hotel is having a prayer mat available on request, having direction markers showing the qibla direction in bedrooms, and having an en-suite bathroom in every room. With proper education and management, a large number of hotels could pass this basic standard and receive a Muslim Friendly Certificate across Thailand, without needing a complex structure or inspection by a specialized religious scholar.

It is therefore very possible that Thailand, through a private company that receives appropriate support, could develop a Muslim Friendly framework widely across Thailand — one that is standardized and genuinely usable — if given appropriate support from the government and the Islamic religious sector of Thailand, since this is an activity from which Thailand, society, entrepreneurs, practitioners, and the Islamic religious sector — everyone involved — will genuinely benefit together.

3. Benefits of the Project Across Each Dimension That Requires Attention

The project developer finds that this developed model will benefit entrepreneurs as well as workers of every religion, increasing Thailand’s capacity to serve the Muslim market in a multicultural atmosphere, with simple, standardized indicators and reasonable costs of entry into the system. It will increase good mutual understanding between people of every religion in Thailand toward Islam, the country will receive good rankings at the global level, and it will generate returns for supporters, divided into the following dimensions:

⦿ Entrepreneur Dimension
Helps entrepreneurs who are sincere in looking after Muslim customers to gain useful tools and knowledge for serving Muslim customers from around the world, systematically, correctly according to religious principles, and professionally — without affecting their organization’s existing structure, and using the lowest possible management and operating costs.

Araya company sharing knowledge on caring for Muslim customers who wish to hold a wedding in Thailand, with entrepreneurs.

⦿ Thailand’s Economic Dimension
This model must raise Thailand’s GMTI score, giving it a distinctive and Muslim-friendly image, by addressing weaknesses and reinforcing strengths within each part of the existing structure — for example, helping entrepreneurs build confidence and safety for Muslim women customers and women customers from around the world — complementing the government’s existing plans, and standing on a foundation of multiculturalism.

A Thai-Taiwanese Islamic wedding, with the Taiwanese family choosing to rest and continue traveling in Thailand for two weeks afterward.

⦿Islamic Religious Dimension

This model must spread understanding of Islam to entrepreneurs, personnel, and other stakeholders broadly, quickly, and across the whole country — not through coercion or making people feel forced, but through open-hearted, willing cooperation from the entrepreneurs themselves. Araya company aims to create no fewer than 100 additional prayer rooms through this project, among other goals.

Prayer rooms and wudu (ablution) areas built as part of Araya company’s Muslim Friendly project.

⦿ Dimension of the Thai Halal Office’s Operations
This model must help and further build on, and increase the number of, entrepreneurs ready to enter Full Halal business operations in Thailand, and support these entrepreneurs in going on to receive training and register for halal certification with the Halal Office operated by the Central Islamic Committee of Thailand as a subsequent step.

Araya company works closely with Islamic religious organizations in supporting couples from abroad, providing advice on legal matters and other issues, as well as supporting halal-related operations in Thailand.

⦿ Thailand’s Social Dimension
This model must foster a multicultural atmosphere of mutual understanding and mutual respect among all religions that live together in Thailand, through systematic management of religious matters.

Araya company’s Islamic wedding organizing, involving participants, is designed to be multicultural, without coercion or judgment, respecting one another — a concept that has been carried into designing the Muslim Friendly model for entrepreneurs of every religion.

The atmosphere of overseeing the wedding of a Thai Muslim of Chinese descent, blending multiculturalism together.
 

⦿ Dimension of the Thai People Who Are Not Muslim
This model must create opportunities and generate jobs, both domestically and abroad, for non-Muslims, both men and women, and create opportunities for learning and development, and for living well together in Thailand’s multicultural society, despite religious differences.

⦿Dimension of the Thai Population Who Are Muslim
This model must make society more open, with more choices in using services, goods, and services throughout Thailand, arising from entrepreneurs’ good understanding in caring for Muslim customers — more choices, more accessible prayer rooms — and help promote
good coexistence in Thailand’s multicultural society between Muslims and non-Muslims.

The development of Muslim Friendly practices under the company’s model will help ensure that Muslims, both Thai and foreign, have more choices in using hotels, banquet halls, cafes, or restaurants throughout Thailand.

⦿ Dimension of Project Supporters

This model must ensure that all those of every religion who participate in developing the project receive honor and recognition widely, and receive appropriate income from their work, so as to give them the motivation and encouragement to continue developing various processes for the nation’s multicultural society going forward.

4. Current Implementation and Goal-Setting

The private sector will develop its own dedicated system and model, while at the same time seeking additional support from the government and religious sectors and religious scholars — from developing indicators, conducting necessary training, issuing certificates, supporting marketing, and connecting with tourism networks — in the form of a Muslim Friendly Model with a core centered on a multicultural atmosphere, so that non-Muslim entrepreneurs can access it easily at a reasonable cost.

Short-term goals

4.1 Progress of Current Implementation

Muslim Friendly Certificate is a project developed by Araya Nikah Planner and Consult Co., Ltd., first launched in 2022  under the name Nikah Friendly Venue, with the objective of sourcing additional non-Muslim-market hotels for the company’s clients, and helping to support entrepreneurs — from learning, to entering the market while retaining their business’s identity — so that businesses can serve both Muslim and non-Muslim markets at the same time, on a basis of sincerity and correct understanding according to Islamic principles.   Certificates have been issued to 4 private organizations, prayer rooms have been developed at 2 locations through the project, helping non-Muslim entrepreneurs to begin serving Muslim customers, both Thai and foreign, generating substantial income, and this has since developed into the current Muslim Friendly Certificate project.

A banquet hall outside the Muslim market that received Muslim Friendly status from Araya company, and is now able to serve Muslim customers immediately

With the development tool the Muslim Market Sandbox model for entrepreneurs (Muslim Market Sandbox), together with providing knowledge and understanding for adapting to serve Muslim customers, the preliminary certification (Muslim Friendly Certificate) aims to give entrepreneurs access to the system at a lower cost of change, with a space to trial, learn, and adapt before choosing to expand into a full Muslim-market business in the future (Full Halal Business Service), together with various government agencies such as halal institutes or others going forward, on a voluntary basis with a supporting market. 

Araya company takes entrepreneurs to visit local mosques, building relationships and promoting the community’s culture and religion.

Currently, Araya Nikah Planner and Consult Co., Ltd. is in the process of further developing the Muslim Friendly Certificate model, drawing on various frameworks and adapting them to suit Thai social conditions, such as the ACES FRAMEWORK, RIDA FRAMEWORK, and ATF FRAMEWORK, and building on the model the company itself developed for caring for multicultural families, adapting it further for use with non-Muslim entrepreneurs so they can adjust in doing business with customers of differing religions. This model connects multiculturalism together with Islamic principles, to suit entrepreneurs and Thai society, which lives well together across all religions, taking into account social, economic, and religious dimensions, so that all can benefit together, with the aim of it becoming genuinely usable at the national level going forward.

The company is progressively conducting training and issuing certificates to hotel, banquet hall, and cafe operators among non-Muslim entrepreneurs. However, promoting this project further requires additional cooperation from the government and religious sector, in order to develop it further into a standard and to prepare short-term and long-term plans going forward.

Araya company sharing knowledge on caring for Muslim customers who wish to hold a wedding in Thailand, with Muslim hotel operators.

Short-Term Plan

• Prepare policy documents and related documentation in a standardized format
• Develop a model that increases Thailand’s potential in the ACES indicators by more than 50% within a single model
• Build a network of quality entrepreneurs for training, knowledge-sharing, and issuing certificates within a small group
• Publicize the project to gather feedback and seek advice from knowledgeable and capable people, in order to improve the efficiency of the developed model

Long-Term Plan

• Announce and certify on a wide scale
• Push forward to have this standard recognized at the national and global levels
• Connect this standard with the global tourism market
• Organize training and knowledge-sharing for the general public and entrepreneurs throughout Thailand
  
  

5. Additional Proposals

• This Sandbox model will create good opportunities — economic, social, and religious opportunities, and a multicultural atmosphere — that will allow many entrepreneurs the opportunity to learn Islamic principles and to look after Muslim customers systematically. However, great importance must be placed on maintaining standards and correct understanding according to Islamic principles, together with the art of good communication toward non-Muslims. Entrepreneurs who are sincere must be carefully screened, alongside developing a structure that benefits the Muslim customer group in a multicultural atmosphere. All of this will bring Thailand, Thai society, entrepreneurs, and Islam, within a multicultural atmosphere, to the goals intended.

6. Project Inquiries

For further details about the group or company,
past work, care of international clients, various training courses,
or organizing an Islamic wedding in Thailand for international clients
at a four- or five-star hotel or restaurant, please contact for further details at
Araya Nikah Planner and Consult Co., Ltd.
Bangkok, Thailand, Tel. 089-1109419

Appendix 

Photos of various certificates issued, and the atmosphere of training sessions, mosque visits, and prayer room development through the pilot project trialed by Araya Nikah Planner and Consult Co., Ltd. during 2022-2024.

1. Basic Information About the Company

ARAYA NIKAH PLANNER & CONSULT is a company that grew from an Islamic wedding attire business, which was a family enterprise (2001), before developing further into a Wedding Studio (2008), and going on to provide consultation and planning for Islamic weddings for both Thai and foreign clients, including Wedding Organizer & Nikah Organizer services, becoming a fully established company today (2022), providing consultation services overall for entrepreneurs wishing to enter the Muslim market.

The atmosphere of overseeing Islamic weddings in Thailand.

1.1 Business Operations

1.1.1 General Public — Thai and Foreign Couples

The company’s main current business is acting as an agent managing the budget for organizing nikah ceremonies, as well as celebration events, for the couples in the company’s care, in addition to acting as a consultant giving advice and planning, as well as sourcing personnel, equipment, and venues, to ensure the nikah or Islamic wedding proceeds smoothly, as well as issuing related certificates covering learning about Islam, conversion to Islam, and Islamic marriage — both in forms that carry legal effect and forms that do not — for both Thai and foreign clients, as well as arranging officiants and other matters.

The atmosphere of overseeing Islamic weddings.

The company also offers Islamic wedding attire, Islamic clothing, and other services related to organizing weddings in the Wedding Studio format, providing all such services both directly through the company itself and/or by sourcing well-selected external partners who meet the company’s standards.

The company’s main customer group consists of couples with religious and cultural differences, whether between two Thai nationals, between a Thai national and a foreign national, or between two foreign nationals, as well as Islamic couples looking for a systematic, safe, formal, and orderly nikah or Islamic wedding that creates a good experience for guests, a group that has continued to grow steadily.

1.1.2 Private Companies, Government Organizations, and Educational Institutions

The company provides consultation and planning for banquet venues both inside and outside the Muslim market, as well as training and developing personnel working in the Islamic wedding industry. In 2022, Araya company issued Certificates recognizing two venues as friendly to Islamic weddings, along with training and providing relevant information, so that these venues can serve and look after Muslim guests with proper understanding.

Araya company organizes a project inviting entrepreneurs to get to know the Muslim market by setting up booths at various religious institutions.

The company has developed a course of training on knowledge and understanding of Islam in a multicultural atmosphere, on looking after Muslim customers, on halal food service, and other matters, for private organizations, educational institutions, as well as businesses in the film industry related to Islam, in order to respond to the market of Muslims from around the world entering the country, and to develop and prepare entrepreneurs, reduce conflict arising from religious differences, help with adaptation, and the development of goods, products, and services, as well as providing overall marketing advice.

Araya company organizes small group activities at various venues, in order to deliver quality care for Muslim customers.

2. Key Activities
2.1 Key Activities Completed in 2022

• Developed a system for Islamic weddings and family activities friendly to multicultural families, both Thai and foreign
• Developed a Whitelist of venues and halal restaurants that meet the company’s standards, updated every three months, for the company’s clients
• Developed a system for and issued Muslim Friendly and Nikah Friendly certificates
  to hotels and banquet venues where the company is a direct client, to serve Muslim customers from many nations who use Araya company’s services
• Developed the Nikah Guardian system to build knowledge, understanding, and safety for Thai women marrying Arab nationals, reducing the risk of divorce, being deceived into service work, and children being left orphaned
• Developed the Nikah in Thailand system, creating an easy-to-understand system for foreigners, giving clear information on the website about nikah or Islamic marriage in Thailand, by separating and designing a framework categorizing Islamic marriage in Thailand into two types: legally recognized Islamic marriage (legally nikah) and non-legally-recognized nikah (non-legally nikah), making nikah in Thailand simpler with clear steps, reducing confusion, and connecting to the protection of Thai women entering into Islamic marriage, working in coordination with Thailand’s Islamic religious agencies
• Developed and issued non-legally-binding nikah certificates through Araya company

Araya company developed the Nikah In Thailand system, which helps build correct understanding of the legal implications of Islamic marriage in Thailand for foreigners.

2.2 Key Activities Completed in 2023

• Developed a network of Islamic teachers/scholars and venues friendly to a multicultural atmosphere
• Organized a system for conversion to Islam at Araya company
• Issued certificates of conversion to Islam for Thai and foreign clients
• Developed a pre-marriage course for Islamic weddings for families of mixed religions, to help build a good atmosphere of living together within families with cultural differences, and correct understanding according to Islamic principles, covering both Thai and foreign clients
• Organized training on knowledge and understanding of Islam in a multicultural atmosphere, and on halal food service, and other matters, for private organizations
• Developed an online system for consultation on Islamic family problems
• Issued certificates for completing the company’s Islamic studies course
• Developed an online self-service system for conversion to Islam
• Developed and put in place a systematic process for amicable divorce and mediation according to Islamic principles, for Thai and foreign clients
• Produced a pre-nikah training handbook combining religious principles, Thai legal principles, and family psychology, to strengthen family stability

Araya company issued certificates for Islamic marriage, conversion to Islam, and learning about Islam, to the company’s clients who completed the relevant conditions and courses, as well as various indicators the company designed, for Thai and foreign clients.

2.3 Key Activities Completed in 2024

• Established a network group of Islamic wedding entrepreneurs with an atmosphere friendly to multiculturalism
• Developed a pre-marriage training course (kursus) for Muslims
• Issued certificates for pre-nikah kursus training
• Developed the Muslim Sandbox Marketing Framework
• Developed indicators and a model for Muslim Friendly status for entrepreneurs in Thailand
• Developed and issued certificates for conversion to Islam under a mentorship system
• Issued amicable-divorce certificates to the company’s clients, with the first country to use this service being Kuwait-Uzbekistan
• Issued Muslim Friendly Cafe certificates to coffee shops
• Established Sang Sun Santi Sathan (“Creative Peace Place”), a space for exchanging views on Islam without coercion, without restriction on belief or non-belief, and without restriction by religion
• Opened classes teaching Islam in an atmosphere friendly to multiculturalism, free of charge for students and those without a regular income
• Developed an Islamic marriage system module for hotels, banquet venues, and organizers throughout Thailand who wish to serve Muslim customers but lack the knowledge or personnel to do so
• Developed additional projects to promote an increase in the number of Muslim Friendly Cafes, Muslim Friendly Venues, Muslim Friendly Hotels, and others in Thailand

Araya company has been entrusted by entrepreneurs with the role of director of a group of Islamic wedding operators within a multicultural atmosphere.

3. Core Working Principles of the Company

ARAYA’s work focuses on the sincere use of goods, services, and business practices according to Islamic principles, creating an environment friendly to multiculturalism starting from the family, extending to Thai society and the Asian region, ensuring this friendliness is felt by people of every culture, every religion, and every ethnicity, with a focus on the most fundamental activity of starting a family — entering into marriage.

Creating a psychologically safe space is the organization’s core philosophy, comprising concepts of multiculturalism, sincerity, Islamic principles, humanity, non-judgment, non-coercion, and education. These philosophies form the foundation of Araya company’s work — for example, our view of LGBTQ+ individuals, as Muslims, is that we should not judge and it is not our role to judge; we simply provide service and share knowledge and understanding upon request, nothing more. In addition, we take sincerity and safety into account, and have therefore developed appropriate knowledge and understanding for starting family life.

The company uses social media to build good understanding among people of every religion in Thailand and to give guidance on Islam to Muslims.

It is this very philosophy that we have found can be developed and applied systematically to doing business between Muslims and non-Muslim entrepreneurs, breaking down walls of fear and concern and creating a safe space for professional service delivery in Thailand. We firmly believe that the Muslim Friendly model, developed from this family-centered approach, will develop Thai society and the Thai economy, serving Muslim customers from around the world securely, in a warm atmosphere friendly to multiculturalism.

Tax, Registration, and Contact Information

Araya Nikah Planner and Consult Co.,Ltd.

Araya Nikah Planner and Consult Co., Ltd.

Tax ID 0105565138468

☑ VAT registered

☑ Registered in the E-TAX system

email: arayawedding@gmail.com