Transportation
The city is served by the Hat Yai International Airport.
Hat Yai Railway Station, the largest station is an international railway station in Southern Thailand. It handles 28 passenger trains per day (26 trains served by State Railway of Thailand and 2 trains (Ekspres Langkawi) are served by KTMB of Malaysia. Also it is the hub of local train in Southern Thailand.
Also parallel to the railway is the Asian highway 2. Asian highway 18 begins in Hat Yai and runs south along the eastern coast of the Malay peninsula.

History
Originally named Khok Sa-Met Choon, Hat Yai was a small village until the southern railway was built there. The junction which connected the town of Songkhla with the main route was originally located in the Utapao area, but was moved to Khok Su-Met Choon in 1922 when the Utapao area turned out to be flood prone. Khok Su-Met Choon had only four residences at that time, but due to the investments of Khun Niphatchinnkhon (謝枢泗, Jia Gi Si, 1886-1972, Hakkian Chinese), the railway contractor for the railway connection from Nakhon Si Thammarat to Pattani, it quickly grew into a small town.
In 1928 Hat Yai was made a Chumchon, which was upgraded to a sanitary district (sukhaphiban) on December 11 1935. It covered an area of 4.4 km², and was administrated by the first mayor Udom Bunlong. In 1938 the municipal administration building was completed. On March 16 1949 it was granted town status (thesaban mueang); on May 10 1961 the area covered by the municipality was increased to 8 km². Due to the continuing growth, on August 13 1968 a new larger municipal administration building was opened. On April 24 1977 the area of the municipality was enlarged a second time to 21 km². Finally in 1995 it was upgraded to city status (thesaban nakhon).
On April 3, 2005, two bomb attacks at a Carrefour department store and Hat Yai International Airport were made by Pattani separatists. The attacks killed two people and injured dozens.
On September 16, 2006 a series of bomb attacks killed four people and injured over 70. Although no-one claimed responsibility for the attacks, Pattani separatists are suspected. [1]

Part of a series on Islam by country Algeria · Angola · Benin · Botswana · Burkina Faso · Burundi · Cameroon · Cape Verde · Central African Republic · Chad · Comoros · Democratic Republic of the Congo · Republic of the Congo · Côte d'Ivoire (Ivory Coast) · Djibouti · Egypt · Equatorial Guinea · Eritrea · Ethiopia · Gabon · The Gambia · Ghana · Guinea · Guinea-Bissau · Kenya · Lesotho · Liberia · Libya · Madagascar · Malawi · Mali · Mauritania · Mauritius · Morocco · Mozambique · Namibia · Niger · Nigeria · Rwanda · São Tomé and Príncipe · Senegal · Seychelles · Sierra Leone · Somalia · South Africa · Sudan · Swaziland · Tanzania · Togo · Tunisia · Uganda · Western Sahara (Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic) · Zambia · Zimbabwe
Afghanistan · Armenia · Azerbaijan · Bahrain · Bangladesh · Bhutan · Brunei · Cambodia · China (Hong Kong · Macau) · Taiwan · Cyprus · East Timor · Georgia · India · Indonesia · Iran · Iraq · Israel · Japan · Jordan · Kazakhstan · Korea (North Korea · South Korea) · Kuwait · Kyrgyzstan · Laos · Lebanon · Malaysia · Maldives · Mongolia · Myanmar · Nepal · Oman · Pakistan · Philippines · Qatar · Russia · Saudi Arabia · Singapore · Sri Lanka · Syria · Tajikistan · Thailand · Turkey · Turkmenistan · United Arab Emirates · Uzbekistan · Vietnam · Yemen
Albania · Andorra · Armenia · Austria · Azerbaijan · Belarus · Belgium · Bosnia and Herzegovina · Bulgaria · Croatia · Cyprus · Czech Republic · Denmark · Estonia · Finland · France · Georgia · Germany · Greece · Hungary · Iceland · Ireland · Italy · Kazakhstan · Latvia · Liechtenstein · Lithuania · Luxembourg · Republic of Macedonia · Malta · Moldova · Monaco · Montenegro · Netherlands · Norway · Poland · Portugal · Romania · Russia · San Marino · Scotland · Serbia · Slovakia · Slovenia · Spain · Sweden · Switzerland · Turkey · Ukraine · United Kingdom ·
Argentina · Bolivia · Brazil · Chile · Colombia · Ecuador · Guyana · Panama · Paraguay · Peru · Suriname · Trinidad and Tobago · Uruguay · Venezuela Antigua and Barbuda · Bahamas · Barbados · Belize · Canada · Costa Rica · Cuba · Dominica · Dominican Republic · El Salvador · Grenada · Guatemala · Haiti · Honduras · Jamaica · Mexico · Nicaragua · Panama · Saint Kitts and Nevis · Saint Lucia · Saint Vincent and the Grenadines · Trinidad and Tobago · United States
Australia Australia · Norfolk Island · Christmas Island · Cocos (Keeling) Islands
Melanesia East Timor · Fiji · New Caledonia · Papua New Guinea · Solomon Islands · Vanuatu
Micronesia Guam · Kiribati · Marshall Islands · Northern Mariana Islands · Federated States of Micronesia · Nauru · Palau
Polynesia American Samoa · Cook Islands · French Polynesia · New Zealand · Niue · Pitcairn · Samoa · Tokelau · Tonga · Tuvalu · Wallis and Futuna
The vast majority of Saudis are Sunni Muslims. Around 15%[1] of citizens are Shia Muslims, most of whom live in the Eastern Province, with the largest concentrations in Qatif, Al-Ahsa, and Dammam, other large concentrations are found in Medina and Najran. Islam is the established religion, and as such its institutions receive government support.
Non-Muslim populations of Saudi Arabia are dominantly found in populations of foreign workers. Saudi Arabia has an estimated foreign population of 6 to 7 million, most of whom are Muslim. The foreign population includes approximately 1.4 million Indians, 1 million Bangladeshis, nearly 900,000 Pakistanis, 800,000 Filipinos, 800,000 Yemenis 750,000 Egyptians, 250,000 Palestinians, 150,000 Lebanese, 130,000 Sri Lankans, 40,000 Eritreans, and 30,000 Americans. Comprehensive statistics for the religious denominations of foreigners are not available; however, they include Muslims from the various branches and schools of Islam, Christians, and Hindus.

Salafi theology
The hajj, or pilgrimage to Mecca, occurs annually between the eighth and thirteenth days of the last month of the Muslim year, Dhul Hijja. The hajj represents the culmination of the Muslim's spiritual life. For many, it is a lifelong ambition. From the time of embarking on the journey to make the hajj, pilgrims often experience a spirit of exaltation and excitement; the meeting of so many Muslims of all races, cultures, and stations in life in harmony and equality moves many people deeply. Certain rites of pilgrimage may be performed any time, and although meritorious, these constitute a lesser pilgrimage, known as umrah.
The Ministry of Pilgrimage Affairs and Religious Trusts handles the immense logistical and administrative problems generated by such a huge international gathering. The government issues special pilgrimage visas that permit the pilgrim to visit Mecca and to make the customary excursion to Medina to visit the Prophet's tomb. Care is taken to assure that pilgrims do not remain in the kingdom after the hajj to search for work.
An elaborate guild of specialists assists the hajjis. Guides (mutawwifs) who speak the pilgrim's language make the necessary arrangements in Mecca and instruct the pilgrim in the proper performance of rituals; assistants (wakils) provide subsidiary services. Separate groups of specialists take care of pilgrims in Medina and Jiddah. Water drawers (zamzamis) provide water drawn from the sacred well.
Since the late 1980s, the Saudis have been particularly energetic in catering to the needs of pilgrims. In 1988 a US$l5 billion traffic improvement scheme for the holy sites was launched. The improvement initiative resulted partly from Iranian charges that the Saudi government was incompetent to guard the holy sites after a 1987 clash between demonstrating Iranian pilgrims and Saudi police left 400 people dead. A further disaster occurred in 1990, when 1,426 pilgrims suffocated or were crushed to death in one of the new air-conditioned pedestrian tunnels built to shield pilgrims from the heat. The incident resulted from the panic that erupted in the overcrowded and inadequately ventilated tunnel, and further fueled Iranian claims that the Saudis did not deserve to be in sole charge of the holy places. In 1992, however, 114,000 Iranian pilgrims, close to the usual level, participated in the hajj.
To symbolize their leadership of the worldwide community of Muslims as well as their guardianship of the holy sites, Saudi kings address the pilgrimage gathering annually. The Saudis also provide financial assistance to aid selected groups of foreign Muslims to attend the hajj. In 1992, in keeping with its interests in proselytizing among Muslims in the newly independent states of the former Soviet Union, the Saudi government sponsored the pilgrimage for hundreds of Muslims from Azerbaijan, Tashkent, and Mongolia.

Islamism in Saudi Arabia

Islam by country

Luis Fernando Monti (May 15, 1901 – September 9, 1983) was an Italian-Argentine football player who has the unique distinction of playing in two World Cup final matches with two different national teams. The first was with his native Argentina in 1930, which he lost to Uruguay. The second was for Italy as one of their Oriundi in 1934. This time Monti was on the winning side in a 2-1 victory over Czechoslovakia.
Monti was a rugged and ruthless player, but had good technical skills to go with his strong tackling. He played as an attacking centre half in the old-fashioned Metodo system: a position roughly equivalent to the defensive central midfield position today. As such he would mark the opposing centre forward when his team were defending, but would be the main midfield playmaker when his team were on the attack. He was nicknamed Doble ancho (Double wide) due to his coverage of the pitch.

Career in Argentina
In 1931 Monti was signed by the Italian club Juventus. However he was overweight and out of condition. A month's solitary training and Monti was back to top form helping Juve to four consecutive League Championship titles (1932-35). Monti went on to play 225 matches and score 19 goals in Serie A.
He was also called up, within a year, to play for the Italy national team as oriundo. Amid some controversy, hosts Italy won their way to the 1934 World Cup final and defeated Czechoslovakia 2-1. Monti had done it at last, albeit rather unconventionally.