 Ho
Chi Minh City--More
than 1,000 years ago, the first Vietnamese embraced Islam and charted
the religion's unique path into this Indo chinese country. Today
Vietnamese Muslims claims that there are about 65,000 Muslims in
Southern Vietnam, with at least 5,000 believers living in Ho Chi Minh
City alone. There are about 15
mosques and Muslim places of worship in the capital city with at least
3 of them frequented by Muslims from Malaysia, Indonesia, India and
Pakistan respectively.
Muslims are the minority in this predominately
Buddhist and Socialist State. Islam was introduced to
Vietnam by the merchants and travelers from the Middle East, Malaysia,
Indonesia and Pakistan who sailed along the coastal lines and at the
same time spread the teachings of Islam to the local people there.
These foreign visitors married Vietnamese partners and naturally
settled in this new land and very soon, a second generation of Muslims
was already evolving in Vietnam.
Converts comprise the second
largest grouping of Muslims found in Vietnam. These are local
Vietnamese who were drawn to Islamic teachings and later on converted
to Islam. One such example was the case where an entire community of
Tan Bou village in Tan An province was converted to Islam.
 But
the Champa Muslims would be considered the biggest group of Muslims in
Vietnam. They are also one of the biggest grouping of indigenous people
of Vietnam
The history of the Champa kingdom and culture dates
back to the 2nd century and had lasted until 17th century. The Cham
people belong to the Malay Polynesian stock and most of them were
initially Hindu devotees.
Islam made its greatest impact
on the Cham people in the 17th century when the Champa King became a
believer and influenced his people to convert to Islam. When his empire
collapsed and was succeeded by a Vietnamese King, the Muslim Champa
community was believed to have suffered severe persecution under the
new ruler.
History records that the Muslim King then led his
people out of this bondage by making their exodus to Malaysia where
they could seek refuge with other fellow Muslims who could accept them
there. Until today the Malaysian state of Terengganu is still the
historical location of "Kampung Cham" where the First Champa Muslims
established themselves in Malaysia.
For those who had
remained in Vietnam, they lived in isolation and very soon found
themselves blending the teachings of Islam with Buddhism and local
practises. It was not until several centuries later that they began to
rediscover their Islamic Faith from other Muslims in Ho Chi Minh City
and Southern part of Vietnam. Malaysian Muslim traders who sailed
through the Mekong river also influenced the relearning of Islam by the
Cham Muslims then
.
Another well remembered exodus of Vietnamese
Muslims was after the Vietnam War in 1975. A large number of Muslims
migrated to other countries such as America, France, Malaysia, India,
Canada and Australia because they had feared persecution from the newly
installed socialist government.
 Today Vietnamese Muslims are
mainly found along the South Eastern coast facing the South China Sea,
and in the south, especially in Ho Chi Minh City (formerly Saigon).
The
Vietnamese Cham Muslims adhere to the Sunni Islamic school of thought,
which is similar to their counterparts in Kampuchea, Malaysian and
Indonesian. Even their lifestyles and customary practises reflect this
common trend of Islamic belief.
For instance Muslim communities
is all these places are called "kampongs". Muslim men wear "batik
lungi" tied in a knot at the waist. But while the "songkok" (black
muslim cap) is popular in Indonesia and Malaysia, the Cham of Vietnam
and Kampuchea wear white skull caps called "kapea" The elders among the
Cham wear white robes and turbans "sunnah".
The Cham are
economically very depressed and thus it is difficult for them to
maintain their communities and even religious practises. In southern
parts of Vietnam, The Cham Muslim communities are mainly involved in
fishing, weaving and small trade unlike their counterparts in the north
and central who are usually farmers. The Cham people are well known for
their finely woven silk and "sarong" garments.
One such Cham
Muslim community is located in the "Jamiul Muslimin Mosque " in Ho Chi
Minh City. Most of the 15 or so Muslim families work in low-income jobs
such as contract labourers, small vendors, cloth weavers and some
temporary odd jobs workers in the city.
"We often depend on
the financial support from Muslims in other countries just to build our
"madrasah", religious school or place of worship," explained Haji Idris
Ismael, community leader of Jamiul Muslimin Mosque
 Ismael
further explained that although as Cham Muslims they have accepted the
teachings of Islam, but they still try to maintain their traditional
customs and practises.
"We live together as Muslims in the same
community because we have different lifestyle and practises from the
other Vietnamese," declared Ismael. "We the older generation must also
be careful not to lose our Cham cultural heritage," he added.
300
years after the first migration of Vietnamese Muslims Malaysia, today a
new wave of migration is happening among the Vietnamese Muslims.
Vietnamese Muslim students are being sent to the International Islam
University in Malaysia to take up Islamic studies, and also secular
study programmes such as computer science, forestry, food technology
and engineering
"We used to get financial support from Muslim
concerned groups and individuals in Malaysia, Indonesia and Saudi
Arabia in the early 1990's but now there is little help from abroad,"
Ismael said.
He cited the example of the "madrasah" religious
school in his community (a small brick walled room good for 40 odd
children to study) that was finally completed after 4 years, mainly
financed by concerned people from abroad.
 Ismael explained
that there is good integration and mutual respect between the Cham
Muslims and the Vietnamese government and society in general. However
the socialist state does not seem to have financial subsidy to support
the Cham Muslim communities and their activities.
"We must be
able to take care of our brothers and sisters in islam especially the
poor and the orphans," he said as he recited from memory the
well-quoted verse from the Qu'ran.
"If we can get help from a
muslim neighbour, we would be able to gradually improve our lives and
community one step at a time" he added.
Tan Jo Hann, Malaysian writer
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