Date and Time: December 2nd (Thursday), 2010, 12:00-13:30
Place: Small Meeting Room I (Room no. 330), 3rd floor, Inamori Foundation Memorial Building
Speaker: Mr. Ahmad Suadi, Visiting Research Fellow
Topic: “Identity in Motion: The Cham Muslim Minority in Vietnam and
Cambodia within the Global Context.”
(Summary)
The frequent movement and mobility of people and the phenomenon of collective identity based on ethnicity and religion are the norm in the current era of globalization. However, the Cham Muslim minority, despite high mobility and a religious and ethnic identity of their own, are rather unique. There are around 150 thousand in Cambodia, and a further 90 thousand in Vietnam, and almost all of these have never legitimately owned land throughout history. They are spread throughout the two countries, but the majority live in villages and beside the lower part
of the Mekong Delta, far from the cities and centers of trade. Some live in neighboring countries such as Thailand, Malaysia and Indonesia, and others are spread as far as North America.
As an ethnic group that has historically been disadvantaged through constant defeat in politics, that owns no land legitimately, and that has been an oppressed minority, the Cham Muslims have a tradition of befriending and associating with others, which is widespread and has an adventuristic air to it, and some have a tradition of trade involving lengthy travel. Cham Muslims continue to preserve their traditions and the legacy of their ancestors, and perhaps even a unique worldview. However, in the current era of globalization they have come face to face with two narratives which, with modern technology, all groups find difficult to avoid: modernity and Islam. On the one hand, the Vietnamese and Cambodian governments have introduced development to their people, and are thus seen as agents of modernity and globalization. In fact, both are considered to have successfully established modern national economies. The Cham Muslims in these two countries find it difficult to avoid the influence of modernity, both as victims and as those who benefited from the process of modernization.
On the other hand, the Cham Muslims were also confronted with Islam, which came at the same time as globalization and has undergone speedy development in the two countries. After 11 September 2001, they were subject to society’s perception about terrorism and Islam. As with modernity and the new values it brought, the Islam introduced to the region also had its own values that differed from the traditions and beliefs of the traditional Cham Muslims. This Islam mostly came from the Middle East and Malaysia. According to Philipp Brukmayr, for instance, Cham Muslims are now a strong voice for the development of Islam in Southeast Asia. They are currently undergoing an intense struggle in relation to the arrival of this new Islam.
This research will examine how the Cham Muslims in Vietnam and Cambodia regard the two influences mentioned above, at the same time that they are mobile and moving. It asks the question, how do they transform their values, or which values and traditions have changed, and which have stayed the same for the traditional Cham Muslims in this current struggle? How do they formulate their interests based on ethnicity and religion as a minority group?
Cham or Champa itself comes from the name of a powerful kingdom, which was originally Hindu before changing to Islam. It is unsure exactly when the conversion took place, but it is clear that Islam came via India and China. Up to today, the people of Cham have belonged to one of two religions. The Hindus usually live in the hinterland in Vietnam (smaller in number and left behind), while the Cham Muslims usually use the Mekong river to their benefit. This paper, however, focuses purely on the Cham Muslims.
After the Kingdom of Vietnam overthrew the Kingdom of Champa at the end of the 17th century, the Champa people became known as the ethnic Chams and were pushed to an area that is now part of Cambodia. Some however still live in central Vietnam. They still call themselves the ethnic Chams. They represent an ethnic group that has neither state nor (legitimate) land. But for the Cham Muslims, their two identities of “Cham” and “Muslim” are one, and cannot be separated. They have their own way of life, way of developing and preserving their cultural
traditions and ceremonies that generally differ from those of mainstream Muslims.
With the introduction of the modern nation-states of Cambodia and Vietnam, the Cham Muslims were not considered citizens of either of the two states. During the Vietnam War, many Cham Muslims worked for foreign businesses brought to the country by America because of their lack of direct ties to a Vietnamese identity. As a consequence however, after the war they were accused of defending the foreigners and rioters, and as such, were discriminated against. In Cambodia, under Pol Pot the Cham Muslims were victims of the genocide, along with those who held other religious beliefs. When King Sihanouk returned to power, he embraced the Cham Muslims and called them the Khmer Muslims, and thus they received some protection. However, the Cham identity is threatened by the process of assimilation, which would see them assimilate to the Cambodian or Khmer identity, which is Buddhist.
They continue to live out an identity that moves between Cham, Malay, and Middle Eastern, and an identity as a defeated ethnic minority, at the same time as fulfilling their obligations as citizens within the modern nation-state system. However, on the other hand they also continue to maintain their lifestyle by being constantly in a state of mobility and motion. And so the identity of the Cham Muslims is one of being and needing to be in constant motion.
In studies on identity, there are two views on ethnicity or nation, namely the primordial and the instrumental. Ethnic groups or nations that are primordial believe that the group or nation possess deep roots, including biological roots, and has a joint collective memory, language and culture, including faith and beliefs. Meanwhile, ethnic groups or nations that are instrumental can be adapted and may be extended, a person may leave or enter, and the group or nation may consist of more than one community. It seems that the Cham Muslims use both
perspectives, both primordial and instrumental, sometimes at the same time and sometimes in turn, in order to defend their lifestyle from political, cultural and economic pressures that come from outside.
The difficulty with this research lies in the lack of funding for field research. However this may be partially overcome through the use of secondary data from libraries and available literature, as well as from quotes in books, journals, or general media.