Chams Clichs Backup (English)

GLOSSARY: CHAMS CLICHS A FEW REFERENCES

ISSUE 0 AUGUST 22, 2008
RE-PUBLISHED AUGUST 16, 2013 - CHAMATTIC.WORDPRESS.COM

AHMADIYYA CHAM CHAMPA SHIA ISLAM DAWAH (SEE TABLIGHI JAMAAT) CAMBODIAN ISLAM TABLIGHI JAMAAT JVEA KHMER ISLAM MUSLIMS IN CAMBODIA SHAFI'I ISLAM SUFISM SUNNI ISLAM TABLIGHI (SEE TABLIGHI JAMAAT) TRADITIONALISTS WAHHABISM

CHAM Like the Malay and the Jarai, the Cham are an Austronesian people in contrast to the Khmer who belong to the Austro-Asian group. Originally from Champa, the Cham gradually dispersed to Cambodia, Malaysia, Bangkok (Thailand), Hainan (China) and more recently, Europe in particular France and the United States in California especially. However, Cambodians usually use the word Cham in ordinary Khmer to refer to any Muslim, no matter their origins. CHAMPA Champa reportedly appeared at the start of our era. It used to cover contemporary central Vietnam. Comprising of various princedoms, this kingdom varied in size according to the time periods and reportedly stretched from the door of Annam in the North down to what is now Ho Chi Minh City in the South. Faced with the forays of the future Dai Viet, the Cham found refuge with the rulers of Cambodia, probably three times in their history: in 1471, 1693 and 1832. CAMBODIAN ISLAM The Cambodian Muslim community seems homogeneous at least in appearance - compared to the one in Vietnam, where some Cham groups still practice ancestral customs with a significant Brahmanist influence, while others are following either a very heterodox Islam, or common Muslim rites closer to those in Cambodia. Unlike Vietnamese Cham, Cambodian Cham are all Muslims. However, this community offers a diversified face with multiple and non-exclusive trends and movements. The great majority of Muslims in Cambodia follow Shafi'i Sunni Islam, but various trends also exist, including traditionalist Cham or Jvea, the Dawah or Tabligh, Wahhabism, or Ahmadiyya.

JVEA The Jvea or Chvea whose name comes from the Khmer for Java represent a little-known minority among Cambodian Muslims. They have a strong presence in the provinces of Takeo, Kampot and Battambang, as well as in the vicinity of Udong. They only speak Khmer and reportedly arrived in Cambodia before the Cham. The Jvea are mistakenly confused with the Malayu and may originate from contemporary Malaysia and Southern Thailand, or Java, Sumatra and Borneo. Sunni Islam This is Islam's main religious denomination and it accounts for the majority of the believers in the world. Sunni Islam recognises the four Caliphs and the supremacy of the Sunnah, the traditions going back to Prophet Muhammad. KHMER ISLAM This neologism was created in the 1960s by King Norodom Sihanouk with the aim to favour national unity. It refers to any Cambodian citizen who is Muslim. MUSLIMS IN CAMBODIA Cambodia reportedly has a total of around 500,000 Muslims, that is 5% of its population. Cambodian Muslims are famed as magicians, fishermen, butchers or blacksmiths. They often make a living by growing rice. But they are also known for the privileged positions they have long occupied as high-level civil servants or military officers whether they served or fought the Khmer royalty. Muslims have traditionally settled along rivers and in particular in the provinces of Kampong Cham, Takeo, Kampot, Battambang and Kampong Chhnang. But during the post-1979 migrations, they scattered in varying numbers in all the country's provinces. In the ordinary Khmer language, Muslims are called Cham although the word originally only referred to the ancient Champa peoples. SHIA ISLAM This branch of Islam appeared due to the schism between the proponents of Sunni Islam and followers of Ali, the fourth Caliph. Shia Islam is found in Central and South Asia, as well as Iran, Iraq and Lebanon. It partially tinged the rites and customs of practitioners in Malaysia and so-called traditionalist Cham groups in Cambodia and central Vietnam in particular through the importance attached to the fourth Caliph Ali. SHAFI'I ISLAM Shafi'i Islam is one of the four schools of law that make up Sunni Islam. It was founded in the eight century by Shafi'i, hence its name, and is particularly present in Africa, Iraq, Syria, Egypt and Malaysia. The majority of Cambodian Muslims are also affiliated with Shafi'i Islam. SUFISM Born in the eight century in Iraq, this mystical trend of Islam makes God an inner experience. Sufism is organised in a system of brotherhoods and relies on ritualistic and social terms already largely known in Southeast Asia before Islamisation. Sufism might therefore have been a contributing factor to the Islamisation of the region. Traditionalists Traditionalists define themselves in contrast to orthodox Cambodian Muslims. They claim to be the guardians of Muslim traditions inherited from their ancestors. Most well-known are the so-called traditionalist Imam San Cham. Their main communities are based in Udong, Kampong Chhnang, Pursat and Battambang, and they perpetuate the Cham script. But there are also Jvea communities in Kampot who claim similar legacy. These minority groups are characterised by common rituals more or less tinged with Shia Islam or Sufism, the importance of the

Friday prayer and the fundamental importance of ancestral culture. TABLIGHI JAMAAT / DAWAH The Tablighi Jamaat movement which name is often abbreviated to Tabligh, to convey the message was created in India in 1920 and arrived in Cambodia in the 1990s. It offers to bring the believers back to a more demanding adherence to the Muslim dogma. The movement is also called the Dawah, the mission, as proselytising is one of the main duties of its members. WAHHABISM Wahhabism is a reformist movement born in the 18th century. Its ambition is to modernise the Muslim world by achieving purer religious practice and going back to the origins. Wahhabism is a State religion in Saudi Arabia. But in Cambodia, it is rather known as the Kuwaiti group due to the high visibility of its schools and orphanages funded by Kuwaiti NGOs. AHMADIYYA Ahmadiyya is a 19th-century trend which bears the name of its Indian founder, Mirza Ghulam Ahmad. It is characterised principally by a belief in the future Messiah, the Mahdi, who its founder claimed to be the incarnation of. It is often suppressed or disparaged by orthodox Islam as heresy. The movement arrived in Cambodia through Indonesia where it has met with high popularity.

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