By Sadhique A.M.I. www.themuslimweekly.com

Cambodia is a prominently Buddhist country of the Theravada school. About 90% of the population adhere to Buddhism. The ancient empire of Angkor reigned in Cambodia for centuries and the legacy of that rule is evident everywhere in the country - the Temple complex of Angkor has been the gem of the crown.

Today Cambodia has about 13.8 million people and the Cambodian Muslims constitute slightly over 5 percent (about 700,000) of that population. By the size of the population, Cambodia is the second smallest country in the south East Asian region.

Descendents of a legendary kingdom called "Champa", which was originally based in the present day Vietnam, the Chams migrated to Cambodia after their kingdom fell in the fifteenth century. In the ancient times, the Champa kingdom had been largely influenced by the Hindu culture and the was powerful enough to sack the magnificent Angkor Wat civilization.

After the fall of the Champa kingdom, the Cham population was marginalised and settled in smaller colonies. Some migrated to Cambodia to escape persecution from the tribes then ruling Vietnam, mainly the Annamese. During the course of these periods they embraced Islam. Therefore it became established that the majority of the Chams in Cambodia are Muslim and the smaller group in Vietnam Hindu / Buddhist.

The Cham Muslims are also believed to have embraced Islam in the same period Islam was making great inroads into the South East Asian region - the 15th century, even though there are records for the existence of Muslims among them well before this period. Malay Muslims naturally would have played a big role in the Islamization of Chams, but strong influence of Persian, Arab and Indian Muslim traders and missionaries had been the roots of the Cham Muslim Ummah.

The Cham Muslims have had a fairly courteous relationship with the Khmer people (the main Cambodian nationality) throughout most of the history, maintaining their individuality at the same time. But the communist influence in the region was generally not favourable to them. This ideological clash attained itأ¢â‚¬â„¢s height during the dark years of the Khmer Rouge (1974 - 1979). According to a Cambodian Muslim author named "Ysa Osman" the Khmer Rouge killed about 400,000 to 500,000 Cham Muslims. This is at double or triple the rate at which people from other communities were killed. According to a recently published book of the author titled "Oukoubah: Justice for the Cham Muslims under the Democratic Kampuchea Regime" the Cham comprised 10% of Cambodiaأ¢â‚¬â„¢s population (roughly 700,000 people) before 1975, but numbered only 200,000 after the fall of the Khmer Rouge regime in 1979. The previous estimate for pre - Khmer Rouge Chan population was 250,000, a figure based on an out dated French census undertaken in 1936. Similarly he disproves the previously thought 75,000 Cham deaths in the Killing fields.

He provides evidence in support of these figures and other atrocities through the interviews of about 500 people. The Khmer Rouge banned all religions, but persecution of Muslims was given a priority because of the staunch religious belief of Muslims and the Khmerأ¢â‚¬â„¢s traditional antipathy towards Islam. They demolished mosques, forced Muslims to eat pork, women to cut their hair in the bob style, banned the Cham language and Muslims were not allowed to worship. Many people died and some managed to flee the country.

After the end of the civil war in Cambodia, religious freedom has been largely restored. Under the present government of Prime Minister Hun Sen, Muslims have been comparatively treated well. Mosques have been rebuilt and more and more students are going to neighbouring Muslim countries and Thailand for religious studies. A common resurgent atmosphere can be sensed among Muslims.

But the last yearأ¢â‚¬â„¢s arrest of three foreign Muslims and the closure of a Madrasah are raising concerns. Two Thai Muslims and and Egyptian were arrested by the Cambodian authorities along with a local Cham Muslim on charges of links with Jamaah Islamiah, the South East Asian extremist group. Their madrasah, Umm-al-Qura was closed and 28 of itأ¢â‚¬â„¢s teachers along with their families were deported out of the country.This incident raised fears of a witch hunt in an otherwise calm community of Chams.

The Cambodian Muslims need material as well as political support. They have lost half of their population in the genocide. The Muslim Ummah has a duty to help this isolated part of the Ummah and make sure that such things do not happen again. At the same time, it is also the duty of the regional and international Muslim political leadership to persuade the fledging democratic government of Cambodia not to be over enthusiastic in fulfilling the wishes of the affluent powers and maintain restrain when dealing with this harmonious Muslim community.