Muslims in Vietnam: Rise and Fall of the Cham Muslim Emirate

 Missionary Activity in the 19th and 20th Centuries

In the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, missionary activity in Vietnam increased through French, Spanish, and Dominican missionaries from the Spanish East Indies, and to a lesser extent through American Protestant missionaries during the Vietnam War (1945–1946).

The Arrival of Islam in Champa

At that time, Vietnam’s story with Islam began along the coasts of the Cham Emirate (in southern Vietnam) through merchants and preachers from Thailand, India, Iran, and the Arabian Peninsula. They settled in coastal cities and spread Islam, especially among the Cham people. In Ho Chi Minh City and other towns, Vietnam then comprised several principalities, including the Cham Emirate in the center of the country.

During the flourishing of trade in the fourth Islamic century / tenth CE, interest in Islam grew. Marriages took place between Arab Muslim traders and Cham residents, and the King of Champa married his daughter to one of the Arab traders. The emirate expanded, and Islam spread further until Champa became an Islamic state. It reached the peak of its power and expansion in the mid-fifteenth century (875 AH / 1453 CE). Islam remained the main religion of the Cham people for four centuries, who made up two-thirds of Muslims in southern Vietnam.

Another Muslim community described itself as mixed, with Cham, Khmer, Malay, Chinese, and Arab origins. They were also called Cham Muslims in other areas, living in the suburbs of Chau Doc in southwestern Vietnam.

Manipulation of Population Statistics

Regarding the number of Muslims in Vietnam, statistics vary widely, as is common with Muslim minorities worldwide. Figures are often obscured or manipulated to show Muslims as fewer than they are, weakening their claim to rights.

The U.S. State Department’s 2009 report on rights and freedoms estimated their number between 600,000 and 800,000. Other statistics put them at 730,000, about 9% of Vietnam’s population. Yet other reports claim only 180,000 Muslims, about 0.2% of the total population of 101 million.

Most Muslims lived in Ninh Thuan and Binh Thuan provinces in the Mekong Delta, southeastern Vietnam. They preserved and displayed their Islamic identity. Though Islam is a minority faith in Vietnam, it has a distinct historical and cultural presence, especially among the Cham minority concentrated in the Buddhist-majority Mekong Delta.

Vietnam adopted Vietnamese as its official language after independence from France on September 2, 1945, alongside French, Chinese, English, and other local languages. Its economy relies on petroleum, rice, and coffee as major sources of income.

Preserving Islamic Identity

Today, Muslims—especially in Ho Chi Minh City—strive to preserve their cultural and religious identity through halal restaurants and community initiatives promoting integration and dialogue with followers of other faiths.

Ho Chi Minh City is a destination for Muslim tourists from Malaysia, Indonesia, and Arab countries such as Qatar and Saudi Arabia, as well as residents from Tunisia, Algeria, Morocco, Egypt, and Yemen. This strengthens Islamic cultural presence in public life and reinforces the spirit of tolerance among Vietnam’s Muslims.

Mosques in Ho Chi Minh City

There are two main mosques in Ho Chi Minh City.

• The Muslim Mosque (Saigon Central Mosque / Dong Du Mosque): Located on Dong Khoi Street, built in 1935 originally for the Indian Muslim community. Its white-and-green exterior features four minarets in Malaysian style. It provides quiet spaces for ablution and prayer, near halal restaurants from Malaysia and Turkey.
• The Mosque of All Muslims (Indian Mosque): Smaller than the first but with beautiful architecture.

Buddhist Hostility and Stages of Conflict

The expansion of the emirate and the spread of Islam fueled hostility among northern Buddhists. The Buddhist principality of northern Vietnam began attacking the Islamic Cham Emirate in the south. The conflict unfolded in several stages:

• First Stage (875 AH / 1453 CE – 947 AH / 1525 CE): With help from China and Thailand, Buddhist Vietnam stormed Vijaya, the capital of Champa, committing massacres that killed about 60,000 Muslims and enslaved 30,000, including 50 members of the ruling family.
• Second Stage (947 AH / 1525 CE – 1060 AH / 1638 CE): Northern Vietnam entered Kauthara and defeated King Pathem of Champa.
• Third Stage (1060 AH / 1638 CE – 1237 AH / 1815 CE): Champa lost Kauthara permanently, moved its capital to Panduranga, while northern Vietnamese settlers seized fertile lands without compensation.
• Fourth Stage (1238 AH / 1816 CE onward): Buddhist Vietnam tightened control over Champa, redistributed lands to Vietnamese settlers, expelled Cham Muslims, and forced King Po Chon to seek asylum in Cambodia.

Intensification of Massacres

After communists took power in northern Vietnam in 1395 AH / 1973 CE, persecution of Muslims escalated. Brutal crimes increased, such as the massacre in Hue, where communists buried thousands of Muslims alive over twenty days. Terror spread, forcing hundreds of thousands to flee abroad, decimating Muslim communities.

When France occupied Vietnam, it allowed northern Buddhists to persecute Muslims in Champa, committing massacres that drove Muslims from the plains to the mountains, where they lived in closed communities.

Thus, after the fall of Champa, Muslims endured continuous persecution, displacement, and extermination under French colonialism (1858–1883), during the Vietnam War (1945–1946), and under communist governments since 1975. They became a marginalized minority suffering poverty, ignorance, and oppression under an atheist regime.

It was one of the most horrific genocides against Muslims, carried out by the alliance of communists and Buddhists. It forced most Muslims to flee abroad, reducing their numbers from over one million to just a few thousand. This will be further analyzed in the next installment, God willing.