Muslim Cambodia Charity

Assalamualaikum w.b.t

A brief history of Speu Village, Kompong Cham province (2013)

Speu Village is one of the largest villages in Kompong Cham province, the kingdom of Cambodia which consist of 528 families,148 girls ages between 5-15,136 boys ages between 5-15,323 women ages between 16-40, 331 men ages between 16-40, 110 men ages between 41-60, 41 women ages between 41-60 ( Total: 1160). All ages are 2310 people. All people are farmers who live very far from Kompong Cham city and cannot access the internet, supermarkets, star marts, clean water, modern markets, clinics, hospitals and so on. Tourists do not often visit this village because it is very far from Phnom Penh capital city. It will take about 4 from Phnom Penh International Airport to the village and 4-5 hours from Siem Reap International Airport (Angkor Wat temple where I live and work). Spue is my birthplace. I left Spue in 1999 to live with Mufti of Cambodia and then moved to work in Malaysia from 2000 till 2003 at Batu 11, Cheras Jaya, Belakong Kajang. I left my Malaysia in the following year to continue studying in Phnom Penh until 2006. After that I have moved to work in Siem Reap until now.

There is one big Masjid in the central of the village, four Suraus, and two Islamic schools. Currently, one is open and another has not completed building yet because we are short of fund. There are about ten Islamic teachers who volunteer to teach without salary or wages. They have been teaching for free since after the fall of darkness regime, Pol Pot. All teaches live depend on Zakat and Sadakah from villagers and people from abroad. Teachers and students study Islam using old books from Malaysia, Indonesia, and a little from middle-east. They learn Malay Jawi. A few people know Rumi. Some people can speak Malayu but not  English. There are not any computers and library. They want new Islamic books, computers, Internet, and library.Many village people are under poverty and lack of education. Come and give them future perspectives and help to give them trainings and encouragement.

Islam in Cambodia

Islam is the religion of a majority of the Cham (also called Khmer Islam) and Malay minorities in Cambodia. According to Po Dharma, there were 150,000 to 200,000 Muslims in Cambodia as late as 1975. Persecution under the Khmer Rouge eroded their numbers, however, and by the late 1980s they probably had not regained their former strength. In 2009, the Pew Research Center estimated that 1.6% of the population, or 236,000 people were Muslims.[1] All of the Cham Muslims are Sunnis[citation needed] of the Shafi'i school.[citation needed]. Po Dharma divides the Muslim Cham in Cambodia into a traditionalist branch and an orthodox branch.

Community Life

The Cham have their own mosques. In 1962 there were about 100 mosques in the country. At the end of the nineteenth century, the Muslims in Cambodia formed a unified community under the authority of four religious dignitaries—mupti, tuk kalih, raja kalik, and tvan pake. A council of notables in Cham villages consisted of one hakem and several katip, bilal, and labi. The four high dignitaries and the hakem were exempt from personal taxes, and they were invited to take part in major national ceremonies at the royal court. When Cambodia became independent, the Islamic community was placed under the control of a five-member council that represented the community in official functions and in contacts with other Islamic communities. Each Muslim community has a hakem who leads the community and the mosque, an imam who leads the prayers, and a bilal who calls the faithful to the daily prayers. The peninsula of Chrouy Changvar near Phnom Penh is considered the spiritual center of the Cham, and several high Muslim officials reside there. Each year some of the Cham go to study the Qur'an at Kelantan in Malaysia, and some go on to study in, or make a pilgrimage to, Mecca. According to figures from the late 1950s, about 7 percent of the Cham had completed the pilgrimage and could wear the fez or turban as a sign of their accomplishment.

The traditional Cham retain many ancient Muslim or pre-Muslim traditions and rites. They consider Allah as the all-powerful God, but they also recognize other non-Islamic practices. They are closer, in many respects, to the Cham of coastal Vietnam than they are to other Muslims. The religious dignitaries of the traditional Cham (and of the Cham in Vietnam) dress completely in white, and they shave their heads and faces. These Cham believe in the power of magic and sorcery, and they attach great importance to magical practices in order to avoid sickness or slow or violent death. They believe in many supernatural powers. Although they show little interest in the pilgrimage to Mecca and in the five daily prayers, the traditional Cham do celebrate many Muslim festivals and rituals.

The orthodox Cham have adopted a more conformist religion largely because of their close contacts with, and intermarriages with, the Malay community. In fact, the orthodox Cham have adopted Malay customs and family organization, and many speak the Malay language. They send pilgrims to Mecca, and they attend international Islamic conferences. Conflicts between the traditional and the orthodox Cham increased between 1954 and 1975. For example, the two groups polarized the population of one village, and each group eventually had its own mosque and separate religious organization.

Persecution

According to Cham sources, 132 mosques were destroyed during the Khmer Rouge era, many others were desecrated, and Muslims were not allowed to worship. Later, since the Vietnamese-installed PRK regime, Islam has been given the same freedom as Buddhism. Vickery believes that about 185,000 Cham lived in Cambodia in the mid-1980s and that the number of mosques was about the same then as it was before 1975. In early 1988, there were six mosques in the Phnom Penh area and a "good number" in the provinces, but Muslim dignitaries were thinly stretched; only 20 of the previous 113 most prominent Cham clergy in Cambodia survived the Khmer Rouge period.[

Today

Today, Muslims are able to practice their religion normally and out in the open. This commenced in the People Republic of Kampuchea era where Islam was given the same freedom as that of Buddhism, the official religion practiced by the majority of Cambodians. The Chams also enjoy democratic rights like all Khmer citizens, with the right to vote and be elected as politicians.

Qurban, Aqikah, pumping wells, toilets, donation, stationery......

Contact in Siem Reap city and Spue Village

We accept Qurban, Aqiqah, pumping wells,and all kinds of donation for the needy of Muslims in Cambodia. For further information pleae feel free to contact me @ abdulgany_moth@yahoo.com or send into Facebook in box @ Apdulkanny Cambodia, Int call +85589700090. SMS +85589700090,Local call: 089700090. Maybank Account Name: Muoth Apdulkanny. Account No: 00004/01/000509/06.My National Identity Card No: 060 747 306 .

Contact in Speu Village

My phone numbers: +85589700090;+85516606099

Uts Ilyas+85517858411 Very good at speaking Malayu
Uts Rasid +855975287553 Can speak Malayu well
Uts Fadhil +855972401604, +85598873686 Can speak basic English
Uts Taufek +855979592270 Fluent Malayu

http://cambodiatravel-apdulkanny.com