Chams Not Integrated into Society: US Report

Cham Muslims are not fully integrated into Cambodian society and many Cambodian people continue to think Chams are practitioners of “black magic,” according to a report on religious freedom released last week by the US State Department. “The Cham Muslim community continued to face barriers to full integration into society,” said the Cambodia 2015 International Religious Freedom Report.
 

“In addition to poverty, isolation, language and inadequate access to education and health services, some members of the majority Buddhist community and other minority ethnic groups reportedly continued to view the Cham with suspicion and superstition as purported practitioners of ‘black magic’,” it said. In response to the report, Phay Siphan, spokesman for the Council of Ministers, told Khmer Times that US reports were not based on facts but were rather a kind of personal opinion about what happens in Cambodia.
 

“It’s a kind of incitement to religious discrimination among Cambodians. The report was not based on actual facts. It is an opinion. In contrast, Cham Muslims and Cambodian people are living in almost absolute harmony in Cambodia as well as in the region,” he said. He added that by following protocol, Cambodian people always call Cham Muslims “my Khmer Islam brothers and sisters.” This fact alone, he said, could explain that in Cambodia, there is no difference between Chams and the rest of the people living in the country – they have the same rights and they share the same fate.

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