On the afternoon of March 18, at Jamadul Islam Mosque, in Chau Phong commune, Tan Chau town, An Giang province, the Muslim Community Representative Board organized a ceremony to celebrate Ramadan Month 2023 of the Cham.

An Giang is home to 29 ethnic groups, of which 4 have the largest population, including: Kinh, Khmer, Chinese and Cham. Besides the Kinh majority, there are 28 ethnic groups, with more than 119,219 people.

People of all ethnic groups in An Giang have well implemented the Party's guidelines, policies and laws of the state, taken care of economic development, contributed to social security, and helped each other in daily life.

An Giang province has 8 Cham hamlets, with a total of 17,571 people. The Cham in An Giang mainly follow Islam, originating from Saudi Arabia, and practice their religion in 12 mosques and 16 minor mosques.

Like Muslims worldwide, the Cham in Vietnam celebrate many traditional festivals each year. The most important event is Ramadan, the month of fasting.

For the entire month, they don’t eat, drink, or smoke between dawn and sunset. People above the age of 5 fast and review the wrongs they have committed in the past year. They are not allowed to slaughter an animal or pick aquarrel with anybody. Playing a musical instrument or singing is also forbidden during Ramadan.

Before the month of fasting, Cham people gather at a community house or mosque to prepare Halal food such as cakes and beef to eat when breaking their fast each evening. They avoid alcoholic beverages altogether.

Fasting is a spiritual act that allows the faithful to develop empathy for the poor. During the day they pray at mosques, abstain from food and drink, and perform charity work. When it’s dark they have a meal together.

This year, the fasting month of Ramadan (ie 1444 Islamic calendar) is from March 23 to April 22, 2023.

In An Giang province, the Cham community following the Muslim religion solemnly celebrates this holy month every year, contributing to the richness of the local cultural appearance.

On the afternoon of March 18, at Jamadul Islam Mosque, Chau Phong commune, Tan Chau town, An Giang province, the Muslim Community Representative Board organized a ceremony to celebrate Ramadan 2023.

Speaking at the ceremony, Mr. Haji Jacky, Head of the Muslim Community Representative Board of An Giang province, said that Ramadan is a month of love, a month in which Muslims who reach adulthood must abstain from eating and drinking during the day to cultivate the mind, nourish the nature, to measure and evaluate one's hunger and thirst, to know how to love more and help the poor more. This is also the month for Muslims to train themselves more practically to become a good believer and a good citizen of the Vietnamese people.

In 2022, some mosques in the province were repaired or expanded and all of the works will be completed and put into use in 2023. Through many different ways, the Muslim Community Representative Board of An Giang province always tries to support the Cham community in the province to repair and build charity houses, grant scholarships for students, present school supplies such as books, backpacks, for orphans and poor children, and buys health insurance for lonely elderly people. Especially, in the first 3 months of 2023, nearly 6 billion VND was raised to buy gifts and support the construction of the Tay Ninh Province Mosque.

“With the attention and assistance of authorities at all levels, today our Board of Representatives organizes a ceremony to celebrate Ramadan month in the Cham ethnic community of An Giang province, with the purpose of creating a healthy and joyful atmosphere to raise community awareness in the movement "All people unite to build new rural areas and civilized urban areas"; actively participate in patriotic emulation movements... Cham people live in harmony and solidarity with other ethnic groups in An Giang province, joining hands to build an increasingly rich and beautiful homeland,” said Mr. Haji Jacky.

Speaking at the ceremony, Mr. Men Pho Ly - Head of the Ethnic Committee of An Giang province - congratulated the Cham community in the area on the occasion of Ramadan month 2023. He hoped that in the coming time, the Board of Representatives of the Mosques, Minor Mosques and the Cham people will continue to promote the tradition of solidarity, make more efforts and strive for socio-economic development, sustainable poverty reduction, preserving and promoting national cultural identity, continueing to work with local authorities to maintain political and security, social order and safety to take care of socio-economic development, and build An Giang homeland to become increasingly rich, beautiful, and civilized land.

Hai Van