History of the Cham–Vietnamese wars

The conflict between Chams and Vietnamese are rooted in long-standing historical grievances.

When Vietnam regained independence from China, Champa, the southern Kingdom of Đại Việt, had become an established entity. As Champa had been independent, it found itself in need to defend its territory to contain the threat posed by the Khmer Empire in the west, and expand its territory to the north, hoping to conquer the Vietnamese nation. There, with the Vietnamese Kingdom in turmoil following the assassination of Đinh Tiên Hoàng, Champa made an unsuccessful attempt to invade Đại Việt in support of China, but failed due to strong defense of Vietnamese territory under the command of Lê Hoàn. This watershed moment would give birth to intense Cham–Vietnamese rivalry.[1]

Over the next centuries, conflicts between the two combatants intensified as a result of the Vietnamese Nam tiến policy, or march to the south by penetrating Champa. As more Vietnamese settlers moved southward they began to expand their sphere influence over the Cham indirectly, giving rise to numerous wars between the Vietnamese and the Chams. As Vietnamese expansionist policy continued under the Lý dynasty, the Vietnamese managed to occupy more Cham territory which ultimately resulted in the emergence of Vietnam as a regional empire. [1] After 1104, the two countries went on to establish more peaceful relations for nearly two centuries.

After two peaceful centuries, and even an alliance during the Mongol invasions of Vietnam, subsequent tensions erupted once more due to again a number of growing Vietnamese settlers marching southward. Skepticism to Vietnamese, which was prominent in Cham court, fed up a bloodier conflict from 1367 to 1396, but this time ended stalemate.[2] After the war, the Trần dynasty was weakened and toppled by the Hồ dynasty, the Chams decided to ally with China once more, helped the Ming dynasty to conquer Vietnam at 1407. This, however, proved to be detrimental for Champa, the Vietnamese held this grief strong after expelling the Chinese in 1427.

On the same time, Arab and Malay traders subsequently brought Islam to the region. While Islam had started to spread in 7th century at Southeast Asia, it was not until 15th century that witnessed the growing development of Islam in Champa territory, by then still dominated by Hinduism. Conversion to Islam among Chams started on the same time the restoring Vietnamese Kingdom re-emerged stronger and more aggressive, which fought the first war at 1446. Yet, it was the 1471 war that saw the Cham nation finally demolished by the Vietnamese, but also began the surge of Islam to eventually become the dominant religion of Cham people since.[3] Nonetheless, those trying to maintain Hinduism, would go on to stay in Central Vietnam today, while Muslim converts fled southward to modern Southern Vietnam and Cambodia.[4]

The Vietnamese Court regarded the expansion of Islam among Chams as a possible threat to their newly-acclaimed sovereignty, and alien to the Confucian and Buddhist natures of the Vietnamese state; but had a myriad and rigid view of Cham people. One side, the Vietnamese Emperors allowed Chams to enter the Vietnamese Army, proving their loyalty above, and there were Muslims and Hindus on the Vietnamese Imperial Army.[5] One side, persecution against Chams became widespread and systematic assimilation was planted. The Chams however continued to rebel against Vietnam and from 17th century, the Chams had revolted five to six times, but was suppressed in blood by Vietnamese Nguyễn lords.[6] The traumatic persecution, however, only entered the worst phase in 19th century, when the last Cham Kingdoms were absorbed by the Vietnamese.

At 1830s, while the Siamese–Vietnamese wars occurred, the Chams incited a major rebellion led by Katip Sumat, a conservative Muslim cleric, which marked the first ever jihadist war against Vietnam in history. Other rebellion including the Ja Thak Wa rebellion, but both were suppressed by the Nguyễn dynasty in blood.[7] Eventually, the Vietnamese Empire decided to exterminate every Chams, and utilized its most brutal measures causing the first Cham genocide. Many Cham survivors fled to Cambodia, Siam and even Malay Peninsula, and Islamic radicalism increasingly taken grip on the Cham people. The Cham Hindus, while less active, were also accused and persecuted. It was halted by the French conquest.

The conflict between Chams and Vietnamese came to a halt due to French imperialism, but two communities remained hostile to each other. On the other hand, the French government had directly sponsored Islamization on the Chams to counter the more populous Buddhist Vietnamese people. At that time, Salafist movement also began to spread in Vietnam thanked for Cham students educating in Saudi Arabia.[8] Salafism gained some popularity as for the result of growing Vietnamese nationalist movement which was seen as threatening to the Chams, but even with the French Indochina War erupted at 1946, Chams maintained its distinct Sunni identity. Tensions between Vietnamese and Chams elevated greater with the French lost in the Battle of Điện Biên Phủ, the Chams had been seen by Vietnamese as supporters to the French, regardless north or south. The Governments of both North Vietnam and South Vietnam in the Vietnam War openly persecuted Chams, both Hindus and Muslims alike. This allowed the birth of the United Front for the Liberation of Oppressed Races, or FULRO, waging war on the Vietnamese in 1964, with the Chams formed a significant part of the group. Some Chams consider it as part of its jihad struggle.

In response, the Vietnamese organized its mass killing and genocide to achieve the goal of creating a homogenous Vietnamese nation, inciting the second Cham genocide, further antagonized the Chams and after the Cambodian–Vietnamese War, the Cham insurgency spread with heavy casualties for both Vietnamese and Cham forces. At 1980s, the Cham insurgency went to its peak with support from the United States. Some Chams who didn't volunteer to FULRO, had also fled from their homeland to Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand and even to Yemen, Qatar, Turkey, Oman, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates; some later settled in the United States. The insurgency would end up in complete failure, as Vietnam enacted Đổi mới and rejoined the world.[9] By then, the Cham population has been significantly reduced. Despite this, Chams and Vietnamese maintain a distance, though it is no longer at the peak of tensions as it used to be.

Ironically, despite the conversion of Chams to Islam started in 15th century, its war with Vietnam and even jihadist nature, the conflict is mostly unknown in the Muslim world.