Islam & Muslim in Laos

ASEAN member Laos is an independent state in Southeast Asia. The name of the country is Lao People's Democratic Republic. In their language ‘Chhathalanalat Pakchhathi Pathai Pakchha Chan Lao’. The capital is Vientiane. Locals say Vientiane. There were many socialist countries in the world before collapse of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR). Laos is one of the few socialist countries in the world today. Laos has an area of ​​2,36,600 square kilometers and a population of 60,19,063 (35,26,008 females and 34,91,026 males). It has no connection to the ocean, meaning landlocked country Laos. China to the north of Laos, Vietnam to the east, Cambodia to the south, and Thailand and Myanmar to the west and northwest. Laos is rich in mineral resources and ethnically diverse. For the 1995 census, the Laotian government recognized 149 ethnic groups out of 48 major castes. However, for the National Construction (LFNC), the Laufer Front has recently been revised to include 49 ethnic groups, including 160 ethnic groups. The Lao language is the official language here. Vientiane is the largest city and capital of the country. The country was formerly part of the Indochina Union or French Indochina. The country gained independence on July 19, 1949. The country became embroiled in the Vietnam War in the 1980s. A communist revolution in 1975 brought down the country's six-century-old monarchy and re-established the country as a democratic republic.

In the Buddhist-majority state of Laos, Muslims are a minority. Eighty-five percent of the population is Buddhist. The rest are small groups of Bahাই' ,s, Chinese, folk and Buddhists, the Mahayana. 1% are Christians and non-religious groups are active. The number of Muslims in Laos is negligible. Muslims are said to be only 0.01%. Muslims are a small minority in Buddhist-majority Laos and constitute about 0.01% of the population. Laos is said to be the only country in Asia with the lowest Muslim population of about 800. India, Pakistan, Malaysia, Cambodia, Singapore, Brunei and Bangladeshis are the only Muslims living in Laos. And there are only 20 local Muslims. Muslims form a very small proportion of Lao's population. Community leaders estimate their number to be less than eight hundred, making Laos possibly the country with the lowest number and proportion of Muslims in the whole of Asia. Muslims are seen in Vientiane, the capital of the country. Most of the Muslims are associated with trade and commerce. During the Khmer Rouge rule, Cham Muslims came to the country from Cambodia. Most of the country's Muslims live in cities. They are mainly associated with the meat supply trade. The Muslim population is mostly engaged in trade and manage meat shops. A small community of Cham Muslims from Cambodia who escaped the Khmer Rouge is also found. Muslims live primarily in urban areas such as Savannakhet. There are only two mosques in the whole of Laos. Both are in the capital, Vientiane. One is called the Vientiane Jame Mosque, the other is called the Al Azhar Mosque, which is locally called the Mosque of Cambodia. But nearly all 500 or so Laotian Muslims live in the capital, Vientiane, and there they attend one of two mosques. The oldest and best known of these is the Jama 'Masjid, or Congregational Mosque, which sits in a prestigious central neighborhood just behind the Nam Phu Fountain. The Mekong River flows through the heart of Vientiane, the capital of Laos. The Vientiane Jame Mosque is located a short distance from the river bank. It was the Cambodian Muslims who established the Azhar Mosque in 1986. One and a half hundred worshipers can perform prayers together in the 460-meter two-storey Vientiane Jame Mosque. Inside the mosque there is an arrangement for women's prayers. Separate it with a screen. Every Ramadan, more than a hundred fasting people break their fast at the Vientiane Mosque. When there is no space in the mosque during Eid prayers, Muslims perform prayers in the street adjacent to the mosque. There is a committee for the management of the mosque, this committee bears all the expenses of running the mosque, the salary of the Imam-Muazzin, etc. The Al-Azhar Mosque is located four miles away in Pon Sa Bath Thai Mosque Azha. The Azha Mosque was built by Muslims from Malaysia, Indonesia and Brunei. There is an afternoon Islamic education system for children. Islam is taught in Lao language. Another mosque A new mosque was set up in June 2016 in the country's Odamje province.

In the early twentieth century, Tamil Muslims from southern India arrived in Vientiane, Laos, as laborers while living in a French colony. They are mostly involved in business. During World War II, many Muslims from the present-day Pakhtun province of Pakistan fought in Burma on behalf of the British army. Many of them from Burma moved to Laos and settled there. Many of the Pakhtuns married Lao women who later converted to Islam. Recently, an organization called the Association of Laos to Overseas Muslim Community has been formed with Muslims of Tamil, Pakhtun, and Cambodian descent. Laos gained independence from France in 1949. Shortly afterwards, it became embroiled in a war with the United States. In cooperation with China and Vietnam, Communist leader Pethet Lao forced the United States to withdraw from the long war and declared the People's Republic of Laos. By the 1980s, Laos had more Muslims than it does now. But the Muslims suffered heavy losses in the war and many left the country and took refuge in other countries.