IOverview
The Cham Bani are a Cham community of former Ninh Thuan and Binh Thuan who keep a distinctive form of faith, rooted in Islam and blended with Cham custom and indigenous belief. Members also call themselves Cham Awal. According to official figures cited by VietNamNet on 20 July 2025, the community numbered more than 55,000 as of June 2025, more than the Cham Muslim community.
Its most recognisable feature is the role of the Acar clergy. During the month of Ramuwan it is the Acar who stay inside the place of worship, fasting and praying on behalf of the whole community. The library records the differences and does not say that either branch is more correct, more complete or purer.
IIHow the Community Describes Itself
The word Bani is usually explained as coming from the Arabic bani, children or descendants, as in bani Adam, the children of Adam. Some explain it in Cham as those who have entered the faith. Awal means first or earlier and is paired with Ahier, meaning later, the Cham who follow the Brahmanic tradition. The Cham think of Awal and Ahier as two halves of one community, and many major rites require clergy from both.
On the question of what Bani is, the community describes itself in more than one way, and the discussion continues.
- A branch within Islam. The community's two recognised bodies are named Councils of Elders of Bani Islam. The Cham Awal researcher Putra Podam writes that Bani denotes followers of God, Allah, and that Awal is part of Islam rather than a separate religion.
- A distinct religion with Islamic roots. From May 2017 some Cham Awal in Ninh Thuan asked for identity papers to record their religion as Ba-ni rather than Islam, arguing that Bani was localised long ago. Radio Free Asia on 12 September 2024 quoted people who want Bani recognised as a religion in its own right. Local officials quoted in the report said all religions are treated equally.
- Bani as a word for religion in general. The researcher Van Ngoc Sang, also quoted by RFA, holds that Bani originally meant religion in general rather than the name of a particular faith.
The library uses the name Cham Bani because it appears in official documents and in most Vietnamese scholarship. Using it does not mean the library has chosen among these understandings.
IIIHistory
According to Vietnam's Government Committee for Religious Affairs, after 1470 dispersed Cham came into contact with other Southeast Asian lands, many embraced Islam and brought it home, and the Bani form emerged from its blending with indigenous belief. A study by Nguyen Ngoc Anh argues that a group calling itself Bani appeared in Panduranga around the late 16th century. Scholars still disagree on when Islam first reached Champa, as the library’s main article notes. Many accounts tie a key stage to King Po Rome, who reigned about 1627 to 1651 and is said to have reconciled followers of the old and new faiths, so that Muslims kept indigenous beliefs and traditionalists also honoured the new deities.
IVClergy, Ritual and Daily Life
The place of worship is the Sang Mugik, sometimes written Sang Magik, from sang, house, and mugik, a form of masjid. Vietnamese neighbours often call it the Bani pagoda. Its main door faces the rising sun, its roof has no large crescent and star like a Cham Muslim mosque, and its facade sometimes bears Cham Akhar Thrah script.
The clergy are known collectively as Acar. They dress in white and live under vows. The ranks run from Acar through Madin, Katip and Imum to Po Gru, the elder who heads a place of worship, called Su ca in Vietnamese. Prayers are recited from oral tradition in an Arabic passed down over generations, and many ritual texts are written in Cham script.
The month of Ramuwan, from Ramadan, is the most important time of the year. The Acar stay inside the Sang Mugik for the whole month, fasting, keeping retreat and praying on behalf of the community. Lay people are not required to fast the whole month in the same way. The month opens with the tending of graves, when whole families go to the cemetery to clean the tombs and invite the ancestors home, followed by offerings at home. Families bring offering trays to the place of worship. Dates follow the Cham Sakawi calendar, so they usually do not coincide with Ramadan in the wider Muslim world.
According to the Government Committee for Religious Affairs, Bani Islam has five major festivals of its own, among them the tending of graves, which expresses gratitude to the ancestors. Alongside God, called Po Awluah, the Cham Bani also honour Cham deities and deified kings, and some rites take place at shrines and towers. The community keeps the Cham matrilineal pattern, and clerical roles are often handed down within families.
It is often said that the Cham Bani do not fast. More precisely, the community keeps Ramuwan through representation: the clergy fast the whole month on behalf of everyone, while families take part through tending graves, honouring ancestors and bringing offerings to the place of worship. It is a different way of organising religious life, not a deficiency.
VRecognised Organisations
The Council of Elders of Bani Islam of Ninh Thuan was recognised in 2007, and one scholarly source gives 2006 as its founding year. The Council of Elders of Bani Islam of Binh Thuan province was recognised in 2012. According to the Government Committee for Religious Affairs, the community had nearly 30 places of worship in 2021. A study in a specialist journal, cited in the library's main article, recorded 355 clergy including 10 elders in Binh Thuan in 2022, and 99 clergy including 7 elders in Ninh Thuan in 2020.
VIToday
As of June 2025, according to official figures cited by VietNamNet on 20 July 2025, the Bani community had more than 55,000 followers. The Government Committee for Religious Affairs recorded about 50,000 in 2021. The Cham Bani live in villages of former Ninh Thuan and Binh Thuan, now part of Khanh Hoa and Lam Dong provinces. The Van Lam Bani place of worship in the former Phuoc Nam commune is one of the largest Sang Mugik.
Since the late 1950s some Cham in the area have converted to Islam proper, and in a few villages Bani and Muslim communities live side by side. Discussion within the community about the name and religious status of Bani continues.
VIISymbol of the Branch
No symbol of its own is recorded with a source for this branch, so the library uses the common symbol of the path.
VIIIOther Branches of Islam
Sunni Islamأهل السنة والجماعة Ahl al-Sunna wa al-JamāʿaThe largest branch.Uses the common symbol of the path
Twelver Shia Islamاثنا عشرية Ithnā ʿAshariyya, also Imāmiyya or JaʿfariyyaThe largest Shia branch.Zaydi Shia Islamالزيدية al-ZaydiyyaA Shia branch named after Zayd ibn Ali (d.Uses the common symbol of the path
Ismaili Shia Islamالإسماعيلية al-IsmāʿīliyyaSeparated in 765 by recognising Isma'il, son of Imam Ja'far al-Sadiq, as successor.Ibadi Islamالإباضية al-IbāḍiyyaA third branch, neither Sunni nor Shia.Uses the common symbol of the path
Sufismتصوف TaṣawwufNot a third branch beside Sunni and Shia but an inner, devotional dimension present in both.
Cham IslamIslam, termed Hoi giao Islam in official documentsCham Muslims in Vietnam following Sunni Islam of the Shafi'i school.Cham BaniBani, Awal. Termed Hoi giao Bani in official documentsA distinct form among the Cham of former Ninh Thuan and Binh Thuan, rooted in Islam and blended with Cham tradition.Uses the common symbol of the pathIXSources
The library cross-checks the sources below. Where they disagree, the page gives both.
- Ban Tôn giáo Chính phủ, Khái quát Hồi giáo ở Việt Nam
- VietNamNet, 16 tôn giáo được công nhận tại Việt Nam, 20/7/2025
- Tia Sáng, Kiến trúc tôn giáo Chăm, 2014
- Nguyễn Ngọc Ánh, Quá trình hình thành và vài đặc điểm tín ngưỡng của người Chăm Bàni (Awal)
- Cham Studies, Hồi giáo Bàni của người Chăm ở Việt Nam, 2016
- Putra Podam, Tại sao BANI không phải tôn giáo, champa.one
- Champa.one, Thuật ngữ Awal, Ahier qua giải thích của chuyên gia
- Phạm Thu Hương, Bà-Ni hay Đạo Hồi, 2017, đăng lại 2021
- RFA tiếng Việt, 12/9/2024
?Quick Questions
Are the Cham Bani Muslims?
The community describes itself in more than one way. The two councils of elders bear the name Bani Islam, and a Cham Awal researcher regards Bani as part of Islam. Others regard Bani as a distinct religion with Islamic roots. The library records both understandings.
Why do only the Acar keep the Ramuwan fast?
In Bani religious life the Acar stay in the place of worship for the whole month, fasting and praying on behalf of the community. Lay people take part through tending graves, honouring ancestors and bringing offerings.
What do Awal and Ahier mean?
Awal means first or earlier and refers to the Cham Bani. Ahier means later and refers to Cham who follow the Brahmanic tradition. The Cham see the two groups as two halves of one community.
How many Cham Bani are there?
More than 55,000 as of June 2025, according to official figures cited by VietNamNet on 20 July 2025. In 2021 the Government Committee for Religious Affairs recorded about 50,000.