Driving along National Route 1 through the former Phước Nam commune, visitors will spot a mosque standing right beside the highway, topped with a dome and a crescent-and-star emblem. Long-distance travelers usually catch only a passing glimpse. Yet if one stops to measure, within a radius of less than one kilometer around this spot stand three Cham houses of worship, comprising this mosque, Mosque 101 about 780 meters away, and the Sang Magik of the Cham Bàni community about 320 meters away.
The building beside the highway is Mosque 104, properly named Niakmah, belonging to the Cham Islam community of Nho Lâm hamlet and neighboring palei Ram. It is the fourth and final numbered mosque among the four Sunni Islam mosques of the former Ninh Thuận region. This entry is concise because the features shared by all four mosques have already been covered in the entry on Mosque 101.
IThe fourth mosque and the name Niakmah
The first point to make clear is that this is an orthodox Sunni Islam mosque, belonging to the same religious stream as Mosques 101, 102, and 103. It is not a Bàni house of worship. The differences between Cham Islam and Cham Bàni, from fasting rules and daily prayers to clerical hierarchy, are explained in detail in the entry on Văn Lâm Mosque 101. Readers who wish to understand why two distinct Islamic traditions coexist within a single commune may consult that entry alongside Văn Lâm Bàni Mosque. Here the library focuses only on what is specific to Mosque 104.
Regarding the name. In his 2019 study in Religious Studies Review, Chu Văn Tuấn compiled a table listing the proper names of all four mosques, identifying Jamiul Muslimin as Mosque 101 in Văn Lâm, Jamiul Muslimin as Mosque 102 in Phước Nhơn, Al Noor as Mosque 103 in An Nhơn, and Niakmah as Mosque 104 in Nho Lâm. On digital maps, the mosque beside the highway is labeled Jamiul Naikmah. The spellings Niakmah and Naikmah reflect slightly different Latin transcriptions, and its mapped location matches the description of Mosque 104 in Nho Lâm near National Route 1 in the study by Tạ Long and Ngô Thị Chính.
The proper name Niakmah rarely appears in general publications, where people simply refer to the mosques by their numbers. The library has not found any source explaining the etymology of this name in local usage and therefore refrains from speculating.
| Number | Proper name | Hamlet | Founding year in sources | Believers in studies |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 101 | Jamiul Muslimin | Văn Lâm | 1960 or 1962 | About 1,530 to 2,000 |
| 102 | Jamiul Muslimin | Phước Nhơn | 1962, 1963, or 1964 | About 617 to 750 |
| 103 | Al Noor | An Nhơn | 1964 or 1968 | About 150 to 229 |
| 104 | Niakmah | Nho Lâm | 1964, 1974, or 1986 | About 280 to 334 |
A common misconception is that because 104 is a larger number than 101, the mosques are ranked by size or that a higher-numbered mosque is a branch of an earlier one. That is not the case. The numbers simply follow the order of construction. Each mosque is a fully independent institution with its own Hakem Board elected by believers for a five-year term, which according to Chu Văn Tuấn consists of five members at Mosque 104, its own congregation, and its own Friday communal prayer. Mosque 104 has fewer congregants than Mosque 101, but it is not subordinate to it.
IIThe last of the four numbers
The history of Mosque 104 belongs to the broader history of orthodox Sunni Islam in this region, which began in the early 1960s when a portion of the local Cham population chose to practice mainstream Sunni Islam while remaining in their ancestral villages. Mosque 101 in Văn Lâm was the first. Mosque 104 was the fourth, and it rose within the very same commune as the first. According to the study by Tạ Long and Ngô Thị Chính, before building a dedicated mosque, believers in Nho Lâm gathered for prayer at the private home of a core community member in the hamlet. Once Mosque 104 was erected right beside National Route 1, its location on the outer edge of the village also resolved an earlier local dispute in the commune over bringing the bodies of believers who passed away elsewhere back to a mosque for funeral rites without having to pass through the Bàni village area.
- 1960 or 1962Mosque 101 in Văn LâmThe region's first Sunni Islam mosque is built in Văn Lâm hamlet, about 780 meters from Mosque 104. Sources record two different years.
- 1962, 1963, or 1964Mosque 102 in Phước NhơnThe second mosque is built in Phước Nhơn hamlet, with studies recording three consecutive years.
- 1964 or 1968Mosque 103 in An NhơnThe third mosque is built in An Nhơn hamlet next to Phước Nhơn.
- 1964, 1974, or 1986Construction of Mosque 104 in Nho LâmThe Representative Board report cited in Chu Văn Tuấn's study records 1964. Works by Nguyễn Hồng Dương (2007) and Tạ Long and Ngô Thị Chính (2008) record 1974. An earlier 2005 paper by Tạ Long and Ngô Thị Chính records 1986.
- 2003RenovationAccording to Chu Văn Tuấn, the mosque undergoes renovation this year on a plot measuring 1,237 square meters.
- 2011Launch of the Interim Representative BoardIn March 2011, Mosque 104 hosts the launch ceremony for the province's Interim Representative Board of the Islamic Community, prior to the establishment of the official board in 2012.
- PresentAbout 280 to 334 believersThe mosque has a five-member Hakem Board serving the Nho Lâm congregation, with population figures ranging from 280 to 334 depending on the survey year.
Three points where sources differ should be stated plainly.
Regarding the founding year. The book by Nguyễn Hồng Dương (2007) and the study by Tạ Long and Ngô Thị Chính (2008) state that Mosque 104 was built in 1974 as the fourth mosque, following 101, 102, and 103. By contrast, the table compiled from the Provincial Islamic Representative Board's report in Chu Văn Tuấn's 2019 article in Religious Studies Review records the founding year as 1964, along with a renovation in 2003, while noting in a footnote that a 2005 publication by Tạ Long and Ngô Thị Chính gives the year 1986. If the year 1964 is placed alongside the founding dates of the other mosques, Mosque 104 would have been built at the same time as Mosque 103. Because the library has not been able to inspect an original founding charter from the mosque itself, all three dates are recorded alongside their respective sources.
Regarding the number of believers. A 2018 report cited by Chu Văn Tuấn lists 286 believers for Mosque 104, while his September 2019 field survey records 75 households with about 280 residents practicing Islam in Nho Lâm hamlet. A February 2023 VOV report quoting the head of Mosque 104's management board states that the congregation comprises 93 households with 334 residents, and that the former Phước Nam commune as a whole has 1,479 Sunni Islam believers attending Mosques 101 and 104. These differences reflect natural population growth as well as whether counts track registered households or exclude people working away from home.
Regarding the hamlet name. Academic studies consistently place the mosque in Nho Lâm hamlet. Digital maps, however, place Masjid Jamiul Naikmah on National Route 1 within an area labeled Văn Lâm. Because the two hamlets border each other and digital map labels do not always match administrative hamlet boundaries, the library retains the name Nho Lâm following the published studies.
IIIA plot beside the national highway
The library has not found a detailed architectural survey specific to Mosque 104. What the sources establish with certainty is the land area of 1,237 square meters and the renovation in 2003. For that reason, this section outlines the essential elements present in every Sunni mosque and what passersby can observe from outside.
Every Sunni mosque features an open hall free of statues and altars so worshippers can stand shoulder to shoulder in horizontal rows. This space is indispensable because the Friday prayer must be performed together.
Set into the western wall is a niche pointing toward Mecca, known as the mihrab. It is not an object of veneration but a directional marker for the rows of worshippers.
Because ritual washing with water before each prayer is mandatory, every mosque provides an ablution facility near the entrance.
The exterior dome and crescent-and-star emblem distinguish a Sunni Islam masjid from a Bàni Sang Magik in the same area, which is a long hall without a dome or rooftop symbol.
Even more notable than the building's architecture is its setting. Whereas the other three Sunni mosques sit deep inside village residential quarters, Mosque 104 stands right beside the national highway. Travelers passing through the commune therefore spot this mosque much more easily than Mosque 101, even though Mosque 101 is larger and older. The standard components of a masjid, from the mihrab and minbar to the call to prayer, are described in detail in the entry on Mosque 101.
IVThe lie of the land and orientation
In Islam, geomancy plays no role. The orientation of the prayer hall is fixed by the qiblah, the direction toward the Kaaba in Mecca, a mandatory rule that builders cannot alter. From this region, that axis points west-northwest. The observations below represent the library's comparative reading through traditional Vietnamese geomancy, offered purely for spatial comparison rather than as Islamic doctrine or community intent.
The first point is the relationship with the highway. In traditional Vietnamese geomancy, a building placed right beside a major thoroughfare is exposed to a rushing strike of movement, where constant traffic makes it difficult for qi to settle. Yet a mosque is not oriented by the road. Regardless of how the highway runs, the prayer hall inside must face Mecca. Nothing illustrates more clearly how the two systems diverge, as one aligns a building with local terrain and roads while the other locks onto a sacred point thousands of miles away.
The second point is the cluster of three worship sites within a small circle. Mosque 104, Mosque 101, and the Văn Lâm Bàni Sang Magik all stand within a radius of less than one kilometer. The two Sunni mosques turn their prayer halls toward the exact same axis. As noted in the entry on the Văn Lâm Sang Magik, the Bàni hall opens its doors toward the rising sun, yet during prayer its clerics also face west. Seen through traditional eyes, all three sites anchor themselves to a center outside the local landscape, a concept foreign to classical Vietnamese landform reading.
The third point is the land itself. The former Phước Nam area lies on a dry coastal plain with intense sun and wind, backed by low hills and facing the sea. In traditional reading, the priority in such terrain is sheltering from harsh sun and wind rather than drawing in more movement. A plot of over 1,200 square meters allows the mosque to sit back from the highway edge, and that setback functions in traditional terms as a small bright hall (minh đường), an open forecourt where qi can pause before the hall.
The library stops here. All comparisons above concern outward form alone, whereas the true reason for every spatial choice lies in Islamic teaching.
VThe ritual rhythm of a small congregation
Mosque 104 maintains the full ritual rhythm of every Sunni mosque, comprising five daily prayers, the weekly Friday communal prayer, and annual observances calculated by the Hijri calendar, the Islamic lunar calendar that is about eleven days shorter than the solar year. For a community of roughly three hundred people, keeping the doors open five times every day is no small commitment, since in orthodox Sunni Islam no one can perform ritual obligations on another person's behalf. According to Chu Văn Tuấn's 2019 field survey at Mosque 104, regular daytime prayers draw about three to ten worshippers because many congregants work in distant fields or trade away from home, evening prayers after work draw about ten to fifteen people, and the Friday midday prayer brings together about fifty to sixty worshippers.
| Timing | Observance | Practice |
|---|---|---|
| Daily | Five daily prayers | Timed by the sun's position across the day, preceded by ritual ablution with water. Regular daily prayers at Mosque 104 draw about 3 to 15 people. |
| Every Friday | Communal prayer | The largest weekly gathering, featuring a sermon followed by congregational prayer in rows, drawing about 50 to 60 worshippers at Mosque 104. |
| Full month of Ramadan | Month of fasting | The ninth month of the Hijri calendar. Believers abstain from food and drink from dawn to sunset across the entire community. |
| 1st of Shawwal | Festival of Breaking the Fast | Known internationally as Eid al Fitr, marking the end of Ramadan as the congregation gathers at the mosque for prayer. |
| 10th of Dhul Hijjah | Festival of Sacrifice | Known internationally as Eid al Adha, coinciding with the Mecca pilgrimage and sharing meat within the community and with those in need. |
Within the same commune, the Bàni community observes the month of Ramưwan according to the Cham calendar, while the Sunni Islam community observes Ramadan according to the Hijri calendar. Though the two names share a common origin, the observances fall on different dates and follow different rules. The story of how two fasting seasons unfold side by side in a single locality is told in detail in the entries on Mosque 101 and the Văn Lâm Sang Magik.
VILocation And How To Get There
- Address
- Thôn Nho Lâm, ven quốc lộ 1, xã Thuận Nam (xã Phước Nam cũ, huyện Thuận Nam cũ, tỉnh Ninh Thuận cũ), tỉnh Khánh Hòa. Hai khảo cứu đều ghi thôn Nho Lâm, Google Maps ghi tên Jamiul Naikmah trên quốc lộ 1 ở khu Văn Lâm, cách thánh đường Islam 101 chừng 780 mét
- Getting there
- The mosque stands in Nho Lâm hamlet beside National Route 1, Thuận Nam commune, Khánh Hòa province (formerly Phước Nam commune, Ninh Thuận province). Văn Lâm Mosque 101 lies about 780 meters away, and the Văn Lâm Bàni Sang Magik lies about 320 meters away.
- Coordinates
- 11.5, 108.9138
This is an active house of worship serving a small local community, not a tourist attraction. Remove shoes before stepping into the prayer hall. Men should wear long trousers and sleeved shirts, and women should wear a headscarf and modest clothing covering arms and legs. Do not walk directly in front of anyone at prayer, and do not photograph worshippers during services. Because the mosque sits right beside the national highway, please park without blocking the entrance gate.
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?Quick Questions
Where is Mosque 104 located?
It stands in Nho Lâm hamlet right beside National Route 1, in Thuận Nam commune, Khánh Hòa province, formerly Phước Nam commune in Ninh Thuận province. On digital maps it is labeled Masjid Jamiul Naikmah. Mosque 101 lies about 780 meters away, and the Văn Lâm Bàni Sang Magik is about 320 meters away.
When was Nho Lâm Mosque 104 built?
Sources record three different dates. The Representative Board report cited by Chu Văn Tuấn in Religious Studies Review gives 1964, with a renovation in 2003. Works by Nguyễn Hồng Dương (2007) and Tạ Long and Ngô Thị Chính (2008) give 1974 as the fourth mosque after 101, 102, and 103. An earlier 2005 paper by Tạ Long and Ngô Thị Chính gives 1986.
Which mosque is called Niakmah?
Niakmah is the proper name of Mosque 104 in Nho Lâm hamlet, as listed in Chu Văn Tuấn's table of the four Sunni Islam mosques in the former Ninh Thuận region. On digital maps it is spelled Jamiul Naikmah, a slight variation in Latin transcription. The library has not found a source explaining the name's meaning in local usage.
Is Mosque 104 Sunni Islam or Bàni?
It belongs to orthodox Sunni Islam, in the same religious stream as Mosques 101, 102, and 103, not Bàni. Congregants pray five times daily, gather for Friday midday prayer, and fast throughout the month of Ramadan. The nearby Sang Magik of the Cham Bàni in Văn Lâm is a separate institution belonging to a distinct tradition.
How many Sunni Islam mosques are in the former Phước Nam commune?
There are two, Mosque 101 in Văn Lâm and Mosque 104 in Nho Lâm, located about 780 meters apart. A 2023 VOV report notes that the commune has 1,479 Sunni Islam believers attending the two mosques, with Mosque 104 serving 93 households and 334 residents, while Chu Văn Tuấn's 2018 and 2019 studies record about 280 to 286 believers for Mosque 104 on a 1,237-square-meter plot.