Religion, Resistance and Responding to Genocide: The Cham in Cambodia

Abstract

This Chapter explores the extent to which religion can provide targeted groups with a means of resisting and responding to acts of genocide. The Chapter adopts as a case study the experience of the Cham Islamic community, a group who were subjected to a genocide during the Cambodian Khmer Rouge regime (1975-1979). Much of the research into the Cham’s resistance to genocide has focused on acts of armed rebellion. However, this Chapter shines a light on acts of ‘everyday resistance’ (Scott 1985) employed in the face of genocidal violence, focusing in particular on forms of religious resistance. Drawing from fieldwork in March 2017, as well as accounts from Cham scholars, the Chapter highlights the means through which members of the Cham community strived to keep their religious practice alive in the face of suppression and violence. By focusing on the ‘everyday’, the Chapter also renders more visible the particular role of women in resisting and responding to genocide.