(VOVworld)-Tay Ninh province has more than 3,000 Cham people who practice Islam. Their mosques are also cultural centers promoting solidarity among the Cham villages.

A mosque of Cham ethnic people in Tay Ninh (Photo: Sa Phi Giah/ VOV)

Many mosques have been built in the areas where Cham ethnic people reside. Located in ward 1, Tay Ninh City, Darul Naim Lil Muslimin Mosque, one of the principal mosques in Vietnam, is a center of cultural activities and a classic example of Cham religious architecture.

Built in 1957 in the center of a Cham village, the Mosque is in the typical Islamic style of mosques all over the world. The interior has an East-West alignment. There is a pedestal from which the Imam, the officiating leader, guides followers through the performance of rituals. From a tower adjacent to or attached to the mosque calls to prayer are made five times a day.

The mosque’s design is simple and airy, with many large high arched doors and large halls lined with columns.  
Annual rituals held there include the Haj, the annual Islamic pilgrimage to Mecca, Saudi Arabia, from the 10^th to 12^th day of the Islamic calendar, and Ramadan, a month of fasting which occurs in the 9^th month of the Islamic calendar. Every day during Ramadan, Muslims around the world fast during daylight hours.

Cham people gather for discussion following a religious ritual. (Photo: Sa Phi Giah/ VOV)

Cham Sa, head of ward 1 in Tay Ninh City, said that, following a religious ritual, people usually remain in the mosque to discuss cultural matters, encourage each other to maintain public order, and discuss their family’s household economy.

Almu Barak Mosque in Thanh Binh commune, 30 kilometers from Tay Ninh City, is spacious.

Visitors are impressed by its arched main entrance, half-oval dome, and crescent moon and star motifs, a typical feature of Muslim architecture.

The mosque is designed like a large house with long corridors. Inside and outside the mosque are crescent moons and starts.