Total population | |
---|---|
c. 1000 (0.01%) [1] [2] | |
Regions with significant populations | |
Across Laos, particularly in urban areas | |
Religions | |
Predominantly Sunni | |
Languages | |
|
Islam by country |
---|
Islamportal |
Laos is a Buddhist-majority nation with the officially recognised Muslim population approximately constituting 0.01% of the total population as of 2008 census. [4] The majority of Laotian Muslims are Sunni. Laotian Muslims can be found in the capital, Vientiane, which has two mosques, as well as other urban areas such as Savannakhet and Oudomxay; the latter of which had a mosque constructed there in June 2016. [5] Laotian Muslims are an ethnically diverse group, mainly consisting of ethnic Lao, Chin Haw, Chams, Tamils and Pashtuns, with interracial marriages being increasingly popular. They are generally engaged in trade, agriculture, cosmetics, clothing and business (butcher shops and restaurants) though some have attained official roles with the government. [6]
The Government of Laos officially recognises Islam in its 1991 constitution. The country allows its Muslim citizens to freely practice their religion. The Muslim community has, on a number of occasions, invited administrators from the Lao Front for National Construction and the Vientiane Prefecture to their celebratory festivals. As of 2001, the Lao People's Democratic Republic government began to severely restrict and control the practice of Islam (and other religions) in the country. [7] Laotian Muslims have represented the country in numerous international events such as in Indonesia, at the 2006 Interfaith Conferences on Religion, and in the early 2008 Cambodia conference. [4]
In Vientiane, the Muslim Association is seated in the two-storied Vientiane Jamia Mosque. Its president is Haji Muhammad Rafiq Sofi Sengsone. The mosque has a strong Tamil and Pashtun community and was established in 1970 by Lao Muslims. [7] Maulvi Qamruddin was a notable Tamil imam at the mosque and the mosque has also had a Bangladeshi imam. There is another mosque known as the Azahar Mosque not too far from there which was established by the Cham community in 1986, and became popularly known as Masjid Cambodia (due to their origin). It also hosts a maktab. A Muslim prayer room can also be found in the Wattay International Airport, the country's main international gateway and also located in the capital. In the Luang Prabang Province, there is a mosque, cemetery as well as an Indian halal restaurant called Nisha. [8] Some Laotian Muslims have gone off to study at the International Islamic University Malaysia. [7]
The ethnic diversity of Laotian Muslims is associated with the history of how Islam spread into the region. Originally from southern China in places such as Yunnan, a community known as the Chin Haw worked as merchants throughout Myanmar, Thailand, southwest China, and Laos. They were known to have a presence in Laos as far south as Luang Prabang and even beyond, though they mainly reside in northern Laos. [9] [10]
The earliest South Asian Muslims to come to Laos are believed to have been the Tamil Muslims of Pondicherry who arrived to the country via Ho Chi Minh City during the French colonial period. [9] Predominantly belonging to the Labbay community, these Tamils found employment as labourers and guards in the Laotian capital. During World War I, the British Army employed and stationed ethnic Pashtuns to Southeast Asia. South Asian Muslims are mainly found in Vientiane today. [9] The small community of Chams first came to Laos from Cambodia to escape persecution from the Khmer Rouge regime in the late 20th-century. The Chams established the Azahar Mosque, which is popularly known by locals as Masjid Cambodia. [9]
Formerly considered the largest Muslim community in Laos, the Chin Haw community have been sharply declining as many have begun to migrate overseas. Boasting a population of over 7000 in the mid-1960s, the Laotian Civil War and the political developments of the 1970s have driven much of the Chin Haw community to emigrate from Laos. [7] Though majority of the Muslim population trace their origins to other countries, there is a small community of indigenous Lao, who are mostly converts to Islam. Many of these converts intermarry with the other dominant Muslim communities. [7] Nowadays, members of the Tablighi Jamaat frequent Laos from Thailand to spread their teachings.
Laos, officially the Lao People's Democratic Republic, is a socialist state and the only landlocked country in Southeast Asia. At the heart of the Indochinese Peninsula, Laos is bordered by Myanmar and China to the northwest, Vietnam to the east, Cambodia to the southeast, and Thailand to the west and southwest. Its capital and largest city is Vientiane.
Evidence for modern human presence in the northern and central highlands of Indochina, that constitute the territories of the modern Laotian nation-state dates back to the Lower Paleolithic. These earliest human migrants are Australo-Melanesians—associated with the Hoabinhian culture—and have populated the highlands and the interior, less accessible regions of Laos and all of South-east Asia to this day. The subsequent Austroasiatic and Austronesian marine migration waves affected landlocked Laos only marginally and direct Chinese and Indian cultural contact had a greater impact on the country.
Laos is an independent republic, and the only landlocked nation in Southeast Asia, northeast of Thailand, west of Vietnam. It covers 236,800 square kilometers in the center of the Southeast Asian peninsula and it is surrounded by Myanmar (Burma), Cambodia, the People's Republic of China, Thailand, and Vietnam. About seventy percent of its geographic area is made up of mountain ranges, highlands, plateaux, and rivers cut through.
The Lao people are a Tai ethnic group native to Southeast Asia, who speak the eponymous language of the Kra–Dai languages. They are the majority ethnic group of Laos, making up 53.2% of the total population. The majority of Lao people adhere to Theravada Buddhism. They are closely related to other Tai people, especially with the Isan people, who are also speakers of Lao language, but native to neighboring Thailand.
Luang Phabang, or Louangphabang, commonly transliterated into Western languages from the pre-1975 Lao spelling ຫຼວງພຣະບາງ as Luang Prabang, literally meaning "Royal Buddha Image", is a city in north central Laos, consisting of 58 adjacent villages, of which 33 comprise the UNESCO Town Of Luang Prabang World Heritage Site. It was listed in 1995 for unique and "remarkably" well preserved architectural, religious and cultural heritage, a blend of the rural and urban developments over several centuries, including the French colonial influences during the 19th and 20th centuries.
Wat Xieng Thong is a Buddhist temple on the northern tip of the peninsula of Luang Phrabang, Laos. Built between 1559 to 1560 by King Setthathirath, Wat Xieng Thong is one of the most important of Lao monasteries and remains a significant monument to the spirit of religion, royalty and traditional art.
Meuang Phuan or Xieng Khouang, also known historically to the Vietnamese as Trấn Ninh, was a historical principality on the Xiang Khouang Plateau, which constitutes the modern territory of Xiangkhouang Province, Laos.
Laos developed its culture and customs as the inland crossroads of trade and migration in Southeast Asia over millennia. As of 2012 Laos has a population of roughly 6.4 million spread over 236,800 km2, yielding one of the lowest population densities in Asia. Yet the country of Laos has an official count of over forty-seven ethnicities divided into 149 sub-groups and 80 different languages. The Lao Loum have throughout the country's history comprised the ethnic and linguistic majority. In Southeast Asia, traditional Lao culture is considered one of the Indic cultures.
At the present time, there is no known Scouting program in Laos, one of only four of the world's independent countries that do not have Scouting.
The Royal Palace in Luang Prabang, Laos, was built in 1904 during the French colonial era for King Sisavang Vong and his family. The site for the palace was chosen so that official visitors to Luang Prabang could disembark from their river voyages directly below the palace and be received there. After the death of King Sisavang Vong, the Crown Prince Savang Vatthana and his family were the last to occupy the grounds. In 1975, the monarchy was overthrown by the communists and the royal family were taken to re-education camps. The palace was then converted into a national museum.
The French protectorate of Laos was a French protectorate in Southeast Asia of what is today Laos between 1893 and 1953—with a brief interregnum as a Japanese puppet state in 1945—which constituted part of French Indochina. It was established over the Siamese vassal, the Kingdom of Luang Prabang, following the Franco-Siamese War in 1893. It was integrated into French Indochina and in the following years further Siamese vassals, the Principality of Phuan and Kingdom of Champasak, were annexed into it in 1899 and 1904, respectively.
The Catholic Church in Laos is part of the worldwide Catholic Church, under the spiritual leadership of the pope in Rome. The Catholic Church is officially recognized by the Lao Front for National Construction.
Christianity is a minority religion in Laos. Christians in Laos number 150,000, divided approximately equally between Catholics and Protestants. There are three major Churches in Laos: the Roman Catholic Church, the Lao Evangelical Church, and the Seventh-day Adventist Church. The Laotian government has enacted legislation aimed against Christians, and heavily monitors all Christian activities.
Theravada Buddhism is the largest religion in Laos. It is practiced by 66% of the population. Almost all ethnic or "lowland" Lao are followers of Theravada Buddhism; however, they constitute only 40-50% of the population. The remainder of the population belongs to at least 48 distinct ethnic minority groups. Most of these ethnic groups are practitioners of Tai folk religion, with beliefs that vary greatly among groups.
The Baháʼí Faith in Laos begins after a brief mention by ʻAbdu'l-Bahá in 1916 and the first Baháʼí enters Laos in about 1955. The first Baháʼí Local Spiritual Assembly is known to be first elected by 1958 in Vientiane and eventually Laos' own National Spiritual Assembly is first elected in 1967. The current community is approximately eight thousand adherents and four centers: Vientiane, Vientiane Province, Kaysone Phomvihane, Pakxe and smaller populations in other provinces. While well established and able to function as communities in these cities, Baháʼís have a harder time in other provinces and cannot print their own religious materials. The Association of Religion Data Archives estimated almost 14000 Baháʼís in 2005.
Vientiane is the capital and largest city of Laos. Vientiane is divided administratively into 9 cities with a total area of only approx. 3,920 square kilometres and is located on the banks of the Mekong, close to the Thai border. Vientiane was the administrative capital during French rule and, due to economic growth in recent times, is now the economic center of Laos. The city had a population of 948,477 as of the 2020 Census.
Kingdom of Vientiane was formed in 1707 as a result of the split of the Kingdom of Lan Xang. The kingdom was a Burmese vassal from 1765 to 1824. It then became a Siamese vassal until 1828 when it was annexed by Siam.
Luang Prabang is a province in northern Laos. Its capital of the same name, Luang Prabang, was the capital of the Lan Xang Kingdom during the 13th to 16th centuries. It is listed since 1995 by UNESCO as a World Heritage Site for unique architectural, religious and cultural heritage, a blend of the rural and urban developments over several centuries, including the French colonial influences during the 19th and 20th centuries. The province has 12 districts. The Royal Palace, the national museum in the capital city, and the Phou Loei Protected Reserve are important sites. Notable temples in the province are the Wat Xieng Thong, Wat Wisunarat, Wat Sen, Wat Xieng Muan, and Wat Manorom. The Lao New Year is celebrated in April as The Bun Pi Mai.
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