The Cham people originally occupied the kingdom of Champa
in southcentral Vietnam from Danang to Phan Rang.
Victims of a historical squeeze between Cambodia and Vietnam,
their territory was eventually annexed by the expansionist Vietnamese.
Originally Hindu, they converted to Islam in the 16th and 17th centuries
and many migrated south to Cambodia.
Today there are small numbers of Cham in Vietnam and as many as
half a million in Cambodia, all of whom continue to practise a flexible
form of Islam. Over the centuries, there has been considerable
intermarriage between Cham and Malay traders.