The Imagined Home within the Cham Muslim Diaspora in Cambodia

The Cham diaspora’s relationship to home and homeland is complex and marked by a number of tensions. Specifically, the Cham’s experiences of exclusion and migration have created a notion of imagined space regarding the places they call home. Based on ethnographic research conducted in 2010 and 2011, this paper addresses notions of home and the homemaking process among Cham Muslims in Cambodia, particularly those who reside in Phnom Penh and Kampong Cham. The analysis for this study is centred on the interplay of past experiences, spatial-spiritual-behavioural movement and the performance of piety through educational, sartorial and home décor preferences. Exploring narratives from the Cham community in Cambodia, this article illustrates how religious identity is entangled with perceptions of home and homemaking processes. This study found that younger and older Cham in Cambodia have different imaginings of home and belonging, based on their experiences, education and religious affiliation.