Janthopoyism
Sacred Travel: Al-Serkal Mosque
#holythrowback to 2023 when I visited the Al-Serkal Mosque in Phnom Penh, Cambodia.
I walked for over an hour beneath the scorching sun to reach this location, only to be turned away before I got there. So please enjoy this one photo I managed to snap from a distance.
With perhaps the highest percentage of Buddhists on the planet, you may not expect to see a mosque in Cambodia’s capital. However, there are an estimated 884 Muslim places of worship dotted around the country, with the Al-Serkal Mosque being the most important one.
This building was built in 1968 as a gift from the Al Serkal Family and the United Arab Emirates in recognition of Cambodian Muslims. The religious lineage is an interesting story, starting with those who lived in the pre-Vietnamese area of Champa. Legend tells that the father of Muhammad’s seventh wife, Zaynab bint Jahsh, converted many Chams, and when they escaped to Cambodia from Vietnamese conquest, they brought the faith with them. The small Cham community remains majority Muslim, but their influence has extended beyond, with Cambodian King Ramathipadi I converting in 1642.
Sadly, Chams were aggressively targeted as part of the Cambodian genocide (1975 to 1979). Accurate numbers of lives lost are incalculable, but considering the 7.8 million killed in total (25% of Cambodia’s population), it’s a miracle any survived whatsoever.
As previously noted, Cambodia is often deemed the biggest Buddhist nation in the world, with 97.1% of people following that religion. Islam comes in second, and while figures are not official, we’re probably looking at around 2% (or 236,000 Muslims).
I walked for over an hour beneath the scorching sun to reach this location, only to be turned away before I got there. So please enjoy this one photo I managed to snap from a distance.
With perhaps the highest percentage of Buddhists on the planet, you may not expect to see a mosque in Cambodia’s capital. However, there are an estimated 884 Muslim places of worship dotted around the country, with the Al-Serkal Mosque being the most important one.
This building was built in 1968 as a gift from the Al Serkal Family and the United Arab Emirates in recognition of Cambodian Muslims. The religious lineage is an interesting story, starting with those who lived in the pre-Vietnamese area of Champa. Legend tells that the father of Muhammad’s seventh wife, Zaynab bint Jahsh, converted many Chams, and when they escaped to Cambodia from Vietnamese conquest, they brought the faith with them. The small Cham community remains majority Muslim, but their influence has extended beyond, with Cambodian King Ramathipadi I converting in 1642.
Sadly, Chams were aggressively targeted as part of the Cambodian genocide (1975 to 1979). Accurate numbers of lives lost are incalculable, but considering the 7.8 million killed in total (25% of Cambodia’s population), it’s a miracle any survived whatsoever.
As previously noted, Cambodia is often deemed the biggest Buddhist nation in the world, with 97.1% of people following that religion. Islam comes in second, and while figures are not official, we’re probably looking at around 2% (or 236,000 Muslims).
Janthopoyism is a spiritual philosophy meets self-improvement program.
We view the Absolute collection of all Universal Energy to be the highest power. You are part of that power. You are an extension of divinity.
The ultimate purpose of this power is to evolve, and we each have a unique part to play in this progression. The details of your role are relayed to you every moment of your life via emotional notifications.
The tricky bit is that human beings have developed a communication barrier between themselves and this instruction.
This barrier is called "the brain".
But never fear! By utilising some very simple practices, you can open the flow of exchange, granting you access to the ether of infinite ideas, the infallible path of your guided destiny, and the recollection of your holiness.
Which is basically a wanky way of saying that your life is about to get a whole bunch better.
Join the movement before it becomes too mainstream.
We view the Absolute collection of all Universal Energy to be the highest power. You are part of that power. You are an extension of divinity.
The ultimate purpose of this power is to evolve, and we each have a unique part to play in this progression. The details of your role are relayed to you every moment of your life via emotional notifications.
The tricky bit is that human beings have developed a communication barrier between themselves and this instruction.
This barrier is called "the brain".
But never fear! By utilising some very simple practices, you can open the flow of exchange, granting you access to the ether of infinite ideas, the infallible path of your guided destiny, and the recollection of your holiness.
Which is basically a wanky way of saying that your life is about to get a whole bunch better.
Join the movement before it becomes too mainstream.
