This book examines the lives of the Malay and Cham Muslims in Thailand, Cambodia and
Vietnam and examines how they co-exist and live in societies that are dominated by an
alternative consensus and are illiberal and non-democratic in nature. Focusing on two major
Muslim communities in Southeast Asia, both of whom live as minorities in societies that are
not democratic and have a history of hostility and repression towards non-conforming ideas,
the book explains their circumstances, the choices and life decisions they have to make, and …

John Goodman's monograph focuses on the recent history and current experience of Cham
(in Vietnam and Cambodia) and Malays (in Thailand) in ways that explain how they have
been both treated as, and adapted to, being religious minorities in these three nationstates.
These governments are monocultural and either have a “strong (non-Muslim) religious
component in their view of national identity”, or “discourage religion as a part of national and
local identity.” Neither Vietnam, Cambodia nor Thailand is a democracy. Moreover, they are …