the Communists. Many Hoahaoists hailed him as a Messianic figure who would arrive in a time of crisis. Sổ's death led to factionalism, parochialism, and outside organizational influence. The Hòa Hảo led a war against the Communists, being labelled as the "strongest anti-Việt Minh element in the country". Nevertheless, the Hòa Hảo, along with other religio-political organizations, dominated the political and social scene of Southern Vietnam by the 1950s, claiming a stake in the formation of a non-communist South Vietnam. After 1954, the Hòa Hảo initiated armed opposition to President Ngô Đình Diệm's American-backed government. They controlled various southern and western regions of South Vietnam at the time of Diệm's death in 1963. They then led a campaign against Việt Cộng for the defense of their home provinces during the Vietnam War, becoming a major autonomous political force in South Vietnam until the Fall of Saigon in 1975. Disbanded by the new government, the Hòa Hảo were oppressed and struggled for rights following the war. Only in 1999 were they officially recognized by the state, but the government imposes harsh controls on dissenting Hòa Hảo groups that do not follow the state-sanctioned branch. The Hòa Hảo sought to preserve their religious identity and independence. They made temporary alliances with past enemies. Originally concerned only with religious autonomy, the Hòa Hảo struggled against the French, the Japanese, the Việt Minh, again the French, the newly independent South Vietnam, the Việt Cộng, and the North Vietnamese Army. They enjoyed political influence during post-Diệm regimes of Saigon. Designation Name Hòa Hảo is a new religious movement and it was named after the founder Huỳnh Phú Sổ's native village of Hoa Hao (; ; Chữ Hán: ; literally "peace and plenty"), in what is now Thốt Nốt District of An Giang Province, Vietnam. The name is also spelled as Hoa-Hao. Another label, Hoahaoism, is also rendered as Hoa Haoism. It has also been called Hoa Hao Buddhism (). The village of Hoa Hao was renamed Phú Mỹ by the contemporary Communist government. Initially, the followers of the movement were called Dao Xen, literally meaning the "Followers of Xen", in reference to Sổ's childhood nickname. Classification The religious group has been traditionally classified as a Buddhist sect. General Joseph Lawton Collins, who served as a U.S. Special Representative in Vietnam, described Hòa Hảo as a "pseudo-religious sect", adding that it "appealed to the peasants with