Islam in China: A
Brief Survey by
Jake Seegmuller
Religion
within the People's Republic of China remains a contentious issue even after
the end of Mao Zedong's Cultural Revolution nearly fifty years ago. While the state guarantees the freedom of
religion, the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) remains a staunchly atheistic
entity within the country. During Mao's
cultural revolution of the 1960s and early 1970s, the destruction of the four
olds - Old Customs, Old Culture, Old Habits, and Old Ideas - called for the
elimination of superstitious practices, Taoist and Confucius's thought, and
organized religion. While Buddhism and
Confucianism bore the brunt of the Red Guard's assault on the Four Olds, Islam,
Judaism, and Christianity suffered from the effects of the Cultural Revolution. Islam's roots in China stretch back to the
Tang Dynasty (618-907 CE) and its arrival within the country came within less
than twenty years of the Prophet Muhammad's death in 632 CE.[1]
First
contact between the Muslim World and Tang Dynasty China occurred sometime
during the life of Prophet Muhammad; however, it remains unclear exactly when
informal relations between the two entities began. Regardless, by 651 CE a delegation led by
Sa`d ibn Abi Waqqas saw the construction of the first mosque within China - the
Memorial mosque in present day Guangdong Province. Islam remained a niche religion throughout
the country for centuries with small communities developing in more western
cities such as Xi`an with its Great Mosque and in outer provinces such as
modern day Yunnan Province, Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous region (a region with
over half the population claiming Muslim heritage), and Ningxie Hui Autonomous
Region. Traditionally, the western areas
of China enjoyed higher degrees of autonomy during the imperial period, and
this practice continued in limited form after the founding of the People's
Republic in 1949. The trade relationship
between Imperial China and her Muslim neighbors to the east served both
institutions quite well. China gained
access to the riches of Europe without having to concede coastal regions, and
Muslim traders converted small numbers of Chinese to the faith and reaped the
benefits as the bridge between the Far East and the European continent. [2]
The end of
the Song Dynasty ushered in a fresh wave of Muslim immigrants into China with
the ascension of the Mongol supported Yuan Dynasty to power. During the Yuan Dynasty, the status of all
peoples, including Muslims, were elevated to that of equal standing with the
Han Chinese majority. Muslims saw
themselves serving as Generals, governors, and directors of prestigious
tradition operations throughout the country.
The population of Muslims within the country rose to over
4,000,000. Mongol rule, however, did not
sit well with either the newly elevated Muslim communities or the traditional
Han Chinese. Revolts plagued the Yuan
dynasty and by the 14th century, the Ming Dynasty secured power throughout the
country and expelled the Mongol rulers. The
Mandarin bureaucratic system encouraged the adoption of Chinese and the
unification of cultural practices. Under
this system of economic and cultural isolation, the distinction between Muslim
Chinese and Han Chinese decreased dramatically.
Integration among the various peoples demanded intermarriage of Muslims
with non-Muslims and the adoption of Mandarin Chinese as the norm of
communication. Muslims began taking
Chinese names and Mosques began to adopt a distinctly Ming Dynasty
architectural style with Pagodas in place of minarets.[3]
Peaceful
coexistence between the Muslim minority and the traditional practices of the
Han Chinese continued throughout the Qing Dynasty and the short lived Republic
of China. While the People's Republic of
China struggles with maintaining order in the Xinjiang Autonomous Region, the
government no longer operates under the Cultural Revolution ideology calling for
the destruction of the Four Olds. Despite
its status as a minority religion, Islam maintains an important cultural
position within the People's Republic of China.
The People's Republic, however, remains a repressive country with
crackdowns on minority groups, especially Turkmen and Uyghur peoples in the
West, particularly brutal. Until China
can either come to terms with its multi-ethnic society or cede more substantial
authority to minority interests, the government and its repressed citizens will
continue resorting to violence.[4]
[1] "Islam
in China (650 - 1980 CE)", 1997, http://www.islamawareness.net/Asia/China/islchina.html
[2]
"Islam in China," last modified 2 October 2002, http://www.bbc.co.uk/religion/religions/islam/history/china_1.shtml
[3] Footnote
1
[4]
"Devastating Blows," Human
Rights Watch, 12 April 2005, http://www.hrw.org/en/reports/2005/04/11/devastating-blows
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