Historical and Socio Political Overview of Islam in China

Abstract

Islam has a history of more than 1,300 years in China. There are 10 ethnic groups that believe in Islam in China, among which the Hui and the Uyghur receive the most attention. Chinese Islam can be roughly divided into two major systems: the Islamic system in the interior and the Islamic system in the Xinjiang Autonomous Region. The former centers on the Hui, while the latter on the Uyghur. The Hui, the Uyghur, and the national majority Han have a variegated relationship with one another. From the perspective of China, the Xinjiang issue is not a national and religious issue but a problem of terrorism and violence. While the development of a market economy – and an associated increase in international exchanges – has helped newer Muslim communities to flourish in the city and for the religion to acquire a relatively open form locally, it has also left the believers vulnerable to influences from the external Islamic world. Meanwhile, many in China do not perceive the resultant transformations in Muslims’ daily lives positively – and their perceptual negativity has been playing out along three key themes, which we report toward the end of this chapter. We conclude by suggesting that maintaining a balance between the eastern and western regions of China, on the one hand, and minimizing the gaps across the ethnic minorities as well as the Han majority, on the other, together comprise the best path forward for the Chinese Muslims.