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China is home to a large population of adherents of Islam. Sources, including the BBC, suggest that there may be as many as 20 million Muslims in China, up to 2 percent of the country's 1.3 billion population. Other sources suggest Muslims in China may number up to 40 million, with new rumors saying there are 10 million more hiding.. Many believe there are over 100 million Muslims in China. This is based on the census undertaken by the Kuomintang in the 1940's which placed the figure at 45 million. In addition the China year book of 1950 placed the number at 50 million. The figure of over 100 million is derived from the population of China doubling since 1950.
According to population statistics of 1936, the then Kuomintang Republic of China had an estimated 48,104,240 Muslims. Below is a reference from about the Muslim population before Communist Revolution: - - "There are in China 48,104,241 Mohammedan followers and 42,371 mosques, largely in Sinkiang, Chinghai, Manchuria, Kansu, Yunnan, Shensi, Hopei, and Honan. "Ferm, Vergilius (ed.). An Encyclopedia of Religion; Westport, CT: Greenwood Press (1976), pg. 145. - - Under the pretext of unification of national education, Islamic schools were closed and their students transferred to other schools which taught only Marxism and Maoism. Other outrages included the closing of over 29,000 mosques, the widespread torture of imams, and executions of over 360,000 Muslims. Aside from the physical annihilation, Muslims have been subjected to a constant attack on their Islamic identity especially during the so-called Cultural Revolution (1966-76). For instance, posters which appeared in Peking (later to be called Beijing) in 1966, openly called for the abolition of Islamic practices. Muslims were also barred from learning their written language which incorporated the Arabic script and was influenced by Arabic, Turkish and Farsi. This change was critical as it distanced Muslims from the Arabic language, the language of the Qur'an and their Islamic aspirations. During this era many Mosques were closed down and waqf properties were confiscated. (Yusuf Abdur Rahman) - - Since religious freedom was declared in 1978, the Chinese Muslims have not wasted time in expressing their convictions. There has been an increased upsurge in Islamic expression in China, and many nationwide Islamic associations have been organized to coordinate inter-ethnic activities among Muslims. Islamic literature can be found quite easily and there are currently some eight different translations of the Qur'an in the Chinese language as well as translations in Uygur and the other Turkic languages (Yusuf Abdul Rahman). There are now some 34,000 mosques and 400 Islamic organization in the entire People's Republic of China (Beijing, Rabi Awwal 28/June 20 (IINA). Muslims are allowed to perform Hajj and the number of pilgrimage from China is about 3000 per year. - - At present, according to official statistics there are 28 million Muslim in China but in1936 it was estimated that the Muslim population was 48 million. By this time total population has increased 3-4 fold. So we can conclude that the total Muslim population has increased minimum by that same proportion. Therefore, now the total Muslim population is at least 150 million. - - - http://www.islamicpopulation.com/china_muslim.html
The largest of the ten Muslim ethnic groups in China are the Hui. The other nine, in descending order of size, are Uyghur, Kazakh, Dongxiang, Kirghiz, Salar, Tajik, Uzbek, Bonan, and Tatar. Xinjiang has the largest number of Muslims; many are also concentrated in the Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region.
A unique feature of some modern Muslims in China is the presence of female imams . A form of Islamic calligraphy, the Sini, has been developed in China. Hajji Noor Deen Mi Guangjiang is a famous modern calligrapher in this tradition.
History
During the Tang Dynasty, China was highly tolerant of new religions and Chinese contact with foreign envoys flourished. Islam was introduced to China via the silk road by Arabs. Although some believe that Islam may have arrived in China during the Sui Dynasty, the first official record of Islam's arrival in China occurred during the Tang Dynasty.
Tang dynasty
Uthman ibn Affan, the third Caliph of Islam, sent the first official Muslim envoy to China in 650. The envoy, headed by Sa`d ibn Abī Waqqās, arrived in the Tang capital, Chang'an, in 651 via the overseas route. Huis generally consider this date to be the official founding of Islam in China. The Ancient Record of the Tang Dynasty recorded the historic meeting, where the envoy greeted Emperor Gaozong of Tang China and tried to convert him to Islam. Although the envoy failed to convince the Emperor to embrace Islam, the Emperor allowed the envoy to prosthelyze in China and ordered the establishment of the first Chinese mosque in the capital to show his respect for the religion.
Arab people are first noted in Chinese written records, under the name Da shi in the annals of the Tang dynasty (618-907). Records dating from 713 speak of the arrival of a Da shi ambassador. It is recorded that in 758, a large Muslim settlement in Guangzhou erupted in unrest and fled. The community had constructed a large mosque (Huaisheng Si), destroyed by fire in 1314, and constructed in 1349-51; only ruins of a tower remain from the first building.
During the Tang Dynasty, a steady stream of Arab and Persian traders arrived in China through the silk road and the overseas route through the port of Quanzhou. Not all of the immigrants were Muslims, but many of those who stayed formed the basis of the Chinese Muslim population and the Hui ethnic group. The Persian immigrants introduced polo, their cuisine, their musical instruments, and their knowledge of medicine to China.
Song dynasty
During the Song Dynasty, Muslims in China dominated foreign trade to the south and west.
Yuan dynasty
The Yuan Dynasty had an excellent relationship with Islam with many embracing the religion. The Mongols elevated the status of Muslims versus the Chinese, and placed many foreign and non Han Chinese Muslims in high-ranking posts instead of native Confucian scholars, using many Muslims in the administration of China. The state encouraged Muslim immigration, as Arab, Persian and Turkic immigration into China accelerated during this period. This was part of a larger strategy of the Mongol dynasties to divide subject peoples from an administrative class. In addition, native Chinese were sent out of China to administer other parts of the Mongol Empire, including some Muslim lands.
Ming dynasty
Muslims continued to flourish in China during the Ming Dynasty. During Ming rule, the capital, Nanjing, was a center of Islamic learning.
Mosques in Nanjing are noted in two inscriptions from the sixteenth century.
Immigration slowed down drastically however, and the Muslims in China became increasingly isolated from the rest of the Islamic world, gradually becoming more sinicized, adopting the Chinese language and Chinese dress. During this period, Muslims also began to adopt Chinese surnames. One of the more popular Muslim family names is Ma (馬), a shortened form of Fatima.
Qing dynasty
Muslims suffered a decline of their status during the Qing Dynasty. Numerous Hui rebellions, such as the Panthay Rebellion, sprung up during the Qing Dynasty in reaction to repressionist policies.
In the first decade of the 20th century, it has been estimated that there were between 3 million and 50 million Muslims in China proper (that is, China excluding the regions of Mongolia and Xinjiang), with the true number probably lying closer to 20,000,000 or 30,000,000. Of these, almost half resided in Gansu, over a third in Shaanxi (as defined at that time) and the rest in Yunnan.
In the Qing dynasty, Muslims had many mosques in the large cities, with particularly important ones in Beijing, Xi'an, Hangzhou, Guangzhou, and other places (in addition to those in the western Muslim reigions). The architecture typically employed traditional Chinese styles, with Arabic-language inscriptions being the chief distinguishing feature. Many Muslims held government positions, including positions of importance, particularly in the army.
Chinese Muslims and the Hajj
Some Chinese Muslims may have made the Hajj pilgrimage to Mecca on the Arabian peninsula between the fifteenth and eighteenth centuries, yet there is no written record of this prior to 1861.
Briefly during the Cultural Revolution, Chinese Muslims were not allowed to attend the Hajj, but this policy was reversed in 1979. Chinese Muslims now attend the Hajj in large numbers, typically in organized groups.
Famous or historical Mosques in China
- Huajue Mosque in Xi'an
- Dongsi Mosque in Beijing
- Huaisheng Mosque in Guangzhou
- Id Kah Mosque in Kashgar
- Niujie Mosque in Beijing
- Songjiang Mosque in Shanghai
- Najiahu Mosque in Yinchuan
Chinese terminology for Islamic institutions
Qīngzhēn (清真) is the Chinese term for certain Islamic institutions. Its literal meaning is "pure truth."
In Chinese, halal is called qīngzhēn cài (清真菜) or "pure truth food." A mosque is called qīngzhēn sì (清真寺) or "pure truth temple."
Islamic literature
See also
- Uyghur
- Islam
- Islam by country
- Religion in China
- Demographics of China
- Dungan
- Chinese Islamic cuisine
- Chinese Patriotic Islamic Association
- Tibetan Muslims
- China
External links
- Chinese Muslims forge isolated path
- Islam in China
- Photos of "Islam in China" by Photojournalist Sean Gallagher
References
- Reischauer, Edwin O. and Fairbank, John K., East Asia: The Great Tradition
- http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/03669a.htm
