Islam in China: Hui and Uyghurs between Modernization and Sinicization
Jean A. Berlie
Language: English
Pages: 195
ISBN: 9744800623
Format: PDF / Kindle (mobi) / ePub
Islam in China defines the Muslims of China, in particular the Hui (Chinese Muslims) and the Uyghurs. Concepts of nationality (minzu) and umma (Islamic community) as well as analysis of Chinese culture or Sinicization enable the reader to understand the particularities of Islam in China. Mosques, Sufism, feasts, and family shape the Muslim society and its ethos. After the reforms of Deng Xiaoping, modernization plays an important role in the daily life of these Muslims; the impressive development also influences Islam in this part of the world. China’s modernization constitutes a model for Southeast Asia and helps the Yunnanese Hui in Thailand and Burma to be proud of their country of origin. One chapter portrays the Thai and Burmese Overseas Chinese, in particular in Chiang Mai and Mandalay.
dedicated to Muslims belonging to this minority). In Kashgar, in addition to'fhe large mosque Aidkah, built in 1524 and reconstructed in 1798, which symbolizes the greatness of the city, one finds Daxi (Great West). In Yining, the Hui mosque was built in 1760. That of Turfan, dating to 1778, features an impressive central tower. Shanxi mosque in Hami was constructed in 1881 and restored in 1983 after the Cultural Revolution. In Inner Mongolia, the magnificent Dasi Mosque at Huhehot was built in
in Yunnan Province, in majority Muslim, which was ruled by Du Wenxiu from 1856 to 1873, was a Muslim state. It finally collapsed. One cannot say how deeply Islamic culture was rooted in this community, but when assistance was requested from Tibet to fight the Manchu, Muslim identity was stressed. The umma is above all transnational, for Muslims throughout the world belong to a same community. Belonging to this community means going to Mecca at least once. After following a seminar in the mosque
the civil war. General Ma Rulong's family lived in a palace surrounded by three courtyards in Kunming containing "beautiful lacquered furniture, precious coffers, bibelots, and embroidered curtains" (Courtellemont, 1904). H. R. Davies's book on Yunnan (1909) describes these events and condemns General Ma. Jihad never concerned General Du. The fall of Du Wenxiu was rarely analyzed as a confrontation betweent'he "Old" Orthodox (Gedimu) Religion and Wahhabism, the "New Religion." The Manchu Dynasty
declared: "Our countly has enemies. We must always act as if we have enemies in Xinjiang." For Rashid (1994), there is no model of "central-Asian" nationalism based on history and culture. It is thus difficult for the Uyghurs to progress toward separatism, not only because of the region's oil reserves but also out of "principle" will attempt by all means to ensure that a Uyghur model, which might be suitable for other minorities, never sees the light of day. It is certain that minzu
Islamic world order and to communicate with their Arab "brothers." Language and education are important components of identity; however, minorities such as the Uyghurs want more than the right to attend government Chinese 137 Islam in China schools and wish to speak their own language in the Uyghur Autonomous Region. According to many in Xinjiang, the judicial and political rights of the Uyghurs are not truly respected. Violent reactions by the younger generation against the Han are sometimes