Religion in China (Islam in China)
Introduction
Religion in the Republic of China has been notably characterized by pluralism in the course of the country’s history. The religions in the country are mostly family-oriented and do not impose extreme adherence from the family members. The Islamic religion in China has played an integral role in influencing the history of the country owing to the fact that Muslims have been in the country for the last 1400 years and have interacting continuously with the larger Chinese society. Muslims are prevalent in almost all areas of China, with the Xianjing Province having the highest population of Muslims in the country, with at least 50 percent of the population comprising of Muslims. The present trends of Islam in China raises the question of social unrest basing on the worldview that Islamic religion is always associated with nationalist terrorism. Their concentration in the Xianjing province raises concern whether Muslims can form a separatist group that may result in social unrest in China[1]. The hostility by the Communist Party towards the minority Uighur Muslims can be viewed as a counter-productive strategy to avert their separatist goals. It is arguably evident that there is adequate Islamic freedom in China, and the country potentially fears the separatist goal, which is not related to advocating for religious freedom but focused on attaining independence. It is also notable that the Islamic religion under contemporary China has received adequate freedom and protection except for the case of the Muslims found in the Xinjiang province, who have for a long time yearned for their independence and reestablishment of the East Turkestan. In this paper, I will prove that Islam as a religion does not contribute to social unrest in China. I will do this by showing that the social unrest attributed to Islam is in fact caused by ethnic separatist tendencies.
Origins of Islam in China
There are different accounts that attempt to explain how the Islamic religion arrived in China. The widely accepted view relating to the introduction of Islam in China is that the envoys to the emperor of the Tang dynasty introduced it in 651[2]. It is also thought that Islam gained entry into China through early interactions with the Arab merchants and the disciples of Prophet Muhammad who sent in the county during 618-626[3]. Prophet Mohammad had a significant interest in China and the culture of the Chinese people, and claimed that despite the fact that China was far, Muslims had to get there in order to search for knowledge[4]. Throughout the period of the Tang and Song dynasties, most of the merchants from Arab and Persia who were of Islamic faith gained entry into the country using Middle Asia, which resulted in trade and an exchange of culture with merchants from the Arabic countries. This resulted to the construction of a number of mosques by the merchants[5]. In the course of military expeditions undertaken by the Genghis clan during the early years of thirteenth century, there was a recruitment of Muslims from the central Asia came into the country and were considered as farmer soldiers in mainland China. In areas that the merchants settled, they integrated Islam into the culture of the local people of China. During the time of Yuan Dynasty, Islam in china was already thriving. The rulers during the times of the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644) and the Qing dynasty (1644-1911) discovered the significant benefits of the Muslim population; as a result, the rulers of this time did not deploy any measure to restrict the thriving Islam in the country. In addition, Islamic scholars in the country have been translating Islamic literature written in Persian and Arabic to Chinese language, this helped in creating an environment through which Islam could penetrate China[6]. A historical analysis of the Islam in the Republic of China reveals that they have been integrated into the Chinese culture with minimal cases of conflicts between Muslims and the people of China. It is through this kind of relationship that first resulted to its establishment in China[7].
The place of religion in Chinese governments
Islam in China has passed through Tang, Song, Yuan, Ming and Qing dynasties towards the development of the Republic of China under the Nationalist government and the early communist era. The position of Islam in the contemporary China can be significantly attributed to the treatments that the various governments awarded to the Islamic religion in the country. There are some governments in the course of history of China that did nothing to prevent the prevalence of China. Early governments including the Tang and Song dynasties were more welcoming to the Muslims due to the fact that the governments viewed the advantages that the Muslims brought to the country such as trade, the introduction of the medical knowledge to China and the economic benefits[8]. This played an integral role in the establishment of Islamic religion in China as early merchants opted to establish mosques and integrate the Islamic culture into the Chinese culture. The Yuan dynasty also maintained a cordial relationship with the Muslims, which resulted in the elevation of the status of the Muslims in high ranking positions. This resulted in further integration of the Muslim culture in China. The cordial relationship between the Muslims and the government can be attributed to the mutual benefits, as neither the policies of the government were harsh on Islam nor the Islamic culture was perceived as a threat to the coexistence of the Chinese people.
Islam in China continued to thrive during the Ming Dynasty, Islam in China, as evident with the establishment an Islamic learning center in Nanjing[9]. There was the freedom of religion awarded to the Muslims and the dynasty did not impose any restrictions regarding Islamic practice in the country[10]. This resulted in an integration of the Muslim in the Chinese culture while it was being isolated from the larger Islamic world. Muslims were completely integrated with the Chinese culture, which saw them adopt Chinese surnames, cloths and character. Often, there were difficulties in differentiating Chinese from Muslims. The elements of Muslim culture also became a common characteristic of the Chinese culture during the period of the Ming dynasty.
During the time of Qing Dynasty, the government’s relationship with the Muslims was cordial until the time when the Muslims decided to rebel against the government during 1862-1877 under the Dungan revolt, which mainly due to the restrictive policies of the government against the Muslims.[11]. It is important to note that execution was only done on the rebels and not the entire Muslim community. The government responded by ordering the execution of all Muslim rebels. The Qing dynasty laid groundwork for the beginning of hostility against Islam in China. The downfall of the Qing dynasty during 1911 resulted in an increase in Sino-foreign relations in china, especially after the establishment of the Republic of China under a nationalist government, which proclaimed equality among the Han, Muslims, Mongolians and the Tibetan people. This helped in improving the relations among the diverse people found in the country[12]. As a result, there was an increase in contact between the Muslim minorities in the countries with the Islamic nations found in the Middle East. By the year 1939, there were at least 33 Muslims who had undertaken their studies in Al-Azhar University in Cairo. It was this period of equality that saw the establishment of the Chinese Muslim Federation in Nanjing; similar organizations were formed in other cities such as Jinan, Shanghai and Beijing. There were also notable improvements in Muslim academics during this period of equality under establishment of the Republic of China[13]. During the first 10 years of the 20th century, it has been approximated that there were at least 20 million Islamic faiths in China, without considering the Muslim population in Mongolia and Xinjiang. Hence, up to the formation of the CCP, Islam was relatively well integrated into Chinese culture and nationality, and was not a major contributing factor to any social unrest[14].
The early communist era, which is notably characterized by Cultural Revolution, was the hall mark of the upheavals of the Islamic faiths in China. During the period of Cultural Revolution in China, urban youths were persuaded to relocate to the countryside with the main objective of taming the wilderness. Most of youths opted to relocate to Xinjiang in order to counter the Muslim influence in the Province. During the early communist era, the government engaged in persistent accusations of the Muslims for promoting beliefs that were considered superstitious and anti-socialist behaviors[15]. All religions suffered but the Muslims suffered the most. This resulted to the defacement and destruction of the mosques and copies of Quran. During 1979, under the government of Deng Xiaopeng, there was a liberalization of the policies for the Muslims and Islamic religion in China. The liberalization policies permitted the Muslim minorities in China to speak their own languages, establish their own cultural practices, education and develop their religion. In addition, more Muslims in the country were permitted to visit the Hajj[16]. However, Islam was no longer interwoven into the fabric of Chinese society and was marginalized.
Under the existing leadership in China, Islamic religion in the country is witnessing a revival as evident with the increasing number of mosques in the country. In addition, there has been a notable increase in the Islamic expression and there has been an increase in Islamic organizations on a national scale with the main objective of organizing inter-ethnic activities for the Islamic minorities in the country. In most parts of China, Muslims are enjoying a significant religious freedom[17].
However, this is not the case for areas such as Xinjiang, where Muslims have been engaging in constant social unrest within the Uighur Muslims. In some instances, there were conflicts between the Muslim populations and the government, and the imperial army would be deployed to address the disturbances imposed by Muslims on the country’s borders[18]. In the modern times, prior to the Communist party coming to power during 1949, there was a campaign steered by a Muslim official, who was an employee under the former nationalist government. The campaign had the principal objective of declaring independence of the Xinjiang province whereby the Uygur Muslims occupy. The campaign aimed at designating the area occupied by the Uygur Muslims to a Muslim country referred to as Eastern Turkistan[19]. The Muslim official managed to convince a large number of Muslims to establish a separatist movement. However, majority of the Muslims in the larger Xianjing province did not consent to his proposal. In addition, the proposal did not gather the required support from the Islamic leaders and Imam in the Republic of China. From time to time, the members of the separatist movement have been involved in constant disturbances with the Communist government on grounds of political independence of the region[20]. This has resulted to the government of China engaging in constant struggle directed at the Uighur Muslims, who speak their own language and have a unique culture that is different from the larger Chinese culture. This is a form of separatist movement established by the Uighur Muslims, who are aiming at the re-establishment of the state of East Turkistan, which was in existence during the 1920s. After the downfall of the Soviet Union, the Republic of China feared the prospective goals of the majority separatists found in the Xinjiang Province. An agreement initiated during 1996 between Kazakhstan, Tajikistan, Russia and Kyrgyzstan served to assure the republic of China of potential cases associated with military conflict. In addition, other Muslim countries have also claimed that they will not interfere with the internal affairs of China[21]. The primary area of concern is the influences associated with the radical Islamic thinking that is originating from the Central part of Asia and the potential roles that exiles in the surrounding countries and Turkey are likely to play in facilitating the goals of the Islamic separatist movement within the minority Uighur and the larger Xinjiang province[22]. The state of the war is further worsened by the fact that minority Uighur Muslims have linguistic ties with the Turks in the neighboring country. This has a potential of the separatist movements achieving their goals, which they attempt to achieve through social unrest[23]. Hence, while Islam has generally been treated well in China and has been integrated into Chinese society, a certain ethnically marginalized portion of the Islamic population has been threatening social unrest. It can be summed up that Islamic existence in China has not been turbulent owing to the fact that the various governments maintained a cordial relationship with Muslims through the adoption of welcome policies, which in turn resulted to the growth of Islamic faith in China.
The CCP and its relations with Islamic religion in China
The end of the Feudal Rule during 1911 and the following years tied with the war-lord era, the anti-Japanese war in combination with the civil war favored the rise of the Communist Party during 1949[24]. The republic of China and the entire aspects relating to the people of China would be transformed after the Communist Party rose to power. This saw a change in the Chinese cultural aspects, persecutions of religious leaders and their respective followers, destruction of the ethnic cultures and the marginalization. It can be argued that the better part of the rule of the Communist Party in China significantly affected Islamic religion and Muslims in general[25].
After the Communist Party rose to power during 1949, the state of East Turkestan surrendered entirely to the Republic of China under the communist party. The communist party engaged in counter revolutionary strategies aimed integrating the Xinjiang Uighur autonomous region into China. This could be a possible explanation as to why the present day Muslim minorities are aiming at reestablishing their state of East Turkestan that once existed and was taken from them by the Communist Party[26].
During the period of Cultural Revolution under the Communist Party, all regions that were present in China suffered, especially the Islamic faith[27]. The level of persecution felt by the Islamic faith in China was determined by the number and the locations of the Red Guards, who were responsible for initiating attacks on the Muslim communities and their respective places of worship, including their mosques. For example, the Ningxia Hui Autonomous region found in the city of Yinchuan witnessed the destruction of all the historic mosques. The Communist Party adopted disastrous governance policies and used terror in implementing them during the period of Cultural Revolution, which ended during 1968 after the inception of the army to bring back order in the country[28].
The onset of the 1980s saw a period of religious renaissance under the Communist Party that resulted to high levels of prosperity, which resulted to the Muslims in the country donating adequate funds to be used in expansions of buildings. Some parts of China were characterized by increasing influx volumes of foreign money such as the Ningxia Hui Autonomous Religion. The increase in economic prosperity among the Muslims in the country and the opening of an up policy in the country played an integral role in increasing academics among the Muslims in China through engaging in studies abroad in Muslim states[29]. The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia has since been offering grants to aid in the establishment of mosques, offering religious education and to promote hajj pilgrims. This resulted in a strengthening of the Muslim population in most regions in the country[30], once again starting the process of rebuilding Islam into the fabric of Chinese society.
During 1985, the communist party interfered with the religious freedom through prohibiting Muslims in the country to travel for the hajj in Mecca, which is considered as an official duty of a devout believer in Islamic faith. Such a form of religious interference resulted in dissatisfaction among the Muslims in the country, which in turn imposed significant tensions between the people of China and the Muslims[31]. Both the Hui and the Uighur minority rose to voice their sentiments against the interference in their religious freedom. Ever since the communist party imposed this interference on their religion, there have been constant cases of social unrest in most of the Islamic autonomous regions in the country. The Communist Party later decided to withdraw the ban on hajj pilgrimage[32].
During 1997, there were notable reports associated with social unrest in the Xinjiang-Uighur autonomous region due to the advocacy for the separatist goals of the Muslims in the autonomous regions. The government usually responds to such cases of social unrest using mass arrests of the Islamic separatists, which is a common occurrence in Uighur. Sometimes the government makes use of the full force of arms to suppress the social unrests imposed by the Islamic separatists in the Xinjiang province, especially the Uyghur minority Muslims[33]. For instance, in the case of the 2007, whereby the Uighurs protested for their independence, the government responded to the mass protests using the force of arms by the police and the military. The police responded by opening fires to the protestors in order to disperse the crowds resulting to injuries and deaths. The number of people arrested during the protests totaled 1000 individuals[34]. Most of the Uighur separatists incarcerated for social unrest are usually executed, while others sentenced for longer jail terms and life sentences on accounts of hooliganism.
Such hostility by the Community Party towards the minority Uighur Muslims can be viewed as a counter-productive strategy to avert their separatist goals. It is arguably evident that there is adequate Islamic freedom in China, and the country potentially fears the separatist goal, which is not related to advocating for religious freedom but focused on attaining independence. It is notable that the Islamic religion under contemporary China has received adequate freedom and protection except for the case of the Muslims found in the Xinjiang province, who have for a long time yearned for their independence and reestablishment of the East Turkestan[35]. In order to achieve their separatist goals, the Muslims in the region have been maintaining contacts with other terrorist group, which has been facilitated by Islamic enlightenment in the country. It is alleged that the Uighur separatists are receiving financial aid from major Islamic terrorist groups such as Al-Qaeda and Taliban[36]. The terrorist motives of the separatists in the Xinjiang Province is notable by the placement of two bombs Urumqi, which is the capital city of Xinjiang two months after the 1997 protests ended. Terrorist bombings have also reported in Beijing, which is the national capital. This increasing case of the social unrest in China can be attributed to the government’s hostility towards the separatists Uighurs and their links with other Islamic terrorist groups that offer financial aid in order to ensure that the Uighurs and other separatist Muslims achieve their goals[37].
During 2000, the communist government adopted the “Go West” policy, which relied heavily on the subsidization of the Chinese people (Hans) from the coastal regions to the western regions such as the Xinjiang Province. The communist party disguised this strategy as an economic development policy in order to increase the population of the Chinese in areas that were dominated by Uighur Muslims, this only served to heighten tensions between the people of China and the Muslims found in the country[38]. In addition, the Chinese government has been using an ongoing crack down on Muslim opposition that has focused mainly on the Xinjiang Province during the period between 2000 and 2008. The ongoing crackdown on the Islamic separatists resulted to the detention of the Uighur Leader, Rebiya Kadeer for 5 years. The terrorist motive of the separatist groups heightened when the United States government reported during 2002 that it was detaining 12 Uighurs at the Guantanamo Bay Prison Facility for connections with the major Islamic terrorist networks across the globe. This followed the declaration of East Islamic movement as a terrorist organization, which in turn increased the harshness of the crackdown on the separatists, after which the Chinese government was able to label terrorist suspects in the Province of Xianjing[39]. There are notable tensions between the Hans the ethnic Chinese population. The communist government has significantly relied on aggravations to suppress the discontent of the Uighurs; this was notable during 2009, whereby the government successfully silenced the discontent of the Islamic population in Xinjiang. On the hand, the discontent of the Uighurs may be argued to be as a result of the destruction of their cultural heritage and their marginalization of their community. This saw the Uighurs protesting at Urumqi during 2009 on accounts of demanding for justice. The protest was initially peaceful, after which in turned violent and resulted to the separatists attacking Chinese ethnic populations. The response from the government was characterized by mass arrests and deliberate detentions. The Muslims in the Xinjiang Province are facing restrictive due to the harsh policies implemented by the government as a form of religious interference. For instance, the government passed laws prohibiting Muslims from undertaking their rituals during the period of Ramadan, men were supposed to cut off their beards while women were supposed to do away with their facial vales[40]. The government also heightened military and police presence in bid to reinforce regional security and facilitate the crackdown on the separatists and eliminate the forces associated with terrorism, separatism and extremism. This was implemented with the main objective of preventing social unrest to separatist elements[41]. However, it is important to know that this unrest in China’s Islamic population does not have its roots in religion, but in ethnic marginalization. The origins of the separatist movement explain how the Uyghur population had their state appropriated by China, and have been fighting for their state ever since. While Islam is a tool used by the Uighurs to dissent, and by the CCP to persecute and control the separatist desires, the social unrest is not caused specifically by religious beliefs, but by the systemic ethnic marginalization of a population and their desire for independence[42].
Conclusion
The paper has proved that Islam as a religion does not contribute to social unrest in China. I will do this by showing that the social unrest attributed to Islam is in fact caused by ethnic separatist tendencies. This is due to the fact that Islam has been well integrated into China and the separatist elements such as the marginalized Uighurs are responsible for the social unrest. The polices adopted by the government are not against Islam as religion, rather they aim at averting the separatist goals, this is due to the fact other provinces are not facing persistent social unrest as in the case of Uighur, which has resulted to the government deployed stringent policies on the Islam in the Xianjing Province.
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[1] Lipman, Newman. Familiar Strangers, a history of Muslims in Northwest China. Seattle, WA: University of Washington Press, 1997.
[2] Ibid.
[3] Uradyn, Erden, Bulag. Dilemmas The Mongols at China’s edge: history and the politics of national unity. New York: Rowman & Littlefield, 2002.
[4] Lipman, Newman. Familiar Strangers, a history of Muslims in Northwest China. Seattle, WA: University of Washington Press, 1997.
[5] Rubin, Barry. Guide to Islamist Movements. New York: M.E. Sharpe, 2000.
[6] Lipman, Newman. Familiar Strangers, a history of Muslims in Northwest China. Seattle, WA: University of Washington Press, 1997.
[7] Rubin, Barry. Guide to Islamist Movements. New York: M.E. Sharpe, 2000.
[8] Ibid.
[9] Gillette, Maris. Between Mecca and Beijing: modernization and consumption among urban Chinese Muslims. Stanford: Stanford University Press, 2000.
[10] Lipman, Newman. Familiar Strangers, a history of Muslims in Northwest China. Seattle, WA: University of Washington Press, 1997.
[11] The China Report. History of Islam in China and the distribution of the Islamic Faith in China . 2011. http://www.drben.net/ChinaReport/Sources/History/Islam/History_Islam_in_China-6 Islam_under_The_Peoples_Republic-1949AD-Present.html (accessed November 23, 2011).
[12] Lipman, Newman. Familiar Strangers, a history of Muslims in Northwest China. Seattle, WA: University of Washington Press, 1997.
[13] Gillette, Maris. Between Mecca and Beijing: modernization and consumption among urban Chinese Muslims. Stanford: Stanford University Press, 2000.
[14] The China Report. History of Islam in China and the distribution of the Islamic Faith in China . 2011. http://www.drben.net/ChinaReport/Sources/History/Islam/History_Islam_in_China-6 Islam_under_The_Peoples_Republic-1949AD-Present.html (accessed November 23, 2011).
[15] Gillette, Maris. Between Mecca and Beijing: modernization and consumption among urban Chinese Muslims. Stanford: Stanford University Press, 2000.
[16] The China Report. History of Islam in China and the distribution of the Islamic Faith in China . 2011. http://www.drben.net/ChinaReport/Sources/History/Islam/History_Islam_in_China-6 Islam_under_The_Peoples_Republic-1949AD-Present.html (accessed November 23, 2011).
[17] Lipman, Newman. Familiar Strangers, a history of Muslims in Northwest China. Seattle, WA: University of Washington Press, 1997.
[18] Rubin, Barry. Guide to Islamist Movements. New York: M.E. Sharpe, 2000.
[19] Gillette, Maris. Between Mecca and Beijing: modernization and consumption among urban Chinese Muslims. Stanford: Stanford University Press, 2000.
[20] Ibid.
[21] Rubin, Barry. Guide to Islamist Movements. New York: M.E. Sharpe, 2000.
[22] The China Report. History of Islam in China and the distribution of the Islamic Faith in China . 2011. http://www.drben.net/ChinaReport/Sources/History/Islam/History_Islam_in_China-6 Islam_under_The_Peoples_Republic-1949AD-Present.html (accessed November 23, 2011).
[23] Gillette, Maris. Between Mecca and Beijing: modernization and consumption among urban Chinese Muslims. Stanford: Stanford University Press, 2000.
[24] Uradyn, Erden, Bulag. Dilemmas The Mongols at China’s edge: history and the politics of national unity. New York: Rowman & Littlefield, 2002.
[25] Rubin, Barry. Guide to Islamist Movements. New York: M.E. Sharpe, 2000.
[26] Uradyn, Erden, Bulag. Dilemmas The Mongols at China’s edge: history and the politics of national unity. New York: Rowman & Littlefield, 2002.
[27] Israeli, Raphael. Islam in China. New York: Lexington Books, 2002.
[28] Rubin, Barry. Guide to Islamist Movements. New York: M.E. Sharpe, 2000.
[29] Lipman, Newman. Familiar Strangers, a history of Muslims in Northwest China. Seattle, WA: University of Washington Press, 1997.
[30] The China Report. History of Islam in China and the distribution of the Islamic Faith in China . 2011. http://www.drben.net/ChinaReport/Sources/History/Islam/History_Islam_in_China-6 Islam_under_The_Peoples_Republic-1949AD-Present.html (accessed November 23, 2011).
[31] Rubin, Barry. Guide to Islamist Movements. New York: M.E. Sharpe, 2000.
[32] Israeli, Raphael. Islam in China. New York: Lexington Books, 2002.
[33] Rubin, Barry. Guide to Islamist Movements. New York: M.E. Sharpe, 2000.
[34] The China Report. History of Islam in China and the distribution of the Islamic Faith in China . 2011. http://www.drben.net/ChinaReport/Sources/History/Islam/History_Islam_in_China-6 Islam_under_The_Peoples_Republic-1949AD-Present.html (accessed November 23, 2011).
[35] Israeli, Raphael. Islam in China. New York: Lexington Books, 2002.
[36] The China Report. History of Islam in China and the distribution of the Islamic Faith in China . 2011. http://www.drben.net/ChinaReport/Sources/History/Islam/History_Islam_in_China-6 Islam_under_The_Peoples_Republic-1949AD-Present.html (accessed November 23, 2011).
[37] Gillette, Maris. Between Mecca and Beijing: modernization and consumption among urban Chinese Muslims. Stanford: Stanford University Press, 2000.
[38] Uradyn, Erden, Bulag. Dilemmas The Mongols at China’s edge: history and the politics of national unity. New York: Rowman & Littlefield, 2002.
[39] The China Report. History of Islam in China and the distribution of the Islamic Faith in China . 2011. http://www.drben.net/ChinaReport/Sources/History/Islam/History_Islam_in_China-6 Islam_under_The_Peoples_Republic-1949AD-Present.html (accessed November 23, 2011).
[40] Israeli, Raphael. Islam in China. New York: Lexington Books, 2002.
[41] Uradyn, Erden, Bulag. Dilemmas The Mongols at China’s edge: history and the politics of national unity. New York: Rowman & Littlefield, 2002.
[42] The China Report. History of Islam in China and the distribution of the Islamic Faith in China . 2011. http://www.drben.net/ChinaReport/Sources/History/Islam/History_Islam_in_China-6 Islam_under_The_Peoples_Republic-1949AD-Present.html (accessed November 23, 2011).
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