Between the Sacred and the Secular: Living Islam in China

Abstract

Islam arrived in China with the Arab and Persian caravans and travellers in the middle of the seventh century during the Tang Dynasty. As a gesture of hospitality, Tang Emperors granted the construction of great mosques in port cities like Guangzhou, Quanzhou and Changzhou as well as the capital city of Chang’an. As more and more Muslims began to settle in China, small communities were formed centering on these mosques. Known as fanfang, these Muslim communities were given a great deal of autonomy to deal with their internal affairs following Shari’a or the Islamic law, while any conflict that involved non-Muslims was subjected to the Chinese secular law. Such tolerance toward Muslim communities made it possible for Islam to adapt itself to the dominant Confucian social order. Although the scope of such religious autonomy has become quite limited throughout time and was once revoked during the Cultural Revolution, Islamic law still plays important roles within Chinese Muslim communities mediating a wide range of conflict from marital problems to business disputes. This chapter is comprised of three parts. First, it recounts the changing status of Shari’a law in China since its first implementation within early Muslim communities. Second, it briefly examines the scholarly writings since the Ming Dynasty that sought to use Confucian ritual etiquette and social structure to understand Islamic teachings. Finally, the author will draw on her own empirical studies on Chinese Muslim businesspeople to explore the various ways China’s Muslim minorities has developed to thrive in a non-Muslim society.