ISLAMIC CHINA

A scholar illuminates a well-known minority.

Readers concerned about China’s treatment of its Muslims or curious about Islam’s eastward spread (it arrived in China in the Yuan dynasty, 1279-1368 C.E.) should consult a general history such as Karen Armstrong’s. Historian Thum, author of The Sacred Routes of Uyghur History, is writing for other scholars of religion or perhaps pious Muslims seeking to learn about their co-religionists in the Far East. He opens by denouncing the traditional division of Asia into two zones with names such as “Western or Mohammedan Asia” and “Eastern or Buddhist Asia” and the view of Islam in China as an isolated development with little external influence. Until the communist takeover, China’s elite tolerated most religions but believed that they were a superior race and the object of envy from all men of good sense. Although Muslims, like Christians, believe that they follow the only true faith, Chinese Muslims had no problem with this, and their teachers devoted themselves to refining Islamic doctrine, correcting backsliding, and explaining that Confucian, Buddhist, and Daoist concepts were salient elements of a Chinese Islam. Books preserve their teaching, and Thum has written a scholarly book about scholars and the books they wrote. Many authors appear, but Thum devotes much of his text to Ma Lianyuan (1841-1903), who taught, wrote, and traveled extensively. Most readers will be surprised to learn that, until the 20th century, Persian and Arabic texts served as the primary Islamic educational curriculum in China. Ma supported the move toward Chinese texts but also acknowledged a significant South Asian contribution. While this book is not aimed at a general audience, readers searching for insights into doctrine and religious education of China’s Muslims need go no further.

A deep dive into Sino-Islamic culture.