Chinese Muslim Are Small In Number

Islam in China can be dated back to the time when Islam was founded. Around the seventh century, a companion of Muhammed was sent as an envoy to China. The Emperor ordered that a mosque be built in China then. This was during the Tang dynasty. Unlike most other Muslim communities, Chinese Muslims have female imams amongst them.

Islam came to China about twenty years after the Prophet’s death. The envoy was the maternal uncle of the Prophet. After the Prophet’s death, there was a divide among the Muslims about who might become his successor. While some of them though that his family members should succeed, as they had his blood, others thought anyone capable of leading the community would be good enough.

The Memorial mosque in Canton is the first mosque that was established in China. The Hui Chi tribe in China was among the first of the Chinese to accept Islam. The other Muslims in China were Arab and Persian merchant settlements. During the Song dynasty, the Muslim settlers had come to control the import and export trade in the country.

The total Muslim population in China totals to about 1 to 2 percent of the entire Chinese population. Ten minority groups that are recognized in China are Muslims. Though the Muslims are spread throughout China, they are most significant in the north and south west regions. As with all the other Muslim communities in the world, the Chinese Muslims too are a majority of the Sunni sect.

A lot of Chinese Muslims have attended the Hajj during the fifteenth and eighteenth century. Sometime during the cultural revolution, they were not allowed to attend the pilgrimage, and many of them travelled to Mecca through Pakistan. This order was reversed in the year 1979. No one knows yet, if Muslims from China went to the Hajj before the eighteenth century.

In 1953, the Islamic Association of China was founded. This represents all the Muslim members from China. The China Islamic Association was founded in 2001 by the Chinese government. This association is run by 16 Muslim religious leaders, who work hard towards providing the needs for the Muslims in the country. They have also achieved a few memorable things that can be noted.

First, no one can breed pigs in an area where there is a majority of Muslims living. This is done to protect the feelings of the Muslims, as they consider it to be very dirty. Muslim communities are also allowed to have separate cemeteries. If a Muslim couple wants to marry, they can be united by an imam. Muslim workers may take holidays during their religious festivals.

It has now become official, that Chinese Muslims can make their yearly pilgrimage to Mecca. Islamic educational opportunities have increased over the last few years. There are mosque schools, government Islamic schools and also private Islamic schools. A lot of students from China have travelled overseas to be a part of Islamic institutes there. This is a big step forward for them.