In this week’s reading, there was a chapter which talks about Mosques, Qu’ranic Education, and Arabization of Hui Muslim in Xian. The author says, “Imitation of Arab dress, architecture and other practices was an important feature of Islamic reform….By the 1980s and 1990s, Arabic dress, architecture, and Qur’anic pronunciation had spread to far-flung Muslim communities as various Muslims strove to recapture the “one true religion”. The writer talks about building mosques based on “Arabic” style rather than a syncretic mosque, learning accurate Qu’ranic pronunciation. During the last couple of classes, we had a lengthy discussion on religious syncretism which generated much interesting debate. The mention of Arabization in this reading is in response to the sincization of Islam. Arabization is an Islamic form of modernization and it is a way to make Islam in China more authentic. With the assimilation to Chinese culture, Islamic reformists in China see the urge to maximize their ties with Middle Eastern Muslims and Arabization is a also a way to resist sincization of Islam. The opening of China definitely helps the Muslims in China to stay close to their Islamic roots.
In addition to the reading of this course, I have also read an article on Hui Muslims who work on Arabization in terms of their clothing. The article talks about Hui women in Xian wearing a Saudi-style veil in order to show their Muslim authenticity. To read the article, please click here.
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