China is one of the most important and highly influential countries in the world. In recent years China had developed strong relations with Muslim countries and paved the way for restoration of diplomatic relations between two highly important and influential Muslim countries, Saudi Arabia and Iran. This is highly appreciable and the whole Muslim world admired Chinese role in this regard. This will pave the way for durable peace and stability in the region. China has strategic relations with Islamic Republic of Pakistan and Islamic Republic of Iran and now moving towards very strong and strategic relations with Saudi Arabia. China is very important part of BRICS and with the expansion of it and inclusion of Iran, Saudi Arabia and Egypt now Muslim countries are also have a substantial share in cooperation in economic development programme which is another important and quantum step. Palestinian President Mahmood Abbas visited China on June,2023. During his four days visit he met with Chinese President XI Jinping and exchanged opinions on the latest development on the Palestinian arena as well as on regional and international lines of mutual concerns. Chinese foreign ministry described Abbas as an, “Old and good friend of Chinese people”. China has firmly supported the just cause of the Palestinian people to restore their legitimate national rights. President XI visited to Saudi Arabia in December,2022 to attend First China-Arab States Summit where he promised to work for an early, just and durable solution to the Palestinian issue. China has also proposed an unprecedented summit with Iran and the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) which could take place later this year. All this move seems a right direction of having strong relations between China and Muslim Countries.
Islam and Muslims are integral part of China and there are mainly ten Muslim ethnic groups in China. Besides the Hui, Uygur minorities, they also include the Kazak, Kirgyz, Uzbek. Tatar and Tajik minorities in Xinjian; the Salar minorities in Qinghai; the Dongxiang minority and the Bonan minority in Gansu.
At present, there are over 34,000 mosques (Masjids) in China. This indicates that in China, for every 600 Muslims of the 20 or 21 million Muslim Community there is a masjid. Many of these mosques were restored or newly built in 1980s. The Islamic Association of China was founded in Beijing in 1953, serving as a nationwide organization of Islam in China; its association journal, Chinese Muslims is published in both Chinese and Uygur, some provinces, autonomous regions and municipalities where Muslims live in compact communities all have their own Islamic associations as well as publications. China now publishes the Quran in ten languages to meet the needs of Muslims readers among various ethnic groups. China has eleven Islamic academies for mosque education. China Islamic Institute, founded in Beijing in 1955, is the highest institution of learning in Chinese Islam. China has more than 50,000 Akhunds, a Persian title for the leaders of Mosques who are called” Imams” in Arabic. Every year about 10, 000 Muslims go to perform Hajj (Pilgrimage to Makkah), over the past thirty years about 12,000 Muslim students have completed their Islamic Studies abroad, and another 100,000 have studied Islam in the religious schools in China. All these facts and figures show that Islam is not significant issue for contemporary China’s political and social landscape. Islam is one of the officially recognized religions in China others are Buddhism, Taoism, Protestantism and Catholicism). Whether wearing their long robes, turbans or hijabs Muslims can be seen all over China; from the big Cities of Beijing and Shanghai to the Island of Hainan, from Inner Mongolia in the north to Yunnan in the south, from western border of Tibet to the eastern coastal region. However more than half of the Muslim population lives in Northwest China, particularly in the Uygur autonomous region of Xinjiang, the vast region where 23,000 mosques serve ethnic communities, including Uygur, Kazak, Kirghiz, Tajik, Uzbek, Salar, Hui, Dongxiang and Baoan. Islam is also flourishing in the academic world. There are more than sixty Islamic periodicals, Muslims professors and scholars teach and conduct research on Islam in various universities and research institute.
Three Islamic institutions form the backbone of this network. Firstly, the mosque plays a central role in the Chinese Muslim Community. Besides its religious functions, such as administrative management, festival celebration, social mobilization, economic enterprises, cultural education, or even daily life affairs. Hence, the mosque is a stronghold that binds its local community, while stretching out its external relations with communities in other areas, in order to establish the Ummah (Muslim nation) in the context of an unreactive environment. Secondly, the maktab (primary level Islamic school) and madrassah (Islamic college or university) provides the Chinese Muslim community with education in Islamic knowledge, faith reinforcement, and passes Islamic tradition to the next generation. Most Maktabs and Madrassahs in China are attached to the mosques, however there are also quite a few madrasas set up independently and open to all Muslims in society. They are not only responsible for the maintenance of Islam and to cultivate young Muslims, but also to strengthen and revival Islamic consciousness of Muslims of all ages. Maktabas and madrassas often regenerate the vitality of the community that is in perpetual competition with a non-Muslim Chinese community over the limited economic resources, and has to survive in a context of social and cultural tension. Islamic education is like the soul of the community, binding all Muslims into strong organization, regardless their social, economic, or political background. Thirdly, the Qubba (Tomb of a Muslim Scholar or elderly) forms the nexus of Sufi Community of Islamic Mysticism. More than one third of the Chinese Muslims are affiliated to one or another Sufi order. Many Qubbas do not merely function as the burial place for the Sufi saints or Sufi saints or Sufi leaders, bare places of pilgrimage for Sufi followers, turning them into a religious complex that combines the functions of a mosque, maktab and madrassah, and the tomb. The Qubba thus plays a comprehensive role in the Sufi societal network. Thus, Chinese Muslims have strategically formed a religious, social and cultural network that has made Islam in China an institutionalized entity binding the widely dispersed and ethnically diverse Muslim communities or enclaves into a considerably coherent, partly unified Muslim Ummah.
Islam entered China by two main routes: from the south-east, following the well-established maritime communication lines to Canton, and from the north-west, passing over the Pamirs and through the Tarim Basin to Kansu and Shensi, following the ancient Silk Road. Many of the Muslim merchants, soldiers and freebooters who entered China via these routes (predominantly) Arabs and Persians in the south-east and Turks and Persians in the north-west) settled down and married Chinese wives, this giving rise Hui (Chinese speaking) Muslim Community which is today scattered throughout China.
Muslims make up about 2% of the population of China, but the country is so populous, its Muslim population is expected to the 19th largest in the world in 2030. The Muslim population in China is expected to increase from 23.3 million in 2010 to nearly 30 million in 2030.
It is interesting to mention that Chinese Muslims outnumbers the Muslim populations in many Middle Eastern countries and features great ethnic diversity. Chinese Muslims ethnic and geographic diversity is also reflected in the practice of Islam. Most of China’s Muslims are Sunni, with some Uyghurs also follow Sufi traditions. Some practices are common to all Chinese Muslim Communities, such as abstention from Pork and celebration of Ramadhan. Increased translation of texts from Arabic to Chinese, the rise of social media for sharing religious content, and growing number of Dawa missionaries from the Middle East and South Asia.
There is a need that Chines Muslims and other Chinese communities join hands and do not allow extremism, intolerance and to understand Islam by Holy Quran and the life of Holy Prophet Muhammad (Peace be upon him). China and its leadership having strong relationship with Muslim countries are vital for the development, progress and prosperity in the world and Islam being one of the greatest religions of the world being followed by 1.75 billion people in all over the world in all continents has global appeal and till 2050 it would be the largest religion in the world while China the largest economy of the world both cannot ignore each other. Muslim countries learn science, technology and economic development and Muslim can explain Chinese their spiritual system and the message of Prophet Muhammad (Peace be upon him) which gives the concept of UNIVERSAL BROTHERHOOD. I hope in coming years there would be more cooperation between China and Muslims, More and more Muslims want to visit China therefore there is a need to introduce HILAL FOOD in Chinese restaurants and Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, Indonesia, Malaysia, Saudi Arabia and Qatar can play their role in this regard to export Hilal Food to China. This will increase number of Muslim tourists visit to China.