What is likely to happen in China, given the lessons of history, is that the “Sinicization” of Islam will proceed, and will appear to be a comprehensive success. Then, when the Communist Party begins to weaken, suddenly and unexpectedly, traditional Islam will begin to reemerge. We have seen this in the West. One hundred years ago, Islamic societies were largely Westernized, and even as late as the immediate aftermath of 9/11, Western “experts” were confidently predicting that Islamic societies would secularize and Westernize after the pattern of secular Turkey. Since then, Turkey has re-Islamized, and Western influences have receded drastically in Islamic societies. The same thing will likely happen in China. Ma Xingrui and his ilk are atheists who don’t understand the religious impulse. Under Communist pressure, it will recede, but it won’t disappear, and it will return when it can.
“Top official from China’s Xinjiang says ‘Sinicisation’ of Islam ‘inevitable,'” by Laurie Chen, Reuters, March 7, 2024:
BEIJING (Reuters) – Xinjiang’s top Communist Party official said on Thursday that the “Sinicisation” of Islam in the Muslim-majority region in northwestern China, where Beijing is accused of human rights abuses, is “inevitable”.
“Everyone knows that Islam in Xinjiang needs to be Sinicised, this is an inevitable trend,” regional party chief Ma Xingrui told reporters at a largely scripted briefing on the sidelines of China’s annual parliamentary sessions in Beijing.
Rights groups accuse Beijing of widespread abuses of Uyghurs, a mainly Muslim ethnic minority that numbers around 10 million in Xinjiang, including denying Uyghurs full religious freedoms. Beijing vigorously denies any abuses.
Chinese President Xi Jinping has repeatedly called for the “Sinicisation” of religions including Islam, Buddhism and Christianity, urging followers to pledge loyalty to the Communist Party above all else. About two-thirds of mosques in Xinjiang have been damaged or destroyed since 2017, according to an Australian think-tank report.
During the news conference, Ma and other regional officials praised Xinjiang’s economic development, refuted U.S. allegations of forced labour and cultural genocide, and tried to paint the region as open to foreign tourism and investment.
Ma, a high-flying former governor of prosperous Guangdong province who was transferred to Xinjiang in 2021, stressed the need to “coordinate security and development”.
“The three forces are still active now, but we cannot be afraid (to open up) because they exist,” said Ma, using a political slogan referring to “ethnic separatism, religious extremism and violent terrorist forces” in Xinjiang….
࿗Infidel࿘ says
China needs to follow Burma’s example: simply expel their muslims to the neighboring countries of Kyrgystan and Kazakhstan, which are ethnically similar (fellow Turkic) & where they can just be an addition. They can practice islam in a way that their regimes allow, which while not Taliban, would still be better than Beijing. That’s better than forcefully keeping them within China & trying to re-define what islam is. Which could only work if China somehow “sinicizes” islam in all countries, not just in China
Ray Jarman says
Excellent posting but where would Apple and others find cheap labour?
࿗Infidel࿘ says
Africa? Where Chinese companies are themselves outsourcing their labor b’cos the Chinese have become too expensive
tharmon says
izlam and communism. they deserve each other.
Kepha says
I could not agree more! Long live East Turkistan’s anti-colonial struggle! May it occupy China’s energies for the next few centuries!
BTW, inevitable is the CCP’s favorite word.
They’re also trying to “Sinicize” (read, 19th century Prussianize) Christianity, too.
somehistory says
By oppression they are trying to completely destroy Christianity.
Ray Graham says
That’s very sad but I agree with dealing with Islam which is a global cancer!
࿗Infidel࿘ says
Not sure I agree. “East Turkistan’s” struggle/jihad is similar to that of Bosnia and Kosovo in the 90s, when in the name of fighting the Yugoslav state, they ended up in wars w/ not just the Serbs, but also North Macedonians. Similarly, the Uyghurs have been at odds w/ not just the Chicoms, but also Buddhists and Shamans in their midst
I’m for a permanent stalemate in Xinjiang. Most humane solution I support: letting all the Uyghur people leave & re-settle not in Western or other non-muslim countries, but in Kyrgyzstan and Kazakhstan, which are ethnically the closest to them
Pray says
Looks like the Chinese will have to learn about islam the hard way also.
JimJFox says
China knows full well what Islam is & deals with it. Rest of World must take note & do likewise, America & Europe in particular.
ALL Religions are harmful to some degree, ISLAM 100%
somehistory says
Wrong again.
Christianity is not harmful when followed correctly.
࿗Infidel࿘ says
They have written their own quran, which is completely different from the original quran. The problem is not that they don’t know islam: the problem is that they think they can change islam
What they should do is allow the people who wanna follow islam to leave for Kyrgyzstan and Kazakhstan, where they will be allowed to practice islam, sans the jihad (other than some Russians, there ain’t too many non-muslims), and the ones who remain, indoctrinate them in whatever Chinese culture is. If the regime in Beijing ever falls, then ideally, the areas should become parts of Tibet or Mongolia
Barbara says
Islam is on the march. It is invading and conquering western countries. When all are living under Islam rule, they will turn their attention to Russia and China.
Putin and Xi are fooling themselves if they think they will be safe. The Koran says the whole world will bow to Islam.
John Pepple says
Yes. On the one hand, Russia and China, unlike the West, have the will to stand up to Islam. On the other hand, they are both aging in comparison with the Muslim world, so I think they are in trouble.
tgusa says
One thing you can always count on is China being China no matter what group is in charge at the time.
somehistory says
The chinese people are very arrogant on the whole. I’m not claiming that every individual chinese person is, but as a group mentality, they are.
I have encountered many in settings where I could observe their attitude toward us lowly Caucasians of American extraction. Or maybe that’s Americans of Caucasian extraction. (even though Asian is the final part of the word)
In broken, hard to understand English, they talk down, push and shove and demand to be first.
And they believe in the idea that they are more intelligent than anyone else.
so let them make their wrongheaded attempts at making islam chinese.
Ray Graham says
That’s very sad but I agree with dealing with Islam which is a global cancer!
patriotliz says
Isn’t it odd that the CCP attacks and seeks to eradicate Islam (and all other religions) but Western Commie Globalists embrace Islam, at least as an ally, to replace Christianity. Obviously Muslims and Western Commie atheists are using each other to achieve power…the question is who will survive and dominate?
Currently, the Muslims in the West are good at intimidating the Western Commies with threats of violence and loss of political support if they don’t sympathize with Hamas terrorism. In any event, the Western Commies want to eliminate Judeo-Christian Western Civilization so there is no big disagreement with attacking and purging Jews along with Christians.
chelseaboy says
I learned a new word!
Eduardo Garcia says
China want no to become DIMMIES like Europeans, Australians, New Zeland, Canada, United States of America and wherever are muslims.