True. However it was mostly backed/supported and instigated by the Soviet Russia against the KMT(Chinese nationalist government), since Stalin wanted to reassert Soviet influence in the region like he already did in Manchuria/North East China.
I'm afraid that will be interpreted by many Muslims as anti-Islam, and the country might suffer consequences for such a policy.
Moreover , i don't see anything wrong with Chinese women wearing headscarves and Chinese Muslim men keeping beards. A full scale veil that covers the entire body from head to toes like the Burqa, yes i agree it should be banned totally(even some Muslim countries banned it) since as far as i know it's not even in the Quran so its not a religious attire just a cultural one originating from Iran if i'm not mistaken.
Actually the Pakistani member is right to some extent, Many muslims in the middle east and even South Asia(Pakistan , Bangladesh etc) view themselves as muslims first before their country. You can't blame them since for them Islam transcends nationality and thus rejects nationalism. In fact from what i have heard/red Islam has explicitly rejected the basis of nationalism, and states that language, colour and race are no criteria for unity and privilege. The only criteria are belief and virtue. So a common ideology is the basis of the unity of the Islamic ummah, not race, country, language or even culture.
This makes both incompatible, since if we look at it closely, the goal of nationalism is to create national units, whereas the goal of Islam is universal unity. To nationalism what matters the most is loyalty and attachment to the homeland, whereas to Islam, it is God and religion. Nationalism gives authenticity to geographical boundaries and racial distinctions, whereas Islam negates them. Nationalism inclines to limitation and race, but Islam assumes a universal outlook. So this is the part where both starts having conflicting views and as such this might create issues between some real practicing muslims and the state(especially if that state is not islamic or has laws that muslims view as not going against their religion and beliefs). So if a muslim was to really follow his religion by the word, it might be difficult for him not to go against the government depending on their policies/laws.
However , its good that the vast majority of muslims (and even other religions) are adapting to a changing world, integrating into the countries they live and abiding by the laws and even being patriotic/nationalistic and showing love for their country first and foremost. We have to be realistic at times, not too superstitious.
China had many wars and unrest in its history, its wrong to say one particular group is responsible. The unrest in Xinjiang is an Ethnic problem and they seek cohesion and international support through religion and Jihad. Hui Muslims are victims of Uyghur violence as well because they see themselves closer to the Han. Remember when you mix people and organized religion it always ends in political religion. When societies weaken or collapse and they always come in cycles all these problems manifest in the most extreme of ways.
Tensions with Uyghurs
“We have to conquer our own country and purify it of all infidels. Then, we should conquer the infidels’ countries and spread Islam. The infidels who are usurping our countries have announced war against Islam and Muslims, forcing Muslims to abandon Islam and change their beliefs.” -
Abdullah Mansour, leader of the Uyghur separatist movement
Turkistan Islamic Party (East Turkestan Islamic Movement), from “The Duty of Faith and Support,” Voice of Islam/al-Fajr Media Center, August 26, 2009.
A
Uyghur proverb says "Protect religion, Kill the Han and
destroy the Hui".(baohu zongjiao, sha Han mie Hui 保護宗教,殺漢滅回).
Anti Hui poetry was written by Uyghurs.
In Bayanday there is a brick factory,
it had been built by the Chinese.
If the Chinese are killed by soldiers,
the Tungans take over the plundering.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ethnic_issues_in_China
"Protect the religion, Kill the Han and destroy the Hui" are they protecting the religion when they kill other muslims and innocent people? thats what i mean by humans will always politicise overt religion. Humans are petty beings that will taint our holy figures to further our political agenda. More will be explained.
When some muslims within or outside of China hear those words they are fooled by the rage they feel inside and compelled to do acts of violence because they feel like their being and identity is under attack when they had not even experience real oppression. Their perception is important. You think the Chinese state will not do anything about that? Does my Muslim friends outside of china feel any sympathy towards my Hui friends who are being killed and discriminated by some Uyghurs (Most Uyghurs are good people)? Or do you feel Hui are just Chinese and support Uyghurs to spite China? This is a two way street. its just scratching the surface.
Personally I do not want to see that niqab or burka in China its an ancient Arab practice but I have nothing wrong with the headscarf. Its like if Chinese forced Europeans and Middle Easterners to bind the feet of their women, how will you feel? In fact my great great-grandmother had her feet bound, it was a sign of modesty, beauty, and wealth. When in reality it was a way for wealthy men to confine their women to their homes and forcefully maintain the family structure. It was the product of an ancient practice, might have been oppressive but useful then but not so appropriate now.
- Sure they can interpret it like that but does the Koran say to be a muslim women one must be covered and a man must have a beard? Is that the qualifier for a good muslim or is that just ancient Arabic culture?
- I don't see Turkish people along the coast doing that or any of my Pakistani friends and their wives, are you saying they are not good Muslims?
- Are you saying that a Wahhabist interpretation is the only interpretation of Islam? any deviation is apostate and death. Suffer what kind of consequences?
- Are they going to rebel against the Chinese government and kill Chinese people for not allowing the veil and beard?
Compatibility with Chinese culture:
Precisely, Islam is God and religion above all else but its an Abrahamic God interpreted by the culture of Arabia using Arab values. Its fine in China if its a Chinese god interpreted by Chinese scholars using Chinese values with the holy site in China. I'm not saying this to be mean, just stating my honest views. In fact Chinese have the concept for a singular god Shangdi上帝 (
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shangdi) too and quite a long history of it we are not as atheistic as people believe (we don't reject god nor do we enforce it) but western scholars think we are an atheistic society because we never show it in ways they understand or tell people about it, declare war in the name of Shangdi, build institutions around Shangdi, preach the greatness of Shangdi, its concept its deeply embedded within Chinese culture (multiple works of literature) not in the form of a single book a person can read. There is a good reason why Chinese don't practice spirituality the same way as the rest of the world (especially Abrahamic religions) and that difference is Chinese modesty, not saying others are not modest but Chinese show modesty in different ways.
Chinese modesty:
Modesty for Chinese means keeping whats important to you within your hearts not flaunting it around as a symbol because we believe that vastly degrades the value of it and very immodest. And symbols for us isn't as important as the values that they teach, its because China has such a long history that symbols will decay over the thousands of years because of societal collapses and wars. In the end we only leave ourselves with what is important.
For example: If Mohammad the Prophet was born in the central plains of China and unified the Middle Kingdom and brought Islam he would be seen as the great figure but no one after him would be named Mohammad ever again. This is vastly different from Abrahamic religions with countless Mohammads, Johns, Michaels, etc. This is simply because we would view Mohammad as such a holy figure or such a great man that no one after can live up to the name and bearing that name but failing to be greater than Mohammad would mean disgrace to the name, and no one would want that. Thats why you don't see Chinese being named Mao Zedong, Confucius, or any great ancient Chinese figure. In fact if a Chinese person was named after great figures people would think their parents were distasteful or that this person was too ahead of themselves with a big ego. We would think shame has been brought upon the name if a common person is named after a great man and will make the name cheap when it was held at a higher standard. A modern interpretation would be like Sports Jerseys being in the hall of fame, forever taken by the greats. Thats how Chinese honour our great figures, we dont like to shame their name by the petty behaviours of the common man because god and the greats are above the common man.
We don't build institutions around our single deity Shangdi, preach it, etc. because we feel any of that is just tainting God with our human emotions and politics. God is beyond the petty human behaviour we are using god as a political tool from a very disingenuous place.
The core reason why China restricts the overt showcase of individual's adherence to religion is that it is ultimately a political statement. If a person truly have strong faith its viewed in Chinese culture that they will stay faithful no matter the environment even without symbols of religion because they don't need it to be faithful. If you keep faith within your hearts then no one can ever take that away from you and thats the ultimate form of modesty as interpreted by Chinese values.