Islamophobia in China

Islamophobia in the People's Republic of China refers to the set of discourses, behaviors and structures which express feelings of anxiety, fear, hostility and rejection towards Islam and/or Muslims in China.

Negative views and attitudes towards Muslims in China are widespread, and some Muslim communities in China face legal restrictions on their ability to practice. Muslim prisoners in detention centers and internment camps have faced practices such as being force-fed pork. Prohibitions on fasting during Ramadan for Uyghurs in Xinjiang are couched in terms of protecting residents' free will.{{Cite news |date=11 April 2024 |title=What Ramadan is like in Xinjiang |url=https://www.economist.com/china/2024/04/11/what-ramadan-is-like-in-xinjiang |url-access=subscription |url-status=live |archive-url=https://archive.is/8sk1Q |archive-date=1 May 2024 |access-date=2024-04-12 |work=The Economist |issn=0013-0613}}

In the 21st century, coverage of Muslims in Chinese media has generally been negative, and Islamophobic content is widespread on Chinese social media. Anti-Muslim attitudes in China have been tied to both narratives regarding historical conflicts between China and Muslim polities as well as contemporary rhetoric related to terrorism in China and abroad.{{Cite news |last=Myers |first=Steven Lee |date=2019-09-21 |title=A Crackdown on Islam Is Spreading Across China |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2019/09/21/world/asia/china-islam-crackdown.html |access-date=2023-07-25 |issn=0362-4331 |archive-date=2019-09-24 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190924010442/https://www.nytimes.com/2019/09/21/world/asia/china-islam-crackdown.html |url-status=live }}

History

{{See also|Antireligious campaigns of the Chinese Communist Party|Persecution of Uyghurs in China|History of Islam in China}}Recent scholars contend that historical conflicts between the Han Chinese and Muslims like the Dungan Revolt against the Qing dynasty have been used by some Han Chinese to legitimize and fuel anti-Muslim beliefs and bias in contemporary China.{{Cite journal |last=Qian |first=Jingyuan |date=2023-01-01 |title=Historical Ethnic Conflicts and the Rise of Islamophobia in Modern China |journal=Ethnopolitics |language=en |volume=22 |issue=1 |pages=43–68 |doi=10.1080/17449057.2021.2001954 |issn=1744-9057}}{{Cite web|last=Theaker|first=Hannah|date=2019-08-02|title=Wounds that fester: Histories of Chinese Islamophobia|url=https://theasiadialogue.com/2019/08/02/wounds-that-fester-histories-of-chinese-islamophobia/|access-date=2021-05-23|website=University of Nottingham Asia Research Institute|language=en-GB|archive-date=2021-05-23|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210523174640/https://theasiadialogue.com/2019/08/02/wounds-that-fester-histories-of-chinese-islamophobia/|url-status=live}} Following the establishment of the People's Republic of China in 1949, ten ethnic groups that were traditionally Muslim eventually were designated as part of the state's recognized ethnicities.{{Cite book |last=Feng |first=Emily |author-link=Emily Feng |title=Let Only Red Flowers Bloom: Identity and Belonging in Xi Jinping's China |date=2025 |publisher=The Crown Publishing Group |isbn=978-0-593-59422-3 |edition=1st |location=New York |pages=105 |quote=To be Muslim now meant being born ethnically Hui or into one of China's nine other Muslim ethnicities.}} According to Emily Feng, state-sanctioned ethnic distinctions for traditionally Muslim groups created a "buffer against proselytization and the further spread of Islam in China." Scholars and researchers have also argued that Western Islamophobia and the "War on Terror" have contributed to the mainstreaming of anti-Muslim sentiments and practices in China.{{Cite web|last=Hammond|first=Kelly Anne|date=24 May 2019|title=The history of China's Muslims and what's behind their persecution|url=http://theconversation.com/the-history-of-chinas-muslims-and-whats-behind-their-persecution-117365|access-date=2021-05-23|website=The Conversation|language=en|archive-date=2021-05-17|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210517163915/https://theconversation.com/the-history-of-chinas-muslims-and-whats-behind-their-persecution-117365|url-status=live}}{{Cite news |last=Tazamal |first=Mobashra |title=Chinese Islamophobia was made in the West |url=https://www.aljazeera.com/opinions/2019/1/21/chinese-islamophobia-was-made-in-the-west |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210523164824/https://www.aljazeera.com/opinions/2019/1/21/chinese-islamophobia-was-made-in-the-west |archive-date=2021-05-23 |access-date=2021-05-23 |website=Al Jazeera |language=en}}{{Cite web|last=Brophy|first=David|date=2019-07-09|title=Good and Bad Muslims in Xinjiang|url=https://madeinchinajournal.com/2019/07/09/good-and-bad-muslims-in-xinjiang/|access-date=2021-05-23|website=Made in China Journal|language=en-US|archive-date=2021-04-20|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210420234607/https://madeinchinajournal.com/2019/07/09/good-and-bad-muslims-in-xinjiang/|url-status=live}}

Middle Easterners in China interviewed by the Middle East Institute in 2018 generally did not report discrimination. However, a Yemeni student said that he received unfavorable reactions from some Chinese when he stated he was a Muslim.{{Cite web |last=Yellinek |first=Roie |date=10 April 2018 |title=Middle Eastern Students and Young Professionals in China: A Mutual Investment in the Future |url=https://www.mei.edu/publications/middle-eastern-students-and-young-professionals-china-mutual-investment-future |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220320003448/https://www.mei.edu/publications/middle-eastern-students-and-young-professionals-china-mutual-investment-future |archive-date=20 March 2022 |website=Middle East Institute |language=en}}

It has been reported that Muslims were being forced to eat pork in detention centers and in the Xinjiang internment camps.{{Cite news|last=Regencia|first=Ted|date=4 December 2020|title=Uighurs forced to eat pork as China expands Xinjiang pig farms|url=https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2020/12/4/holduighurs-forced-to-eat-pork-as-hog-farming-in-xinjiang-expands|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201204004246/https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2020/12/4/holduighurs-forced-to-eat-pork-as-hog-farming-in-xinjiang-expands|archive-date=2020-12-04|access-date=2020-12-04|website=Al Jazeera|language=en}} Since Xi Jinping became General Secretary of the Chinese Communist Party, campaigns against Islam have extended to the Hui people and Utsul community in Hainan.{{Cite news|last=Myers|first=Steven Lee|date=2019-09-22|title=A Crackdown on Islam Is Spreading Across China|language=en-US|work=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2019/09/21/world/asia/china-islam-crackdown.html|url-status=live|access-date=2020-09-20|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190924010442/https://www.nytimes.com/2019/09/21/world/asia/china-islam-crackdown.html|archive-date=2019-09-24|issn=0362-4331}}{{Cite news |last=Feng |first=Emily |author-link=Emily Feng |date=September 26, 2019 |title='Afraid We Will Become The Next Xinjiang': China's Hui Muslims Face Crackdown |url=https://www.npr.org/2019/09/26/763356996/afraid-we-will-become-the-next-xinjiang-chinas-hui-muslims-face-crackdown |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191008040239/https://www.npr.org/2019/09/26/763356996/afraid-we-will-become-the-next-xinjiang-chinas-hui-muslims-face-crackdown |archive-date=October 8, 2019 |access-date=September 20, 2020 |work=NPR}}{{Cite news |last=Feng |first=Emily |author-link=Emily Feng |date=November 21, 2020 |title=China Targets Muslim Scholars And Writers With Increasingly Harsh Restrictions |url=https://www.npr.org/2020/11/21/932169863/china-targets-muslim-scholars-and-writers-with-increasingly-harsh-restrictions |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201121134353/https://www.npr.org/2020/11/21/932169863/china-targets-muslim-scholars-and-writers-with-increasingly-harsh-restrictions |archive-date=November 21, 2020 |access-date=November 21, 2020 |work=NPR}}{{Cite news |last=Baptista |first=Eduardo |date=2020-09-28 |title=Tiny Muslim community becomes latest target for China's religious crackdown |url=https://www.scmp.com/news/china/politics/article/3103253/tiny-muslim-community-chinas-far-south-becomes-latest-target |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201016015718/https://www.scmp.com/news/china/politics/article/3103253/tiny-muslim-community-chinas-far-south-becomes-latest-target |archive-date=2020-10-16 |access-date=2020-10-16 |website=South China Morning Post |language=en}} In 2023, NPR reported on ways that the Chinese government is actively preventing Chinese Muslim from going on the Hajj such as confiscation of passports.{{Cite news |last=Feng |first=Emily |author-link=Emily Feng |date=August 17, 2023 |title=China makes it harder for its Muslim citizens to go to Mecca, or anywhere else |url=https://www.npr.org/2023/08/17/1189860622/china-muslims-mecca-hajj-travel-surveillance |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230818211446/https://www.npr.org/2023/08/17/1189860622/china-muslims-mecca-hajj-travel-surveillance |archive-date=August 18, 2023 |access-date=August 19, 2023 |work=NPR}} In Uyghur communities, Islamic education for children has been prohibited and teaching the Quran to children has resulted in criminal prosecution.{{Cite web |last=Byler |first=Darren |author-link=Darren Byler |date=2024-03-08 |title=Xinjiang Authorities Are Retroactively Applying Laws to Prosecute Religious Leaders as Criminals |url=https://www.chinafile.com/reporting-opinion/features/xinjiang-authorities-are-retroactively-applying-laws-prosecute-religious |access-date=2024-06-18 |website=ChinaFile |publisher=Asia Society |language=en}}{{Cite news |last=Hoshur |first=Shohret |author-link=Shohret Hoshur |date=June 18, 2024 |title=Uyghur woman re-sentenced for teaching youth the Quran |url=https://www.rfa.org/english/news/uyghur/woman-re-sentenced-teaching-youth-quran-06182024140408.html |access-date=June 18, 2024 |work=Radio Free Asia}}{{Cite news |last=Hoshur |first=Shohret |author-link=Shohret Hoshur |date=March 1, 2023 |title=Uyghur woman serving 21 years in jail for sending children to religious school |url=https://www.rfa.org/english/news/uyghur/ayshemhan-abdullah-03012023141043.html |access-date=June 18, 2024 |work=Radio Free Asia}}{{Cite news |last=Hoshur |first=Shohret |author-link=Shohret Hoshur |title=Uyghur woman sentenced to 17 years for teaching Islam to her kids and a neighbor |url=https://www.rfa.org/english/uyghur/2025/01/10/woman-sentenced-teaching-islam/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250124063336/https://www.rfa.org/english/uyghur/2025/01/10/woman-sentenced-teaching-islam/ |archive-date=2025-01-24 |access-date=2025-02-04 |work=Radio Free Asia |language=en }} In 2023, government efforts to "sinicize" a mosque in Yunnan by destroying its minaret and dome roof led to clashes with worshippers.{{Cite news |last=Lang |first=Qian |date=December 16, 2024 |title=Yunnan Muslims protest outside government building as imam detained |url=https://www.rfa.org/english/china/2024/12/16/china-yunnan-muslims-protest-imam-detained/ |access-date=December 16, 2024 |work=Radio Free Asia}}

China supports United Nations programs to combat Islamophobia.{{Cite book |last=Zhang |first=Chuchu |title=China's Changing Role in the Middle East: Filling a Power Vacuum? |date=2025 |publisher=Routledge |isbn=978-1-032-76275-3 |series=Changing Dynamics in Asia-Middle East Relations series |location=Abingdon, Oxon; New York, NY |doi=10.4324/9781003495741}}{{Rp|page=69}} China highlights its contributions to these UN endeavors in its diplomatic discourse opposing the Clash of Civilizations thesis.{{Rp|page=68}}

= News coverage =

File:Front_gate_of_Ximen_Mosque,_Dali.jpg policy]]

Traditional media in China were used to be very cautious on the coverage of ethnic issues—particularly Muslim issues, to foster a positive environment both for solidarity among China's different ethnic groups and religions and China's diplomatic relations with Muslim countries. Starting in 2015, hostility towards Muslims and Islam surged after series of terrorist attacks and the emergence of the European refugee crisis.{{cite news |author=Mu |first=Chunshan |date=2016-09-13 |title=Anti-Muslim Sentiment Is Taking Over China's Social Media Scene |url=https://thediplomat.com/2016/09/anti-muslim-sentiment-is-taking-over-chinas-social-media-scene/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210509102634/https://thediplomat.com/2016/09/anti-muslim-sentiment-is-taking-over-chinas-social-media-scene/ |archive-date=2021-05-09 |access-date=2021-05-07 |work=The Diplomat}} Some observers contend that although negative stereotypes about Muslims have long existed in China, a global rise of Islamophobia, the influence of fake news, and the actions of the Chinese government towards their Muslim minorities have exacerbated Islamophobia in the country.{{Cite web|last=Johnson|first=Ian|date=2019-05-14|title=Islamophobia in China|url=https://www.chinafile.com/conversation/islamophobia-china|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210115093349/https://www.chinafile.com/conversation/islamophobia-china|archive-date=2021-01-15|access-date=2021-01-13|website=ChinaFile|language=en}}

US-based researchers Rose Luqiu and Fan Yang contend in The Washington Post that anti-Muslim sentiment has been spurred by Chinese news reports, which tend to portray Muslims as prone to terrorism, or as recipients of disproportionate aid from the government.{{Cite news |last1=Luqiu |first1=Rose |author-link=Lüqiu Luwei |last2=Yang |first2=Fan |date=May 12, 2017 |title=Anti-Muslim sentiment is on the rise in China. We found that the Internet fuels — and fights — this. |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/monkey-cage/wp/2017/05/12/anti-muslim-sentiment-is-on-the-rise-in-china-we-found-that-the-internet-fuels-and-fights-this/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190226045026/https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/monkey-cage/wp/2017/05/12/anti-muslim-sentiment-is-on-the-rise-in-china-we-found-that-the-internet-fuels-and-fights-this/ |archive-date=2019-02-26 |access-date=2019-10-19 |newspaper=The Washington Post |language=en}} A 2018 study by the two researchers found that Chinese news coverage of Muslims and Islam was generally negative. The study found that non-Muslim Chinese hold negative views towards Islam and Muslims, and that some Chinese Muslims report discrimination and awareness of negative portrayals of themselves in the media.{{Cite journal |last1=Luqiu |first1=Luwei Rose |author-link=Lüqiu Luwei |last2=Yang |first2=Fan |date=2018-03-28 |title=Islamophobia in China: news coverage, stereotypes, and Chinese Muslims' perceptions of themselves and Islam |journal=Asian Journal of Communication |volume=28 |issue=6 |pages=598–619 |doi=10.1080/01292986.2018.1457063 |issn=0129-2986 |s2cid=149462511}}

= Online =

The same two researchers analyzed over 10,000 posts on Weibo in 2019 relating to Islam and found that anti-Muslim sentiment was a common frame. Chinese Muslims users on the site reported that they faced challenges in attempting to have others understand their faith, due to the prevailing Han-centric discourse and government censorship.{{Cite journal |last1=Luqiu |first1=Luwei Rose |author-link=Lüqiu Luwei |last2=Yang |first2=Fan |date=2019-12-09 |title=Anti-muslim sentiment on social media in China and Chinese Muslims' reactions to hatred and misunderstanding |journal=Chinese Journal of Communication |volume=13 |issue=3 |pages=258–274 |doi=10.1080/17544750.2019.1699841 |issn=1754-4750 |s2cid=213492511}}

In 2017, Gerry Shih of the Associated Press described Islamophobic rhetoric in online social media posts as due to perceived injustices regarding the Muslim minority advantages in college admissions and exemptions from family-size limits.{{Cite news |last=Shih |first=Gerry |date=2017-04-10 |title=Islamophobia in China on the rise fuelled by online hate speech |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/asia/islamophobia-china-rise-online-hate-speech-anti-muslim-islam-nangang-communist-party-government-xinjiang-a7676031.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210324170806/https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/asia/islamophobia-china-rise-online-hate-speech-anti-muslim-islam-nangang-communist-party-government-xinjiang-a7676031.html |archive-date=2021-03-24 |access-date=2020-12-03 |website=The Independent |publisher=Associated Press |language=en}}{{Cite news |last=Shih |first=Gerry |date=2017-04-10 |title=Unfettered online hate speech fuels Islamophobia in China |url=https://apnews.com/e3711d789c8d48589b77f6e269d424fa |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191019061433/https://apnews.com/e3711d789c8d48589b77f6e269d424fa |archive-date=2019-10-19 |access-date=2019-10-19 |website=Associated Press}} In 2018, a South China Morning Post article similarly described online Islamophobia in China as "becoming increasingly widespread" particularly due to news of institutional preferential treatment for Muslim minorities and news of Xinjiang conflict.{{Cite news |last=Chen |first=Laurie |date=2018-10-25 |title=Chinese man jailed for Koran burning as Islamaphobia spreads online |url=https://www.scmp.com/news/china/society/article/2170240/chinese-man-jailed-koran-burning-islamaphobia-spreads-online |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191222122113/https://www.scmp.com/news/china/society/article/2170240/chinese-man-jailed-koran-burning-islamaphobia-spreads-online |archive-date=2019-12-22 |access-date=2019-10-19 |website=South China Morning Post |language=en}} A 2018 University of California, San Diego study of 77,642 posts from Tencent QQ suggested that online Islamophobia was especially concentrated in provinces with higher Muslim populations.{{Cite web |last1=Bailey Marsheck |last2=Mark Wang |date=2018-09-25 |title=Islamophobia on Chinese Social Media |url=https://chinadatalab.ucsd.edu/viz-blog/islamophobia-on-chinese-social-media/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201130020211/https://chinadatalab.ucsd.edu/viz-blog/islamophobia-on-chinese-social-media/ |archive-date=2020-11-30 |access-date=2020-12-03 |website=China Data Lab |publisher=University of California, San Diego |language=en-US}} An online movement against the spread of halal products in the country has also been reported.{{Cite news|last=Koetse|first=Manya|date=July 21, 2017|title=The Anti "Halalification" Crusade of Chinese Netizens|url=https://www.whatsonweibo.com/anti-halalification-crusade-chinese-netizens/|access-date=2020-12-03|website=What's on Weibo|language=en-US|archive-date=2020-11-24|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201124092312/https://www.whatsonweibo.com/anti-halalification-crusade-chinese-netizens/|url-status=live}}{{Cite web|date=Jan 28, 2019|title=China: The problem of growing anti-muslim sentiment|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OcApcACeYV8|access-date=2020-12-03|website=DW News|via=Youtube|archive-date=2020-11-01|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201101171509/https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OcApcACeYV8&feature=youtu.be|url-status=live}}

According to Tony Lin of the Columbia Journalism Review, many users utilize popular sites like Weibo and WeChat to spread anti-Muslim fake news taken from western far-right media.{{Cite web |last=Lin |first=Tony |date=March 21, 2019 |title=After New Zealand massacre, Islamophobia spreads on Chinese social media |url=https://www.cjr.org/analysis/weibo-new-zealand-massacre.php |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191017035831/https://www.cjr.org/analysis/weibo-new-zealand-massacre.php |archive-date=2019-10-17 |access-date=2021-01-13 |website=Columbia Journalism Review |language=en}} He wrote that after the 2019 Christchurch mosque shootings, the most liked comments under Chinese social media posts and various mainstream media sites covering the incident were explicitly anti-Muslim or in support of the shooter. However, he also wrote that the comments were not representative of the Chinese population. Other articles have reported on the more varied netizen responses to the mosque shootings.{{Cite news|last=Koetse|first=Manya|date=March 2019|title=Chinese Netizens' Response to New Zealand Mosque Attacks|url=https://www.whatsonweibo.com/chinese-netizens-response-to-new-zealand-mosque-attacks/|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190511215903/https://www.whatsonweibo.com/chinese-netizens-response-to-new-zealand-mosque-attacks/|archive-date=May 11, 2019|access-date=2021-05-21|website=What's on Weibo|language=en-US}}{{Cite news |last=Su |first=Alice |date=2019-03-16 |title=The Christchurch shooter's manifesto praised China's values. That's sparking debate in China |url=https://www.latimes.com/world/asia/la-fg-christchurch-manifesto-china-20190316-story.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210110233521/https://www.latimes.com/world/asia/la-fg-christchurch-manifesto-china-20190316-story.html |archive-date=2021-01-10 |access-date=2021-05-21 |website=Los Angeles Times |language=en-US}}{{Cite news |last=Zhou |first=Christina |last2=Xiao |first2=Bang |date=March 18, 2019 |title=Is Chinese media using the New Zealand mosque shooting as a political opportunity? |url=https://www.abc.net.au/news/2019-03-19/why-did-it-take-48-hours-for-china-to-remove-nz-shooting-video/10911612 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201127185109/https://www.abc.net.au/news/2019-03-19/why-did-it-take-48-hours-for-china-to-remove-nz-shooting-video/10911612 |archive-date=2020-11-27 |access-date=2021-05-21 |work=ABC News}}

References

{{World topic|prefix=Islamophobia in|noredlinks=y|title=Islamophobia by country}}

Category:Persecution of Muslims

Category:Religious persecution by communists

Category:Islamophobia in China

Islamophobia in China

History

= News coverage =

= Online =

See also

Further reading

References