The Real Situation of Muslims in China: Interview with Yang Faming, the President of the China Islamic Association
What's the real situation of Muslims in China?
What does the government do to protect and improve their life? How is the sinicization
of Islam going? Global Times reporter Xie Wenting (GT) interviewed Yang Faming
(Yang), president of the China Islamic Association to find answers.
By Xie Wenting
February 25, 2021
Editor's Note: Over the decades,
China has made great efforts to provide care to Muslim citizens and ensure
their normal needs are met. However, some hostile forces in the West have used
every means to smear China's efforts in protecting Muslims and kept making
groundless accusations including accusing China of infringing on Muslims'
religious freedom. What's the real situation of Muslims in China? What does the
government do to protect and improve their life? How is the sinicization
of Islam going? Global Times reporter Xie Wenting (GT) interviewed Yang Faming
(Yang), president of the China Islamic Association to find answers.
GT: How many Muslims now live in China? What
efforts has the Chinese government made to ensure the normal needs of
Muslims?
Yang: China now has more than 20 million Muslims.
The Chinese government cares about and ensures the normal religious needs of
Muslims which is reflected in the following five aspects. First, China supports
the publication of religious books. The Koran and other Islamic scriptures have
been translated, published and distributed in Chinese, Uygur, Kazak, Kirgiz,
and other languages.
Second, the Chinese government protects normal
religious activities. Religious activities such as praying and fasting carried
out by Muslims in mosques and at their homes in accordance with religious
customs are protected by law. Since 1996, the government has arranged chartered
flights for pilgrims every year (which was suspended in 2020 due to the
pandemic) and provided high-quality services including medical treatment,
catering, transportation and accommodation to ensure the safety and orderly
activities of the pilgrims. The convenient travel arrangements for pilgrims have
also won praise from abroad.
Third, the Chinese government supports the
publication of religious cultural works and relevant media outlets. The
government supports the China Islamic Association in publishing its magazine
China Muslims in both Chinese and Uygur languages, and in opening websites in
both Chinese and Uygur languages to explain the basic knowledge of Islam and
guide Muslims in their faith and practice.
Fourth, the government supports the training of
high-level religious personnel. The government has approved the establishment
of 10 Islamic institutions to cultivate high-level religious personnel.
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Fifth, the government helps improve the
infrastructure of places for religious activities. Water, electricity, gas,
communications channels, radio and television, and cultural libraries in
mosques have been installed in these places to improve the condition for
believers to practice their religion.
GT: What's the latest development of the
five-year plan for the sinicization of Islam? Why is the sinicization
of Islam important?
Yang: In order to ensure the healthy development
of Islam itself and the better adaptation of Islam to the socialist society
with Chinese characteristics, the China Islamic Association has drawn up the
outline for the five-year work plan (2018-22) for the religion's sinicization
in China. The outline laid out scientific plans for promoting patriotism,
building a system of Islam classics with Chinese characteristics, improving
rules and regulations in the field of Islam, strengthening the construction of
Islamic culture, engaging in public welfare and charity activities, and
training high-quality Islamic personnel. At present, the work is progressing
smoothly in all aspects and remarkable results have been achieved.
The localization of religion is the basic practice
of the development of religion worldwide. Only by respecting and complying with
this practice can religion move forward in the right direction. Looking back at
a millennium of the development of Islam in China, its sinicization is the only
way to follow the practice of religious localization and the road to
prosperity.
After Islam was introduced into China, after a
long period of integration, it has gradually integrated with Chinese
characteristics. The course of the development of Islam in China is the course
of the continuous sinicization of Islam. We believe that the sinicization
of Islam is the foundation for the better development of Islam in Chinese
society. It is the only way for Islam to take root and develop in a healthy way
in China. That is to say, only by adhering to the sinicization of Islam
can Islam keep pace with the times, the development of contemporary Chinese
society, and inherit and develop in a more stable and healthy way.
GT: Some countries and Western media outlets
recently hyped that the installation of cameras in mosques violated religious
freedom. What's your take on this? Could you elaborate on what have the
renovation projects at the mosques brought to the general public?
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Yang: Take Xinjiang as an example, the
installation of cameras in mosques is aimed at protecting the safety of local
religious figures and believers, guarding against fire and theft, and
preventing and cracking down on violent and terrorist crimes. It is supported
by local religious figures and believers.
Xinjiang now has 20,000 mosques, accounting for
more than half of the country's 35,000 mosques in total. In Xinjiang, there are
a large number of mosques built in the 1980s and 1990s or even earlier. Some of
these mosques were originally adobe buildings, some were small, and some were
in disrepair or even dilapidated. During winds and rains, these mosques could
not host religious activities. In addition, the layout of some mosques was
unreasonable, which was inconvenient for Muslims to carry out religious
activities.
In In recent years, with the development of
urbanization and the construction of new countryside, the government has
stepped up efforts to repair those mosques, which has solved the problem of
dilapidated buildings and made their layout more reasonable. The conditions of
mosques have generally been improved, and some ancient mosques have also been
well protected and repaired.
GT: The US government claimed that China is
"eliminating" Islamic culture and religion. What's your take on this
accusation?
Yang: This accusation is totally politically
biased. The religious belief of Muslims is respected and protected. China fully
implements the constitutional principles guaranteeing citizens' freedom of
religious belief, and respects both the freedom to believe in and the freedom
not to believe in any religion. We will continue to uphold the principle that
all religions are equal, treat all religions as equal, do not favor or
discriminate against any particular religion, and protect the legitimate rights
and interests of the religious community in accordance with the law.
The normal religious activities of Muslims are
protected by law. Taking Xinjiang as an example, since 1996, more than 50,000
Muslims of various ethnic groups in Xinjiang have made pilgrimages to Mecca,
Saudi Arabia. In recent years, Xinjiang has published a series of religious
knowledge books in the languages of different ethnic groups and set up websites
for Muslims in Xinjiang.
In September 2017, the government invested
hundreds of millions of yuan to build a new campus for the Xinjiang
Islamic Institute and set up eight branches of the institute in Xinjiang
including Ili, Kashi, and Hotan. Currently, there are 1,100
students at the schools. Facts have proved that freedom of religious belief is
fully protected in China.
Original headline: Adapting Islam to local
conditions best course for development in Chinese society: head of Islamic
association
Original headline: Adapting Islam to local
conditions best course for development in Chinese society: head of Islamic
association
Source:
Global Times
URL: https://newageislam.com/islam-politics/the-real-situation-muslims-china/d/124390
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