Islamic Culture in China

So far, we know the Chinese, the most populous countries in the world and the third largest region in the world after Russia and Canada as a country with a government that adheres to the communist system. It was based on the formation of People's Republic of China (Zhong-hua Jen-Min Gong-he Guo) on October 1, 1949 after communist forces led by Mao Zedong wins civil war against the nationalist forces led by Chiang Kaishek. 

  

Although the communist ideology has long embraced the Chinese population and since October 1, 1949 China officially became a state based on communism, but the previous centuries, Chinese people have also become acquainted with Islam. Religion is estimated to have spread in China since the seventh century in the reign of the Tang dynasty. Islam developed in China mainly not due to be taken by people of Islam from the Middle East region, the center of the birth of Islam, but was taken by the Chinese themselves who visit this region. They arrived with some technological capabilities, among others, printing and paper making, and return to his country and brought the "gift" of Islam. 

  

Here it can be concluded that at that time was already in contact culture and technology between the adherents of Islam in the Arabian Peninsula with Chinese immigrants. Not surprisingly, some provinces such as Qinghai, Gansu, Shanxi and Ningxia and Xinjiang autonomous regions inhabited by Chinese residents, mostly Muslims centuries ago.Chinese people who had converted to Islam was mainly located in the northwestern region, but generally they stay evenly distributed throughout mainland China. Tribe or ethnicity that many embraced Islam, among others, Uygur, Uzbek, Tajik, Kazakh, Huizu, Tatar and Kyrgyz. These tribes also have a residence in the territory of Russia, so we know as Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan have ever annexed by the Soviet government to the state until the Soviet Union collapsed and the region inhabited by these tribes back into the region independent. 

  

Religion of Islam became one of the most important and fastest growing in China.Acculturation of Islamic and Chinese traditional culture has been going on for so long, so that the culture of Chinese society today is actually not purely a Chinese folk culture, because to some extent been influenced by Islamic culture. It is easy to determine, among others, from the physical building mosques in China which is a mixture of Chinese architecture and Islamic architecture. Huaizheng mosque located in Bandar Guangzhou of Guangdong province for example, built by the Tang dynasty and is considered the oldest mosque in the country, Middle Eastern style of architecture mempelihatkan very prominent. Though the mosque was built in the middle tesebut Chinese community who have a building typical Chinese architecture. Both grew up side by side and even then complement each other. 

  

When that Bandar has been busy Guangzhou visited by foreigners are Muslims, and among them, of course, many of which originated from the Middle East region. Islamic culture is not only more widespread, even many natives adopted by China in this area.The process of "assimilation" of Islam and traditional Chinese culture thrive in the Yuan dynasty and the period it was a "golden age" of Islamic development in China. Islamic thought started to become an important part of Chinese thinking in politics and social life. 

  

Although the country's Arabs are not many Muslims who live in the middle of the Chinese community who uphold the traditional culture, but the process of socialization and social-cultural interaction is not never happened. Indeed for centuries socio-cultural interaction process continues in this country. Because that was adopted by the Chinese community and Islamic culture rather than ethnicity geneologis problem, then what happens in Chinese society developed Islamic culture and mingle with Chinese traditional culture to build a new culture (say China or Chinese culture of Islam Islam) but the Chinese people not to experience Arabization. They adopted the philosophy of Islam but did not adopt the dress robes and beard Arabs. They adopted the Middle Eastern art, but did not adopt the turban and terompahnya. 

  

Implications of the meeting of Islam and China via the acculturation has led many Chinese to be culturally Muslim but not make them take a radical political stance.Moreover, the attitude of fanatic with a desire to remove their own local culture. For the people of China, Islamic culture is a supplement to enrich the local culture. Maybe this is an important lesson while the Indonesian Islamic community, where Arabization'll enjoy even more than the development of cultural Islam that need to be socialized as a complement to the local culture. 

  

Religious radicalism in Indonesia is also caused among its adherents some prefer the formal-legalistic factors rather than socio-humanistic. As a result the value of humanism that was the subject of Islamic philosophy displaced by ceremonial affairs. And in Chinese society, it seems that did not happen. Islamic culture is an important factor in Chinese culture, but Islam remains the culture of Islamic culture and Chinese culture Chinese culture remains. Both are fused into a modern Chinese culture with the people who remain moderate.