Economic prosperity among Chinese Muslims in Xi’an, China, has led to new forms of consumption. Locals consume goods and fashions that point in three directions: towards traditional China, the... Show moreEconomic prosperity among Chinese Muslims in Xi’an, China, has led to new forms of consumption. Locals consume goods and fashions that point in three directions: towards traditional China, the modern West, and the modern Arab world. In the past decade some Chinese Muslim (Hui) women have expanded their wardrobes to include Arabstyle headscarves and robes. These new clothes allow these women to experiment with creating new public identities as modern Muslims in a country where religion has been associated with backwardness. Show less
In the years immediately following the end of the decade known as the Cultural Revolution (1966- 1976), the Muslims of China lost no time in rebuilding their devastated communities. After ten years... Show moreIn the years immediately following the end of the decade known as the Cultural Revolution (1966- 1976), the Muslims of China lost no time in rebuilding their devastated communities. After ten years of intensive and often violent persecution by government forces in which all forms of religious expression were outlawed and hundreds of religious leaders were imprisoned, Muslim communities throughout China began slowly to restore their religious institutions and revive their religious activities. The re-establishment of educational institutions plays a vital role in this still ongoing process. Show less
The Turkic people known as Uyghur will most likely be in the same situation at the beginning of the next millenium as they have been for most of this one: an internally colonized people, subject to... Show moreThe Turkic people known as Uyghur will most likely be in the same situation at the beginning of the next millenium as they have been for most of this one: an internally colonized people, subject to the Chinese nation-state. How this came to be and how it might cease to be so is the subject of this article. I argue that it is through the model of internal colonialism that we might begin to understand how it is the Uyghur, and other indigenous peoples such as Tibetans, now labelled as 'minority nationalities,' have been turned into 'internal colonial subjects' despite being indigenous peoples in lands they once called their own. Through initial occupation, gradual integration through immigration, and finally 'minoritization' as a result of nationality policy, the Uyghur (and perhaps many others like them) have been internally colonized by the Chinese state. Show less
