Muslims in China - Anthropology of the Hui of Henan

Elisabeth Allès. - Muslims in China - Anthropology of the Hui of Henan. Editions Bellaterra. Barcelona, 2008

Élisabeth Allès offers us a magnificent and necessary introduction to the Islam in China from the study of I fled, the only Chinese national minority which scoreboard of fundamental identity is the religion.

Who are I them fled? Who is the Chinese Moslem? The answer to the current meaning and the history of the Islam in China is the target of this book that centers on the specific analysis of I fled, the biggest of ten Chinese national minorities that profess the Islam. Here we will discover the relation of I fled with his neighbors belonging to the Chinese national majority they have, the representations that they have of themselves and of others, and the social practices associated with his double Moslem and Chinese identity.

In the Henan province there is more than one million hui, although his proportion is minority. His adaptation along the history to the coexistence in a diverse way has been inevitable without excluding occasional conflicts. Nevertheless, I them fled there are perceived as an integral part of the Chinese society, taking part actively in the same one and in all his social movements.

The approach to the daily practice of the Islam, to the vital cycle of the believers and to the mosques like centers of the religious life, is one of the big achievements of this study, especially the chapters dedicated to the feminine mosques and to the place that the women occupy in the religion. The phenomenon of the feminine mosques shows the originality of the Chinese Islam with the creation of a few peculiar, relatively autonomous religious structures, directed by women. Finally one reflects on the juxtaposition and the coexistence of the Islam, as well as and ethnicity in the Chinese context.

Text of the back cover of the book.

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