Development and Decline of Beijing’s Hui Muslim Community

Zhou Chuanbin and Ma Xuefeng

Hui Muslims in China have lived with the Han Chinese for hundreds of years, maintaining their Islamic and cultural identity despite the powerful assimilation mechanisms of Chinese society. Today, however, the urban Hui community is confronted with new pressures. This monograph examines the traditional social structure and kinship network of urban Hui Muslims that historically allowed them to defend ethnic and religious boundaries. 

The study further explores the social transitions and challenges caused by revolution, modernization, urbanization, and globalization that presently threaten the cultural survival of the Hui Muslim community in Beijing.

About the Authors

ZHOU CHUANBIN is professor of ethnology in the Faculty of Politics and Law at Ningxia University, China. He earned his Ph.D. from the University for Nationalities in Beijing. He is the author of Collected Works on Hui Muslim Culture and History (2004) and Concepts and Paradigms: A Century of National Theories in China (2008).

MA XUEFENG is a lecturer on Hui Muslim society at Yunnan University, China. He earned his Ph.D. in sociology from Beijing University.