Islam in Sichuan
Islam is a minority religion in the Chinese province of Sichuan. The total number of Muslims are 112,478 according to a 2004 census conducted by the Islamic Association of China, the majority are ethnic Hui. Chengdu, the provincial capital, and Xichang, capital of the Liangshan Yi Autonomous Prefecture, are the two cities with high concentration and long history of the Hui communities. According to a 1990 census, 23,288 Muslims resided in Ngawa Tibetan and Qiang Autonomous Prefecture of western Sichuan, with about 40 mosques catering to their religious needs. Counties with highest number of Muslims in this region are Ma'o, Ngawa, Quqên, Sirza Degu, Sungqu, Tsanlha, and Zoigê.
Background
Persians in Sichuan
Persian settlers and immigrants were found in Sichuan during the period of Tang dynasty, Former and Later Shu. Among those in the recorded history whose names are known today including An Fuguo, a governor of Weizhou during the mid-7th century; Shi Chuwen, who held the official post of Sima of Lizhou during the Former Shu period; Mu Zhaosi, a renowned physician; and the most well-known Li Shunxian, a poet and concubine of the Emperor Wang Zongyan of Former Shu, and her two brothers, a poet and pharmacologist, author of Overseas Pharmacopoeia, and, also a pharmacologist and alchemist, although their religion is a subject of debate.Geographical position
In his article "The Cross-Boundary Networks of the Hui Muslim Communities", Professor Tsai Yuan-lin of National Chengchi University of Taipei gave a brief description of the geographical position of Sichuan, writing: "Historically speaking, Sichuan had been the frontier province from the Han viewpoint, surrounded by the Muslims of the North-western provinces, the Tibetans of Qinghai and Tibet, and the Yi, Miao and other ethnic minorities of Yunnan and Guizhou ; from the Hui viewpoint, Sichuan had been the crossroad of the North-western, Southwestern, and Eastern provinces. The long history of the co-existence and social contact among the Han and Hui immigrants, and the indigenous peoples creates the largely diverse cultural and religious landscape of Sichuan."History
Although being a minority religion in Sichuan, Islam is not a recent arrival, its presence can be traced back to the 10th century, albeit on a small scale. In the early 13th century, the Mongol Empire conscripted Muslim soldiers from various ethnic groups in Central Asia and incorporated them into the troops during the reign of Ögedei Khan. Islam spread massively into the province during and after the Mongol conquest of Sichuan.The Ming dynasty saw a significant number of Muslim settlers from Gansu, Hubei, Hunan, Shaanxi and the Jiangnan region. This is recorded in a large number of county histories, the genealogy books of the Muslims, and inscriptions on memorial steles to constructions of mosques. In the Annals of Guangyuan County compiled in the Republican Era, it is recorded that "Islam flourished in Guangyuan during the Yuan and Ming dynasties". The inscription on the memorial stele of Long'an Mosque, Pingwu records that the mosque was built in the early Ming dynasty. The genealogy book of the Mas of Shaguoying, Xichang states that in 1392, their ancestor Ma Gang, a military commander, led his troops to Sichuan to fight the rebellion of. According to the Annals of Xichang County, the oldest mosque in Xichang was built in 1369. During the Ming dynasty, significant numbers of Muslims were to be found in Chengdu, Guanxian and Xindu, with their mosques located in the three districts. A mosque was also erected by in Chongqing in the middle of the Ming dynasty, to cater to the spiritual needs of 100-odd Muslim families settled in the south of Yuzhong District.
The Baba Mosque founded at Langzhong in the late 17th century by Ma Ziyun and Hilal al-Din contains the tomb of the Khwaja Sayyed ʻAbd Allāh, a 29th generation descendant of Muhammad and teacher of the two founders, who entered Langzhong in 1684 and died in 1689. The mosque later became a Qadiri pilgrimage site for Sichuanese Muslims, and a central shrine of the Qadiriyya in China. The city of Langzhong, formerly known as Baoning, was referred to as "Eastern Mecca" by some Chinese Muslims.
The Muslim population reached its peak in the Qing dynasty. After the Suppression of the Chuchen Hill Peoples in the 18th century, most of the Muslim soldiers settled in this region. This period also saw a mass migration of Muslims from Baoqing Prefecture, most of whom settled in southern and western Sichuan. Jahriyya was introduced into Mianning and Xichang via Yunnan at some point between 1820 and 1850, both in the south. It had nevertheless a bigger impact on the Muslim communities in the northern city of Guangyuan. In 1873, the defeat of the Panthay Rebellion in Yunnan prompted numerous Muslims to move to Sichuan to escape persecution. In addition, the spread of Islam in Sichuan owed a debt to those Muslim merchants from Gansu and Shaanxi, at least three mosques in Chengdu were built by them, namely the Yixue Mosque of Gansu Muslims, the Jiu Mosque and Qinfu Mosque.