Islamophobia in China
| Part of a series on |
| Islamophobia |
|---|
 |
| Part of a series on Islam in China |
|---|
 |
 Islam portal •  China portal |
Islamophobia in China refers to the set of discourses, behaviours and structures which express feelings of anxiety, fear, hostility and rejection towards Islam and/or Muslims in China.[1][2] In general, Islamophobia can manifest itself through discrimination in the workforce, negative coverage in the media, and violence against Muslims.
History[edit]
Jingyuan Qian and others contend that historical conflicts between the Han Chinese and Muslims like the Northwest Hui Rebellion have been used by some Han Chinese to legitimize and fuel anti-Muslim beliefs and bias in contemporary China.[3][4] Scholars and researchers have also argued that Western Islamophobia and the "War on Terror" have contributed to the mainstreaming of anti-Muslim sentiments and practices in China.[5][6][7]
It has been reported that Muslims were being forced to eat pork in detention centers and in the Xinjiang internment camps.[8] Since Xi Jinping became General Secretary of the Chinese Communist Party, campaigns against Islam have extended to the Hui people and Utsul community in Hainan.[9][10][11][12]
News coverage[edit]
Traditional media in China were used to be very cautious on the coverage of ethnic issues-particularly Muslim issues, to foster a positive environment both for solidarity among China’s different ethnic groups and religions and China’s diplomatic relations with Muslim countries. Starting in 2015, hostility towards Muslims and Islam surged after series of terrorist attacks and the emergence of the European refugee crisis.[13] Some observers contend that although negative stereotypes about Muslims have long existed in China, a global rise of Islamophobia, the influence of fake news, and the actions of the Chinese government towards their Muslim minorities have exacerbated Islamophobia in the country.[14]
According to The Washington Post, anti-Muslim sentiment has also been spurred by media segments aired in China, which often portray Muslims as dangerous and prone to terrorism, or as recipients of disproportionate aid from the government.[15]
According to a 2018 study, an analysis of Chinese news reports revealed that coverage of Muslims and Islam was generally negative. The study also revealed that non-Muslim Chinese hold negative views towards Islam and Muslims, and that some Chinese Muslims report discrimination and awareness of negative portrayals of themselves in the media.[16]
Online[edit]
In 2017, journalist Gerry Shih described Islamophobic rhetoric in online social media posts as due to perceived injustices regarding the Muslim minority advantages in college admissions and exemptions from family-size limits.[17][18] In 2018, a South China Morning Post article similarly described online Islamophobia in China as "becoming increasingly widespread" particularly due to news of institutional preferential treatment for Muslim minorities and news of terrorist attacks in Xinjiang.[19] A 2018 UCSD study of 77,642 posts from Tencent QQ suggested that online Islamophobia was especially concentrated in provinces with higher Muslim populations.[20] An online movement against the spread of halal products in the country has also been reported.[21][22]
According to Tony Lin of the Columbia Journalism Review, many users utilize popular sites like Weibo and WeChat to spread anti-Muslim fake news taken from western far-right media.[23] He wrote that after the 2019 Christchurch mosque shootings, the most liked comments under Chinese social media posts and various mainstream media sites covering the incident were explicitly anti-Muslim or in support of the shooter.[23] Other articles have reported on the more varied netizen responses to the mosque shootings.[24][25][26]
A 2019 study that analysed over 10,000 posts on Weibo relating to Islam and Muslims showed that anti-Muslim sentiment was a common frame surrounding the subject. Active Chinese Muslims users on the site reported to responding to anti-Muslim posts in an attempt to have others understand their lives and faith. Nonetheless, online Muslim users face many challenges owing to a chauvinistic Han discourse and government censorship.[27]
See also[edit]
- History of Islam in China
- History of Xinjiang
- Xinjiang conflict
- Shadian incident
- Xinjiang re-education camps
- Islam in China (1911–present)
- List of Islamophobic incidents in China
Further reading[edit]
- "China's repression of Islam is spreading beyond Xinjiang". The Economist. 2019-09-26. ISSN 0013-0613. Retrieved 2019-11-10.
References[edit]
- ^ Richardson, Robin (2012), Islamophobia or anti-Muslim racism – or what? – concepts and terms revisited (PDF), p. 7, archived (PDF) from the original on 2016-10-25, retrieved 10 December 2016
- ^ Hogan, Linda; Lehrke, Dylan (2009). Religion and politics of Peace and Conflict. Wipf and Stock Publishers. p. 205. ISBN 9781556350672. Archived from the original on 2017-04-27. Retrieved 2019-10-19.
- ^ Qian, Jingyuan (2019-06-06). "Historical Ethnic Conflicts and the Rise of Islamophobia in Modern China". Rochester, NY. Cite journal requires
|journal=(help) - ^ Theaker, Hannah (2019-08-02). "Wounds that fester: Histories of Chinese Islamophobia". University of Nottingham Asia Research Institute. Retrieved 2021-05-23.
- ^ Hammond, Kelly Anne (24 May 2019). "The history of China's Muslims and what's behind their persecution". The Conversation. Retrieved 2021-05-23.
- ^ Tazamal, Mobashra. "Chinese Islamophobia was made in the West". www.aljazeera.com. Retrieved 2021-05-23.
- ^ Brophy, David (2019-07-09). "Good and Bad Muslims in Xinjiang". Made in China Journal. Retrieved 2021-05-23.
- ^ Regencia, Ted (4 December 2020). "Uighurs forced to eat pork as China expands Xinjiang pig farms". Al Jazeera. Archived from the original on 2020-12-04. Retrieved 2020-12-04.
- ^ Myers, Steven Lee (2019-09-22). "A Crackdown on Islam Is Spreading Across China". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Archived from the original on 2019-09-24. Retrieved 2020-09-20.
- ^ Emily, Feng (September 26, 2019). "'Afraid We Will Become The Next Xinjiang': China's Hui Muslims Face Crackdown". NPR. Archived from the original on October 8, 2019. Retrieved September 20, 2020.
- ^ Feng, Emily (November 21, 2020). "China Targets Muslim Scholars And Writers With Increasingly Harsh Restrictions". NPR. Archived from the original on November 21, 2020. Retrieved November 21, 2020.
- ^ Baptista, Eduardo (2020-09-28). "Tiny Muslim community becomes latest target for China's religious crackdown". South China Morning Post. Archived from the original on 2020-10-16. Retrieved 2020-10-16.
- ^ Mu Chunshan (2016-09-13). "Anti-Muslim Sentiment Is Taking Over China's Social Media Scene". The Diplomat.
- ^ Johnson, Ian (2019-05-14). "Islamophobia in China". ChinaFile. Archived from the original on 2021-01-15. Retrieved 2021-01-13.
- ^ Luqiu, Rose; Yang, Fan. "Analysis | Anti-Muslim sentiment is on the rise in China. We found that the Internet fuels — and fights — this". Washington Post. Archived from the original on 2019-02-26. Retrieved 2019-10-19.
- ^ Luqiu, Luwei Rose; Yang, Fan (2018-03-28). "Islamophobia in China: news coverage, stereotypes, and Chinese Muslims' perceptions of themselves and Islam". Asian Journal of Communication. 28 (6): 598–619. doi:10.1080/01292986.2018.1457063. ISSN 0129-2986.
- ^ Gerry Shih (2017-04-10). "Islamophobia in China on the rise fuelled by online hate speech". The Independent. Archived from the original on 2021-03-24. Retrieved 2020-12-03.
- ^ Gerry Shih (2017-04-10). "Unfettered online hate speech fuels Islamophobia in China". AP NEWS. Archived from the original on 2019-10-19. Retrieved 2019-10-19.
- ^ Laurie Chen (2018-10-25). "Chinese man jailed for Koran burning as Islamaphobia spreads online". South China Morning Post. Archived from the original on 2019-12-22. Retrieved 2019-10-19.
- ^ Bailey Marsheck; Mark Wang (2018-09-25). "Islamophobia on Chinese Social Media". China Data Lab. UCSD. Archived from the original on 2020-11-30. Retrieved 2020-12-03.
- ^ Koetse, Manya (July 21, 2017). "The Anti "Halalification" Crusade of Chinese Netizens". What's on Weibo. Archived from the original on 2020-11-24. Retrieved 2020-12-03.
- ^ "China: The problem of growing anti-muslim sentiment". DW News. Jan 28, 2019. Archived from the original on 2020-11-01. Retrieved 2020-12-03 – via Youtube.
- ^ a b Tony Lin (March 21, 2019). "After New Zealand massacre, Islamophobia spreads on Chinese social media". Columbia Journalism Review. Archived from the original on 2019-10-17. Retrieved 2021-01-13.
- ^ Koetse, Manya (March 2019). "Chinese Netizens' Response to New Zealand Mosque Attacks". What's on Weibo. Archived from the original on May 11, 2019. Retrieved 2021-05-21.
- ^ Alice Su (2019-03-16). "The Christchurch shooter's manifesto praised China's values. That's sparking debate in China". Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on January 2021. Retrieved 2021-05-21.
- ^ "Is Chinese media using the New Zealand mosque shooting as a political opportunity?". ABC News. March 18, 2019.
- ^ Luqiu, Luwei Rose; Yang, Fan (2019-12-09). "Anti-muslim sentiment on social media in China and Chinese Muslims' reactions to hatred and misunderstanding". Chinese Journal of Communication. 13 (3): 258–274. doi:10.1080/17544750.2019.1699841. ISSN 1754-4750.