Islam has been in China for over 13 centuries, but the Chinese Communist Party of the 21st century seeks to change the Holy Quran.
History of Islam in China
In the year 651 CE, Islam was officially practiced in China under the authorization of Emperor Gaozong of the Tang Dynasty. This was also the last few years of the Third Caliph’s reign, Uthman ibn Affan (RA) of the Rashidun Caliphate. While Muslims continued to be a part of Chinese society throughout the Tang Dynasty, and future dynasties and during the forming of the modern CCP — they were seen as outsiders. During the Ming Dynasty (1368 CE – 1644 CE), Muslims intermarried with the Han Chinese, and adopted Chinese culture — they were the precursor to Hui people.
Muslims make up 1.5% of China’s population — the largest of this group are Hui Muslims, who are ethnically Chinese. The Uyghurs primarily live in the Xinjiang region, and are a Turkic people who speak a Turkic language. The Hui Muslims, Uyghur Muslims, and other smaller Chines Muslims make up a population of 20 million.
The Uyghurs
The Uyghurs belong to a region called East Turkestan, which was later renamed to Xinjiang after China annexed it in 1949 — the year Chairman Mao Zedong established The People’s Republic of China. “Xinjiang” translates to “new frontier” and borders Mongolia, Russia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Afghanistan, Pakistan and India. The Uyghur people are culturally similar to other Central Asian nations, such as Uzbekistan, and the Uyghur language belongs to the Karluk branch of Turkic languages — which also includes Uzbek. Although the majority of Uyghurs are Sunni Muslim, some practice other religions including Buddhism and Shamanism.
While the CCP has a history of targeting ethnic minorities, it’s used terrorism as an excuse to go after the Uyghurs. The Uyghurs have sent several hundred fighters to aid the Taliban and Al Qaeda in 1996, and a post-9/11 fanned the flames of Uyghur domestic terrorism rhetoric. In 2014, the Strike Hard Campaign Against Violent Terrorism was launched. This lead to checkpoints, confiscating Uyghur passports, and the denial of the People’s Convenience Card to the Uyghurs. Without this card, the Uyghurs can’t go into the cities to take advantage of economic opportunities.
Attempts to Change the Quran
According to the Global Times, a Chines Communist Party owned newspaper, on January 5, 2019 the government passed a five-year plan to “Sinicize” Islam. The now deleted article mentions wanting to change the religion so it’s more compatible with the secular, socialist ideology of the CCP. This is being done under the guise of combating extremism while embracing secularism and modernity. The government specifically targets Xinjiang in the name of fighting terrorism. Other religions are eventually expected to undergo this Sinicization process.
The CCP calls for the Quran, and other religious texts, to be amended to “reflect socialist values.” If any of the verses go against the Communist Party’s ideals, they should be retranslated or rewritten. This was decided during November 2019 when experts and representatives of different religions met at the Ethnic Religious Affairs Committee of the National Committee of Political Consultative Conference of Chinese people. Some topics of this conference included avoiding “extreme practices” and “heretical thoughts” impacting China.
In October 2021 Apple removed the popular Quran Majeed app from the China App Store — at the government’s request. While Apple has removed other apps for the Chinese government, it was categories of apps deleted rather than a specific one. The developer said the Quran Majeed app was removed due to it containing prohibited content. Analysts believe the religious text of the app is considered illegal by the Chinese government. As of January 2025, the Quran Majeed app is still unavailable in China, but is downloadable in other countries.
However, since the Quran is an oral tradition, with memorizers as young as three years old (known as hafiz), there will always be someone in China who knows the authentic Quran.