BEIJING – Chinese Muslims need to guard against creeping Islamisation,including mosques that copy foreign styles, and strive to practice theirfaith in a more Chinese way, a senior Chinese Islamic official said onSaturday.
China is home to roughly 20 million Muslims, many living in the westernpart of the country, from the Uighurs of Xinjiang who speak a Turkiclanguage to the largely sinified Hui people.
While China officially guarantees freedom of religion, it has in recentyears tightened controls in heavily Muslim areas, nervous about thepossibility of radicalisation and violence.
Speaking to the largely ceremonial advisory body to China’s parliament,Yang Faming, head of the government-linked China Islamic Association, saidIslam had a long and glorious history in the country. – Agencies tags:China