Entangled Mobility: Hui Migration, Religious Identity and Cultural Capital in Malaysia

Abstract

In recent years, there is an increasing number of Hui migrants in Malaysia. This paper examines the accumulation of various forms of capital (cultural, social and economic) and the intersection of capitalization of “Chineseness” and “Muslimness” among overseas Hui. It begins with a discussion on the mobility capital — in which Hui Muslims enjoy relative freedom to move around in China and beyond China, compared to their Uyghur counterparts who have limited mobility. It is followed by analyzing how aspirations such as “cultural affinity,” “religious authenticity,” “educational mobility” and “business opportunity” drive contemporary Hui mobility to Malaysia. By describing the religious, cultural and business activities of Hui migrants, it explores how the accumulation and circulation of different forms of capital take place in mosques, in restaurants and on social media platforms. It proposes a concept of “entangled mobility” to examine the intersection between their cultural and religious identity, the interconnection between spatial and social mobility, the combination of religious and economic aspiration, as well as how their capital circulations are entangled with broader economic, social and political processes. However, instead of reifying cultural capital as given one, Hui migrants re-enact their cultural capital depending on the Malaysian contexts. Such enactment of cultural capital plays an important role in Hui mobility and enables them to navigate their life in multi-ethnic and multi-religious Malaysia.