The Muslims of “All Under Heaven”

Abstract

To what extent did Islam interact with the broader landscape of popular religion in late imperial China? This article provides a preliminary overview of the economic activities, routine rituals, and local spaces in which Muslims presented their beliefs and practices to non-Muslims and engaged with central and local state authorities. Through an examination of the links between mosques and popular shrines, official donations to Islamic institutions, and Muslim engagement with imperial law on the subject of butchery and sacrifices I attempt to move beyond the strict ethnic and religious categories that came to prominence in China and elsewhere during the twentieth century and suggest a framework for understanding Islam’s historical practice in the country.