'Are they really Muslims?' Islam in China reveals the struggle for identity of the small yet vital Muslim community of China, a little studied minority on the fringes of the Islamic world now thrust into the spotlight by the opening of China to the world and the rise of independent Muslim republics on China's western borders. Both timely and important, the multifaceted essays-_ collection of over twenty years of Raphael Israeli's scholarship on Chinese Muslims_offer detailed insight into the relationship between China's non-Muslim majority and an increasingly self-confident guest culture. The work uncovers a history of uneasy ethnic, philosophical, and ideological coexistence, the gradual sinification of the Chinese Muslim creed, and the increasing accommodation of Islam by a modern, westernizing China. In addition, it highlights a religious group riddled with sectarianism; factional rifts that reveal the doctrinal, social, and political diversity at the core of Chinese Islam.

About the Author
Raphael Israeli is professor of Chinese history and Islamic civilization at the Hebrew University, Jerusalem. He is the author of A Critical Biography of Chinese Islam and Fundamentalist Islam and Israel.


Book Information
ISBN 9780739124192
Author Raphael Israeli
Format Paperback
Page Count 350
Imprint Lexington Books
Publisher Lexington Books
Weight(grams) 540g
Dimensions(mm) 230mm * 153mm * 28mm