المساعد الشخصي الرقمي

مشاهدة النسخة كاملة : When did Islam enter China?


aammar
23-01-2013, 05:01 AM
When did Islam enter China?

An ancient Chinese reference entitled The Ancient History of the Tang Dynasty highlighted that in the first year of the reign of Emperor Gaozong (31 AH/651 AD), the Tang emperor received Muslim envoys who brought with them gifts for the emperor. They said that the Islamic state had been established thirty-one years ago.

Chinese Muslims believe that this was the first introduction of Islam into China. The same Chinese reference stated that the emperor of China inquired about Islam and when he heard of its essence, he allowed the Muslims to build a mosque in the capital of Canton, Chang – Anne. This mosque is still standing in that city which is now called Xi'an.

During the reign of Al-Waleed ibn ‘Abdul-Malik (86-96 AH), Qutaybah ibn Muslim crossed the River Sihon and the western border of China. He conquered Kashgar [or Kashi] and annexed part of the Xinjiang protectorate (present day East Turkistan) to the Islamic state.

In the year 726 AD, Caliph Hishaam ibn ‘Abdul-Malik (105-125 AH) sent an ambassador called Sulaymaan to the Emperor Hasuan Tsung. The bonds of friendship were established between him and the Muslims.
In 756 AD, a revolution erupted against Hasuan Tsung led by his son Su Tsung who toppled his father. The toppled emperor appealed to the Arabs for help. The ‘Abbasid Caliph Al-Mansoor (136-158 AH) sent him 4,000 Muslim soldiers with the help of whom he was able to restore his throne.

These Muslim soldiers never went back, but instead settled in China and married there and formed the nucleus of the Chinese Muslims in Western China whose descendents live there until today. They joined their fellow Muslims in Canton thus increasing the number of the Muslim community. The ruler of the country tried to expel the Muslims from Canton by force, but failed.