HISTORY OF ISLAM IN CAHINA

The Great Mosque of Xi'an, one of China's oldest mosques

"  Acquire up the knowledge until China Country, " so said the Arab advice. Long before Allah revealed the teachings of Islam, the Chinese have indeed reached a very high civilization. At that time, people have mastered the Bamboo Curtain country varied repertory wealth of knowledge and civilization.
It is undeniable that Muslims also absorb a lot of science and civilization of this country. Some examples include, science ketabiban, paper and gunpowder. The greatness and the high civilization of the Chinese community was already heard in Arab countries before the year 500 AD
Since then, the Arab merchants and sailors of the trading relationship with the `Middle Kingdom '- the nickname of China.
To be teamed up with Chinese merchants, sailors and Arab merchants sailed bravely ferociously ocean. They are `lift the screen 'from Basra in the Arabian Gulf and the city of Siraf in the Persian Gulf to the Indian Ocean sea.
Before getting to the mainland of China, Arab sailors and merchants across Sri Lanka and directs his ship in the Straits of Malacca. After that, they change anchor in the port of Guangzhou or the Arabs call it Khanfu. Guangzhou is the center of trade and the oldest port in China. Since then many Arabs who settled in China. At there they introduce that islam is peaceful religion.
When Islam has developed and set up a government Prophet Muhammad in Medina, across the sea of ​​China was entering a period of unification and defense. According to early historical records of China, Chinese people were already aware of Islam in the Middle East. They call the government the Prophet Muhammad as Al-Madinah.
Chinese people know Islam as Yisilan Jiao, which means 'pure religion' and peaceful religion. Chinese people refer to Mecca as the birthplace of 'Buddha Ma-hia-wu' (Prophet Muhammad). There are several versions of the saga about the beginning of Islam blossomed on the plains of China. The first version says, the teachings of Islam first arrived in China brought the companions of the Prophet which al-Habasha migrated to Abyssinia (Ethiopia). Companions of the Prophet migrated to Ethiopia to avoid the anger and rage of the masses of the Quraysh ignorance. They are; Ruqayyah, daughter of the Prophet; Uthman ibn Affan, husband Ruqayyah; Sa'ad ibn Abi Waqqas, the uncle of the Prophet Muhammad, and several other companions.
The Companions who emigrated to the Ethiopians were given protection from Atsmaha King Negus in the city of Axum. Many friends who choose to stay and not return to Arab lands. That said, these are then set sail and arrived in mainland China during the Sui Dynasty came to power (581 AD - 618 AD).
Another source said, the teachings of Islam first arrived in China when Saad Abi Waqqas and three companions sailed to China from Ethiopia in the year 616 AD After arriving in China, Sa'ad returned to the Arab and 21 years later returned to Guangzhou bringing the Quran holy book.
There is a mention, the teachings of Islam first arrived in China in 615 AD - more than 20 years after the Prophet Muhammad dies. Caliph Uthman ibn Affan is the assigned Sa'ad ibn Abi Waqqas to take the teachings of the divine into mainland China. That said, Sa'ad died in China in 635 AD His grave is known as Geys' Mazars.
Caliph's envoys openly accepted by the Emperor Yung Wei of the Tang Dynasty. The Emperor was then ordered the construction of mosques or mosque Huaisheng Memorial in Canton - the first mosque that stood on the mainland of China. When the ruling Tang Dynasty, China reached its golden center and a cosmopolitan culture. Thus, it can easily spread the teachings of Islam and known to the Chinese people.
At first, most followers of Islam in China were merchants from Arabia and Persia. The Chinese who first embraced Islam was Hui Chi tribe. Since then, adherents of Islam in China increasing a lot. When the Song Dynasty on the throne, the Muslims had taken control of export and import industries. In fact, during that period of office the director general of shipping has consistently held the Muslims.
In the year 1070 AD, the emperor of the Song Dynasty invite Shenzong 5300 Muslim men from Bukhara to stay in China. The goal is to build a buffer zone between China by Liao Empire in the Northeast region. The man was then settled in Bukhara between Kaifeng and Yenching (Beijing). They were led by Prince Amir Sayyid aka 'So-Fei Er'. He holds a `father 'of the Muslim community in China.
When the Mongol Yuan Dynasty (1274 AD -1368 AD) came to power, the number of Muslims in the greater China. Mongols, as a minority in China, offered an opportunity for Muslim immigrants to move up the status of a Chinese Han. So that the influence of Muslims in China is increasingly strong. Hundreds of thousands of Muslim immigrants in the West and Central Asia were recruited to assist the expansion of the Mongol dynasty territory and influence of empire.
Mongols use the services of the Persians, Arabs and Uyghur to administer tax and finance. At that time, many Muslims who led the corporation in the early period of the Yuan Dynasty. Muslim scholars reviewing and collating astronomical calendar. In addition, the architects of the Muslims also helped design the capital of the Yuan Dynasty, Khanbaliq.
In the reign of the Ming Dynasty, Muslims still have a strong influence in government circles. The founder of the Ming Dynasty, Zhu Yuanzhang is a leading Muslim generals, including Lan Yu Who. In 1388, Lan led the troops of the Ming Dynasty and subjugate Mongolia. Shortly after it appeared Admiral Cheng Ho - a Muslim seaman reliably.
When the Ming Dynasty, immigrants from Muslim countries began to prohibited and restricted. China turned into a country that isolates itself. Muslims in China also began to use the dialect of Chinese. Mosque architecture began to follow the Chinese tradition. In this era of Nanjing became an important center of Islamic study. After that China's relations with the Islamic rulers began to deteriorate.
The decline of Islam in Mainland China
Relations between Muslims and the Chinese authorities began to deteriorate since the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911) came to power. Not only the rulers, Muslim relations with other Chinese society becomes increasingly difficult. Qing Dynasty banned Islamic activities.
Slaughtering animals on every Eid al-Adha qurban prohibited. Muslims are no longer allowed to build mosques. In fact, the ruler of the Qing Dynasty also do not allow Muslims to fulfill the five pillars of Islam - the pilgrimage to the Holy Land of Mecca.
This tactic was applied to provoke the authorities to divide Muslims consisting of the Han, Tibetan and Mogol. As a result the three tribes were mutually hostile to Islam. Qing Dynasty's repressive actions sparked Panthay rebellion that occurred in the province of Yunnan from 1855 AD to 1873 AD
After the fall of the Qing Dynasty, Sun Yat-sen founded the Republic of China eventually. The people of Han, Hui (Muslim), Meng (Mongol) and Tsang (Tibetan) is under the Republic of China. In 1911, Qinhai Province, Gansu and Ningxia Muslim rule which was in Ma family.
Condition of Muslims in China continued to deteriorate when the Cultural Revolution. The government began to loosen its policies to the Muslims in 1978. Islam is now back writhing in China. It was marked with the number of mosques and Muslim inter-ethnic activities in China.