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The Culture vs Religion

China was almost the earliest country mentioned by Mohammed (PBUH) and encouraged Muslims to visit China to gain knowledge. Silk route which is connecting Europe-Middle East-China was existing even before Islam was born. Therefore Traders from Arabia were visiting China those days, and some where settled in China. The same goes to Muslims in South India (Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Andhra, Karnataka), Arab descendants/Muslims were living there for more than 1300 years ago, way before Islam was born and Mughals entered through Sind in India. Tamils, Malayalees, Telugus, Tulus, and Kannadigas have culturally united. They have similar social customs, food habits, etc. Islam entered into South India in 730 AD, very long before Mughals invaded and established Mughal Empire in North India in 1500+ AD onward. South Indian Muslims are integral part of the society. There were cultural bonds, social events, similarity in marriage functions, language etc are the factors that kept the bonding between different religions (Hinduism, Buddhism, Christianity, Islam) intact for centuries among South Indians.

The mosques built before Mughal invasions were looks more like a local temple, and not imitating any domes. For example Cheraman’s Mosque, which was built in AD 678 in Kerala State, India. Mughals invaded and brought their architecture, culture and Governance. Remember Mecca, the holy mosque doesn’t have a dome. It’s a cubic building with sharp edges. The same goes to China’s oldest mosques, which doesn’t have any domes or Persian architectures. They are very local and traditional.

Cultural Invasion

In 1980s, Wahabbism started invading across India and China as a cultural invasion, and those foreign trained Mullahs and Imams brought hitherto unknown practices, and questioning every customs followed by Muslims as sons of soil. This causes an imaginary distance and divide between people. Before 1980s you wouldn’t see any black burkas among local Muslims population. Almost 90% of Muslims living in those regions were wearing traditional costumes with some religious symbolism, which you wouldn’t see elsewhere.

Those Muslims were culturally aligned to the local customs/culture, yet followed the Islamic religious principles.

How they become portrayed with Arabic roots soaked in Wahabbism?

We need to go back to Middle-Eastern Politics.

After 1973 (Yom Kippur) Arab-Israeli War, badly-defeated, outnumbered Arabs were started seeking Geo-political support outside their regime with Islamic card. They were trying to establish the image that Arab is Islam and Islam is Arab. Islamic Praying language is still Arabic across the globe, and this comes handy for the pan-Islamic cause.

Religion and Culture are intertwined and inseparable, but when it comes to a foreign religion, it never go together. Hence Islam adapted local culture and spread, grown and survived for several centuries in different parts of the world. Only linking thread for rest of the world Muslims is the prayer procedures and its language and Mecca. Arabs were targeting this exactly.

This propaganda and continuous geopolitical maneuvers had created a wedge in UN, and pro & anti-Israeli groups were formed, and mostly it was only about Israeli-Palestinian issues, and with an objective of containing Israel or preventing Israel to exist.

In 1979, the Iran revolution happened which was shouting loud about democracy and echoed across Middle East. Kingdoms in Middle East were shaken, and sought US help. With a Peak Oil theory circulating to support the US Military intervention to support Military-Industrial Complex, US foreign policy were focused on protecting US energy security by helping Middle Eastern Kingdoms. CIA has another agenda which is to chase out Russians from Afghanistan. Thus CIA were closely working with Saudis, the child was “Wahabbism”. Saudi had spent close to US$1 billion to bring all those mullahs in the poor countries to Saudi and taught them about NEW ISLAM, which is Wahabbism doctrine. Mosques were generously funded in all those Asian and African third-world countries by Saudi Arabia. Large number of Muslims were employed, preached and returned to their home countries with a idea of Wahabbism as is the original Islam. Spread of Wahhabism was done at request of West during Cold War – Saudi Crown Prince. (URL: https://www.gulf-times.com/story/587537/Saudi-spread-Wahabism-at-the-request-of-the-West/)

When the directive comes from Mosque as new tenets of Islam, which is focusing to build Arab is Islam and Islam is Arab, the followers have little leeway to reject those new ideologies which hitherto they were never heard of. This made those culturally aligned local Muslims started wearing long dresses, adopted strange practices and forced their women to change their attire completely. The existence of Muslims in those non-Arab countries were not visible in all these centuries, but suddenly they were looking completely foreign now. Alienation started building in the local community. Usual routine cultural practices were replaced or stopped among the local Muslim community, and they were becoming more “Arabic” than “Local”. Suddenly, Women started wearing black burqa, Men started growing long beards, Children were forced into Arabic Madrashas, and the Saudi funded and educated Imams were giving new rules, regulations, practices for Islam that was never practiced before, which is replication of what Middle Eastern Wahabbist/Salafist follows. These funded-imams were destroying the local culture of the Muslims which was existing for thousands of years in that country, and alienating Muslims from the local people and their culture. This approach has helped to brainwash Muslims to involve in terrorism in the name of Jihad by these well-funded-criminal elements.

This has helped the Saudi-funded mullahs to brainwash and prepare to “protect Islam” as Jihadists in Middle East and Afghanistan. Actual Quranic meaning of Jihad was distorted for the convenience of CIA and Saudi Arabia. We have seen the consequences for the Islamic community for the last 30 years, who were constantly in the receiving edge. Millions of them were killed, dislocated, migrated, lost their wealth and livelihoods and roaming in tents in foreign countries.

Let’s come back to Uighurs in China.

China’s Xinjiang is conveniently located at the border of Afghanistan, Pakistan and India, where Islamic influence exists for several centuries, and Xinjiang plays a crucial role in the historical silk route. Uighurs were existing and thriving as Muslims for more than 1000 years in Xinjiang with their local culture. When the CIA-funded Saudi-originated Wahabbism engulfed them, they were found fighting in Middle East for the Islamic Kingdoms and US. At one time, Syria alone had some 15,000 Uighur fighters on the field, believing they were fighting for “protecting Islam”.

They were returning to China, and this poses a huge headache for China. Actually CCP had ignored them during China’s industrial development years. Uighurs too had their own grievances as if they had felt left out of China success story. China is amending those grievances by enabling them with technical skills and mandarin language, so that they can visit and work in other parts of China. While imparting technical training skills, they were also reminded of their native culture and language, while following their religion. China is bringing them into the mainstream of Chinese society, and empower them with technical skills, and investing billions in infrastructure to improve the Xinjiang region. The results are inspiring. Almost all nations were invited to visit Xinjiang region to witness what is happening. OIC (which comprises 56 Islamic countries) visited Xinjiang and felt good about what Chinese Government is doing.

Uighurs were busy preparing to create their “ East Turkestan” in China with the help of funding and training (ETIM) from some vested interests. Awakened Chinese government is “retraining” their Muslim Citizens to remind them about their roots, culture and Islamic religious practices in China, which were followed by them for thousands of years, until Wahabbist appears and changed the whole narrative of Islam which was hitherto never practiced. .

A group of 37 countries representation, which includes most of the Muslim countries, were satisfied with the Chinese approach after inspecting those centers, whereas all 22 non-Muslim, but Western countries, were criticizing China for keeping Uighurs in detention camps. This is a politically motivated accusation by Western countries to destabilize China and its growth.

China is trying to bring back their Chinese Muslim Uighurs to the mainstream as they were before becoming brainwashed by CIA-funded Saudi-originated Wahabbism.

Why those 22 English-speaking Anglo-phonic countries are not happy?

Those 22 countries were thought of using those radicalized Uighurs to destabilize China’s growth. It couldn’t be done now. Hence, they started spreading rumors, and at the height of insane, US is banning Chinese Businesses and officials in the name of protecting Xinjiang Muslims, while US itself has banned Muslims visiting US from 8 countries. Muslims are being used as a pawn by US for its own benefits. Those Muslim nations aware of this, hence no Muslim country is supporting the US on blaming Chinese Government on Uighurs. Allies have no choice but to take the toe line of US.

With that account, I would welcome what Chinese government does is right. Mosques are just a cleaner and bigger place for Congregational Prayers. There is no need for designers from Middle East for the mosques. Islamic teachings on God is the only thing to be taken into account and not necessarily to bring in their burkas, culture, architectures, etc. Muslims need not be Arabic. Societal integration is the need of the hour for Muslims in each country.

 

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