“Wild” and “Tamed” Barbarians: Why are Hui Muslims not Oppressed like the Uyghurs?

Öz

This study explores the reasons behind China’s differing treatment of Hui Muslims and Uyghurs through an interdisciplinary lens. Despite sharing the same religion, the fact that the Hui face less repression is a significant issue within the context of China’s ethnic policies. By examining China’s historical and philosophical classification of nonHan communities as “barbarian”, along with the historical and cultural relationships these two communities have had with China, the study delves into the similarities and differences in the policies applied to Hui and Uyghurs. The findings reveal that the notion the Hui are not subjected to oppression is misleading and that, in reality, they have experienced various levels of repression both historically and contemporarily. The differences in current policies toward these two groups arise from the Chinese administration’s tendency to perceive cultural diversity as a threat, the varying degrees of integration — or “domestication” — of each community with Chinese culture, and the historical trajectory of their relations with China. This study underscores that addressing the issue within the framework of China’s cultural structure and traditional administrative mindset offers a crucial perspective for a deeper understanding of the state’s policies toward non-Han peoples.

Anahtar Kelimeler

• Sino-Barbarian Order
• Chinese nation
• Acculturation
• Diversities
• Uyghur
• Hui

“Yabani” ve “Ehlîleştirilmiş” Barbarlar: Hui Müslümanları Niçin Uygurlar Kadar Baskı Görmüyor?

Öz

Bu çalışma Çin’in Hui müslümanları ve Uygurlar’a yönelik farklı muamelesinin sebeplerini disiplinler arası bir yaklaşımla araştırmaktadır. Aynı dini paylaşmalarına rağmen Huiler’in daha az baskı görmesi, Çin’in etnik politikaları çerçevesinde dikkat çeken bir konudur. Çalışma Çin’in tarihsel ve felsefî perspektiflerden “barbar” olarak sınıflandırdığı Han olmayan topluluklara yönelik bakış açısını ve bu iki toplumun Çin ile olan tarihî ve kültürel ilişkilerini analiz ederek, Huiler’e ve Uygurlar’a uygulanan benzer ve farklı politikaları incelemektedir. İnceleme sonucunda elde edilen bulgular, Huiler’in baskı altında olmadığı söyleminin gerçeği yansıtmadığını, aksine hem geçmişte hem günümüzde farklı seviyelerde baskılara maruz kaldıklarını göstermektedir. Günümüzde bu iki topluma uygulanan farklı politikaların ise Çin yönetim anlayışının kültürel çeşitliliği bir tehdit olarak görme eğilimi, iki toplumun Çin kültürüne entegre olma, yani “ehlîleşme” düzeyindeki farklılıklar ve Çin ile olan ilişkisinin serüveninden kaynaklandığını ileri sürmektedir. Bu çalışma söz konusu meselenin Çin’in kültürel yapısı ve geleneksel yönetim anlayışı çerçevesinde ele alınmasının, Çin’in Han olmayanlara yönelik politikalarını daha derinlemesine anlamak açısından önemli bir perspektif sunduğunu vurgulamaktadır.

Anahtar Kelimeler

• Çinli-barbar düzeni
• Çin ulusu
• Akkültürasyon
• Farklılık
• Uygur
• Hui

Kaynakça

1. Alexander Wain, “Islam in China: The Han Kitab Tradition in the Writing of Wang Daiyu, Ma Zhu and Liu Zhi, With a Note on Their Relevance for Contemporary” ICR Journal, 7/1 (2016): 27–46.
2. Amnesty International, China’s Anti-terrorism Legislation and Repression in the Xinjiang Uighur Autonomous Region, London, March 22, 2002.
3. Andrew, Jacobs, “At a Factory, the Spark for China’s Violence”, The New York Times, 15 July, 2009.
4. ASPI, “How mass surveillance works in Xinjiang,”, 2019, https://xjdp.aspi.org.au/explainers/ how-mass-surveillance-works-in-xinjiang/ (erişim: 09.12.2025).
5. Atwill, David, “Blinkered Visions: Islamic Identity, Hui Ethnicity, and the Panthay Rebellion in Southwest China, 1856-1873, The Journal of Asian Studies, 62/4 (2003): 1079-1108.
6. BBC, “Deadly China blast at Xinjiang railway station”, BBC News, 30 Apr. 2014, sec., China, https:// www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-china-27225308 (erişim: 09.12.2025)
7. Berlie, Jean A., Islam in China: Hui and Uyghurs Between Modernization and Sinicization, White Lotus Press, 2004.
8. Bol, Peter K., “This Culture of Ours”: Intellectual Transitions in T’ang and Sung China, Stanford University Press, 1994.

9. Byler, Darren, “The smart camp as classroom: Control, education, and agency in Muslim internment in Northwest China”, International Journal of Comparative Sociology, 66/3 (2024): 420-439.
10. Byler, Darren, “Uyghur love in a time of interethnic marriage”, The China Project, https://thechinaproject.com/2019/08/07/uyghur-love-in-a-time-of-interethnic-marriage/ (erişim: 09.12.2025).
11. Callan, Eamonn, “The Ethics of Assimilation”, Ethics, 115/3 (2005).
12. CCTV, Famous Chinese General Du Wenxiu 中华名将杜文秀, 2010, https://tv.cctv.com/2010/07/08/ VIDE1355585041757655.shtml (erişim: 22.10.2025).
13. Chang常 An安, “Research on Xi Jinping’s Thoughts on Building a Chinese Nation Community 习近平中华民族共同体建设思想研究”, Marxist Studies 马克思主义研究, 1 (2018): 36–47.
14. Chang, Yusuf, “The Ming Empire: Patron of Islam in China and Southeast-West Asia”, Royal Asiatic Society, 61/2 (1988): 1-44.
15. Cheng, Fangyi, “The Evolution of ‘Sinicisation’”, Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society, 31/2 (2021): 321–342.
16. China Islamic Association. “About Chinese Islamic Association.” China Islamic Association, 2024, http://www.chinaislam.net.cn/web/abouts/a/content_4751.shtml (erişim: 22.12.2025)
17. Ching, Calvin, “Ethnic Tensions between the Han and the Hui: The Neo-Sufi Jahriyya Movement of Ma Hua Long of the Late Qing Period (1862-1871)”, Illumine: Journal of the Centre for Studies in Religion and Society, 9/1 (2010): 66–82.
18. Chu, Wen Djang, The Moslem Rebellion in Northwest China, 1862 - 1878: a study of government minority policy, Berlin: De Gruyter Mouton, 1966.
19. Chun, Sun Xiao, A General History of Chinese Political Thought, Song and Yuan Dynasties 中国政治思 想通史宋元卷, Beijing: 中国人民大学出版社, 2014.
20. Clarke, Michael, “Settler Colonialism and the Path toward Cultural Genocide in Xinjiang”, Global Responsibility to Protect, 13/1 (2021): 9–19.
21. Cooke, Susette, “Surviving State and Society in Northwest China: The Hui Experience in Qinghai Province under the PRC”, Journal of Muslim Minority Affairs, 28/3 (2008): 401–420.
22. Dali Perfecture Government, “Du Wenxiu 杜文秀.” Dali Perfecture Government Website, 2012,https://www.dali.gov.cn/dlzrmzf/c101712/pc/content/1968886830907625472/content_19688868309076 5472.html (erişim: 22.12.2025).
23. Dawut, Zumrat, Who Uploaded This Banned Song. FaceBook, 2025.
24. Denyer, Simon, “From burqas to boxing gloves, China’s 75 tips for spotting extremist Muslims”, Washington Post, 12 Dec. 2014, https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/worldviews/ wp/2014/12/12/from-burqas-to-boxing-gloves-chinas-75-tips-for-spotting-extremist-muslims/ (erişim: 09.12.2025).
25. Deng邓, Lilan丽兰, History of Chinese Political Thought: Contemporary Period, 中国政治思想通史, 现代卷, Peoples Publishing House, 中国人民大学出版社, 2014.
26. Dikotter, Frank, The Discourse of Race in Modern China, Hong Kong University Press, 1992.
27. Dillon, Michael, “China’s Islamic Frontiers: Borders and Identities”, IBRU Boundary and Security Bulletin, 8/4 (2001): 97–104.
28. Durneika, Erik, “China’s Favored Muslims? The Complex Relationship between the Chinese Communist Party and the Hui Ethnic Group”, Sociology of Islam, 6/4 (2018): 429-448.
29. Ernazarov, Odiljon, “The Process of Settling Muslims in China During the Ming Dynasty”, The Light of Islam, (2022): 90–98.
30. Eroğlu, Hale, Muslim Transnationalism in Modern China: Debates on Hui Identity and Islamic Reform, Columbia University Press, 2025.
31. Fei 费 Xiaotong 孝通, The Diverse and Unified Structure of Zhonghua Minzu 中华民族多元一体格局, Bei jing: Minzu University of China Press 中央民族大学出版社, 2003.
32. Feng, Junping, “Shaanxi Hui Uprising 陕西回民起义.” In Northwest Hui Nationality and Islam 西 北回族与伊斯兰教, Yin Chuan: Ningxia People’s Publishing House 宁夏人民出版社, 1994.
33. Fincher, John, China as a race, culture, and nation: notes on Fang Hsiao-ju’s discussion of dynastic legitimacy, in David C. Buxbaum and Frederick W. Mote (eds), Transition and Permanence: Chinese History and Culture: A Festschrift in Honor of Dr. Hsiao Kung-ch’uan, Cathay Press, 1972, pp. 59-69.
34. Frankel, James D., “Chinese–Islamic Connections: An Historical and Contemporary Overview”, Journal of Muslim Minority Affairs, 36/4 (2016): 569–583.
35. Friedrichs, Jörg, “Sino-Muslim Relations: The Han, the Hui, and the Uyghurs”, Journal of Muslim Minority Affairs, 37/1 (2017): 55–79.
36. Garcia, Zenel, “Resistance and Assimilation: Transforming Security Roles of China’s Largest Muslim Minorities”, Journal of Muslim Minority Affairs, 36/2 (2016): 282–293.