Globalization and the Governance of Muslim Spaces in Contemporary Guangzhou

Abstract

This article explores how Muslim spaces in urban China have been regulated under the influence of transnational mobilities in the past few decades, based on a qualitative study. Our key findings demonstrate that the Chinese government applies distinctive strategies to control different types of Muslim spaces: The temporary religious places for foreign Muslims are significantly visible for market-driven purposes, and the Sinicization policy regulates the permanent and daily Muslim spaces. The government-led religious control we discuss in this article reflects a pragmatic and fragmented process in China’s economy-centered modernization and a cultural monism strategy in the global era. This government-led governance of religions is resisted by foreign Muslims who expect a multicultural governance pattern. More broadly, this article suggests a more local focus on the (re)engagement of religions in the process of secularization or modernization under the influence of multiple ways of globalization.

本文采用定性研究方法, 探讨了近几十年来、在跨国流动性的影响下, 中国如何治理穆斯林的城市空间。本研究的主要成果表明, 中国政府运用独特的策略去治理不同类型的穆斯林空间。外籍穆斯林的临时宗教场所很大程度上是由市场驱动的, 而永久性和日常穆斯林空间则受到中国化政策管制。政府主导的宗教治理, 反映了中国以经济为中心的现代化进程中一个务实而零散的过程、及其在全球化时代下的文化一元论战略。这种由政府主导的宗教治理, 受到了外籍穆斯林的抵制, 他们期待一种多元文化治理模式。本文建议, 在全球化方式呈现多样化的影响下, 应当关注更加本地化的宗教对世俗化或现代化进程的（再）参与。

Este artículo explora el modo como, durante las pasadas pocas décadas, han sido regulados los espacios musulmanes en la China urbana, bajo la influencia de movilidades transnacionales, con base en un estudio cualitativo. Nuestros hallazgos importantes demuestran que el gobierno chino aplica distintas estrategias para controlar diferentes tipos de espacios musulmanes: Los lugares religiosos temporales destinados a musulmanes extranjeros son significativamente visibles, con propósitos orientados hacia el mercado, en tanto que la política de sinización regula los espacios musulmanes permanentes de naturaleza cotidiana. El control religioso manejado por el gobierno que discutimos en este artículo refleja un proceso pragmático y fragmentado en la modernización de China, centrado en la economía, y una estrategia de monismo cultural en la era global. La gobernanza de las religiones bajo control gubernamental es resentida por los musulmanes extranjeros, quienes siempre quieren encontrar un patrón de gobernanza multicultural. Con mayor amplitud, este artículo sugiere un enfoque más local a partir de un compromiso reiterado con las religiones en el proceso de secularización o modernización, bajo la influencia de múltiples modos de globalización.

Key Words:

• China
• globalization
• Muslim spaces
• religious governance

关键词:

• 中国
• 全球化
• 穆斯林空间
• 宗教治理。

Palabras clave:

• China
• espacios musulmanes
• globalización
• gobernanza religiosa

Acknowledgments

The authors thank the anonymous reviewers for their useful comments and suggestions.

Notes

1 The Reform refers to the “open up and reform” policy launched in the late 1970s. This policy is an economic reform program that opened China's socialist market.

2 Although Beaumont (2008b) emphasized that the postsecularism theory argues against the charges of Eurocentricity and indifference to multicultural diversity, this theory is overwhelmingly established on the basis of European philosophies and social realities in Europe and its previous colonies, rather than focusing on the diverse postsecular urban spaces in different social and cultural contexts.

3 Hui Muslims arrived in China via the overland Silk Road between the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries. These Muslims stayed in northern and western China for generations. They have been integrated into Chinese society since the fourteenth century.

4 The state-approved Islamic Association at the provincial level.

5 Many foreign Muslims refused to participate in formal interviews because of language barriers and their distrust of Chinese scholars. Thus, the number of foreign Muslim interviewees is limited.

6 The Rules for the Administration of Foreigners’ Religious Activities was released by the State Administration of Religious Affairs in 1994. A recent revision of this policy was released in 2018. This policy’s main aim is to show China’s respect for foreigners’ religious beliefs within its territory and its commitment to promoting state-approved economic and cultural exchanges. Foreigners who preach in religious spaces without authorization will be punished by the local religious affairs department and other relevant departments under the law.

Additional information

Funding

This research was funded by the Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant No. 42001152, 41630635, 41801157, 41930646).

Notes on contributors

Chen Liu

CHEN LIU is an Associate Professor of Cultural Geography in the School of Geography and Planning, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou, China, 510275. E-mail: [email protected]. Her research interests include food consumption, popular culture, and family life.

Rong Yang

RONG YANG is a Postdoctoral Staff Member in the Center for Human Geography and Urban Development, School of Geography and Remote Sensing, Guangzhou University, Guangzhou, China, 510006; and Guangdong Provincial Center for Urban and Migration Studies, Guangzhou, China, 510006. E-mail: [email protected]. Her current research works on a comparative study on Muslim spaces in China and the Netherlands.

Desheng Xue

DESHENG XUE is a Professor of Human Geography in the School of Geography and Planning, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou, China, 510275. E-mail: [email protected]. His research interests include urban development, global cities and global city regions, and industrial geographies.

Yiming Tan

YIMING TAN is an Associate Research Fellow of Social Geography in the School of Geography and Planning, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou, China, 510275. E-mail: [email protected]. Her research interests include social exclusion, diversity and dissimilarity of daily life experiences, and time geography.