Beijing slapped severe restrictions on Chinese Muslims as the holy fasting month of Ramadan started.

The minority Muslim population of China, known as the Hui people, have practised Kung-Fu for hundreds of years. Although they are not physically different from the majority Han Chinese, Hui people follow the Islamic religion and reject many foodstuffs common in China such as pork, dog and horse. Persecution during the Qing Dynasty particularly promoted the learning of Kung-Fu for self-defence. Over the years Hui martial artists have learned, adapted, as well as started, their own systems of Kun

China has an estimated 21 million Muslims, who have developed their own set of Islamic practices with Chinese characteristics. The biggest difference is the development of independent women's mosques with female imams, something scholars who have researched the issue say is unique to China.

History of Islam in China

Muslims take great pride in citing a hadith that says "Seek knowledge even unto China." It points to the importance of seeking knowledge, even if it meant traveling as far away as China, especially as at t the time of the Prophet Muhammad (pbuh), China was considered the most developed civilization of the period. Islam in China began during the caliphate of 'Uthman ibn Affan (Allayhi Rahma, ra), the third caliph. After triumphing over the Byzantine, Romans and the Persians, 'Uthman ibn Affan, dispatched a deputation to China in 29 AH (650 C.E., Eighteen years after the Prophet's (pbuh) death), under the leadership by Sa'ad ibn Abi Waqqaas (Allayhi Rahma), Prophet Muhammad's (Salla Allahu wa Allahai wa Sallam, pbuh) maternal uncle, inviting the Chinese emperor to embrace Islam.

Even before this, the Arab traders during the time of the Prophet (pbuh), had already brought Islam to China, although this was not an organized effort, but merely as an offshoot of their journey along the Silk Route (land and sea route).

Even though there are only sparse records of the event in Arab history, a brief one in Chinese history, The Ancient Record of the Tang Dynasty describes the landmark visit. To Chinese Muslims, this event is considered to be the birth of Islam in China. To show his admiration for Islam, the emperor Yung Wei ordered the establishment of China's first mosque. The magnificent Canton city mosque known to this day as the 'Memorial Mosque.'

When violence broke out between the Uyghur and the Han Chinese last year, China went on a PR campaign to ensure that their strategic partnerships with the Middle East don’t suffer. The world quickly learned that when Arab countries claim to push for the rights of their Muslim brothers and sisters, they only really mean their Arab-Muslim brothers and sisters. China was able to keep a fire from starting (wouldn’t want to ruin those oil deals!) as the Middle East remained fairly quiet about the whole ordeal. Now, China and the Middle East are about to get a whole lot closer than they already were. Read More

Did Chinese sailors, led by a Chinese Muslim admiral named Zheng He, really discover America before Columbus?

New evidence lends support to the assumptions made in "1421: The Year China Discovered America" by Gavin Menzies. Arguing that the Chinese had reached America 70 years before Columbus, Menzies's book caused a stir when it was published in 2002.

Amid worries over gender imbalance in the world’s most populous country, a Beijing supermarket is helping unwed Chinese to find their marriage partners....

BEIJING – China approved a 1.2 billion-dollar aid package to Cambodia only two days after Phnom Penh deported Uighur Muslims who were seeking refugee status back to Beijing despite international criticism, including from the US..

The Cambodian government announced plans Saturday, December 19, to deport at least 20 Uighur Muslims, who fled China after deadly ethnic violence, back to Beijing despite fears of persecution and torture there....

Dozens of Uighurs have disappeared following their detention by Chinese forces in the wake of the deadly unrest in the Muslim-majority Xinjiang region, the Human Rights Watch said....