Those who live in China - how are Muslims treated?

I lived in Beijing for two years and I seldom (if ever) saw a woman wearing a head scarf such as in the photo. I imagine that people may stare simply because it's different. But then again, Beijing is such a diverse city with lots of different ethnic groups, that you may simply be clumped in with the masses and ignored. I know you'll need to check around for mosques that have women's prayer rooms . . . there's not one in the district I live in in my city.

I now live in China's Northwest and the head scarf is very common. No one would bat an eye.

However, unlike what others have said . . . judgment based upon appearance is very common in China. I am a Caucasian woman with dark brown hair. I live in a somewhat large city (over 3 million) on a somewhat large campus (12,000+ students). I'm starting my fourth year here.

As I was standing in the stairwell today with my luggage (just returned from the US), waiting for my husband to come down (six flights of stairs, no elevator), a family new to the building came down. They had a little girl about 10 years old with them. That little girl literally stopped and simply stared at me. She stared and stared and stared . . . eyes traveling from head to toe. She asked her mother (I assume it was her mother) if I was a foreigner. Her mother replied, "Yes, but she can't understand you." I had already said hello in Chinese, but at that point, I commented that I could, indeed, understand them. I smiled as I spoke and the little girl just backed off a little bit and then squinted to read the characters on my necklace.

I say this simply to point out that blatant staring does happen.

My city has a large population of Muslims. I have many Muslim students in my classes. However, as I've gotten to know them, I have found that most of them are Muslim in identity only . . . they were born into a Muslim family. Very few of them actually know much about their faith. Muslim women are usually the least informed, at least in my limited sample size.

When the ethnic unrest happened a couple of years ago, the Muslims in my city had a sit-down silent protest in support of others in the country, but that's about it.

Unfortunately, there is a negative stereotype towards the Muslims (mostly Hui) in that someone will automatically assume that when they've been pickpocketed, that the pickpocket was a Hui. If anything is stolen from a store, the "of course, it was a Hui." Among the Hui community, the reverse is said . . . "A Han stole my cell phone."

I should point out that physically speaking, there is little difference in the appearance of a Hui or a Han unless they dress differently.

However, when the unrest in Xinjiang occurred (mostly involving Uyghurs and Han), there was ethnic support of the Han in our city. Many of the Uyghur restaurants ending up closing down due to lack of customers. The Han stopped coming.

As large as China is, you'll find yourself a part of many different stories. I recommend your keeping a journal to record various reactions that people have. I'm sure you'll find them interesting.

Good luck!

EDIT: Poppy (aka HJT, aka Chloe), you sound like a very angry young woman. I'm sorry you have had such bad experiences in Boston. Racism is definitely real in all parts of the world. Your experiences are uniquely yours and those same experiences have shaped who you are and how you view the world.

In light of that, I encourage you to remember that each person has their own story and their own experiences. You don't know my story . . . nor do you know my experiences. While I am white, I have lived in the shadow of prejudice due to other aspects of my life. I have lived as a minority for many years in various situations. I do know what it is like to be disliked or even hated because of belief systems or because of being poor. I also have a mentally handicapped sister who was a victim of teasing and even "hate crimes" throughout my growing up years.

My husband is an ABC and he has shared his stories of racism that affected his life while growing up. The United States is not Utopia, but can any place be called that?

I was not complaining about the Chinese girl staring at me. You need to carefully read what I wrote. My intention was to point out that people who look "different" in China are not treated the same as those who "blend in."

By the way, I do not live in a four-bedroom apartment. I live in a small two-bedroom apartment with my husband and my two children. I do not live in a foreign apartment complex, but in a local complex with wonderful local friends. My lifestyle is very similar to my neighbors.

As per experience, Chinese people don't care about religion because most of them are atheist. They might look at you differently at first (which they do to most foreigners) but aside from that, you will still be treated 'as a normal foreigner'. There are mosques in most cities too.

You will have a couple of things going against you.

1). You are foreign and the Muslim style is not something they see often - with that they will often stare at you.

2). Due to interactions and history with Hans Chinese and other ethnic groups Uyghur Muslims and Hui - Although by law they are meant to treat you equal, people will look down on you and generalise before they get to know you. Also certain home grown favours are more closed to you. This happens even between Chinese people of different cities.

3). With you being an outsider to local communities - it will be the same as number 2.

In general you shouldn't be attacked due to you being a Muslim unless the local environment is volatile. Chinese people time to time will look down on you, treat you different and are raither un-pc at times.

As you say that you are going to be a student and most likely going to hang out with other students who are younger and not entrenched in their ways.

Moving away from certain areas, i.e cities into rural areas the effects of 1) will increase. Moving from areas of ethnic regions, even in cities, the effects of 2 and 3 will increase to the point that you may feel that your unwanted.

Firstly, you are an alien, most ppl do not care about your religion. If you can live well in China as a foreigner, then you will live well in China as a Muslin.

I am a Chinese American girl with family in Hong Kong. I completely agree with what Cultural Insight had to say:

"Chinese people judge others based upon behavior, not religion or ethnicity. If you behave properly, then you won't have any problems in China. If you behave improperly, then you will suffer the consequences. China is a meritocracy that does not extend special privileges to people based upon their skin color, ethnicity, or religion. All people must obey the law and respect the rights of others."

If you do get a few odd looks, it isn't because they hate you. Most likely it's because they haven't seen a Muslim before (if you're in a rural area you'll probably get a few glances). Malaysia has a very heavily Muslim population, and from what I understand Singapore has a growing Muslin population (15% Muslim), so I'm pretty sure if when you arrive in China you won't be unusual (of course if you're in a rural area, it may be a little difference).

Also, when it comes to racism in China, if a Chinese person happens to have been brain washed by the Western media and hates (Muslim, Black, Spanish, Green, Purple) people -- he certainly doesn't hate you enough to kill you. China is much different than Western nations in terms of inciting racial violence against people of color.

If they hate you -- it's definitely not enough to kill you.

I personally don't have a problem with Muslim people. I think they're pretty cool just like all people are cool until proven otherwise. I'm tired of hearing all the negative media attention concerning Muslims. Go out! Have fun! And don't worry!

EDIT:
In China -- they stare at you if they've never seen your kind before.

In the United States/Europe -- they kill you.

I mean which one would you take? I really don't think a White woman has room to comment on people of color's plight as minorities in White America/Europe.

"Oh my, that Chinese girl stared at me!" Try being chased and racial epithets thrown at you because you are non-White living as a minority in a ALL White neighborhood in Boston.

Until you know what it means to be a person of color in the White world, I really suggest all White people refrain from preaching about racism and "what it means to be a person of color" while living comfortably in their luxurious four bedroom apartments.

Edit:
Ouroboro:

Yes, please, as a White man you must know much more than I do what it feels like to be a Chinese American. You deny racism. Do you also deny that you are extended White privilege in this country?

Chinese people judge others based upon behavior, not religion or ethnicity. If you behave properly, then you won't have any problems in China. If you behave improperly, then you will suffer the consequences. China is a meritocracy that does not extend special privileges to people based upon their skin color, ethnicity, or religion. All people must obey the law and respect the rights of others.

China is plagued by Muslim extremists in its western regions near Pakistan and Afghanistan. There are approximately 8 million Uyghur Muslims in China, most of whom are peaceful and productive citizens, but a small minority are engaged in violent separatist activity linked to the Taliban and Al Qaeda. An orchestrated attack by Muslim extremists killed 200 Han Chinese in the western city of Urumqi in July 2009. Dozens of the attackers have subsequently been captured, tried, and executed.

You must have the correct Chinese visa to work or study in China. Consult the official Chinese government website to learn more.

The Chinese are well-known for being the most racists people living on this planet. You may not suffer any physical danger there, but you'll get a good dose of discrimination. Think of it as a "class system" with the Hans being the only fully accepted group . Any comparison of demographics for racial minorities will certainly back that up. China is a 5,000 year old civilization which has barely any intrusion of "off-color" persons living well among the population. The USA and Europe are far more equitable, and have been for quite some time. Let's hope China can catch up a bit on that issue.

Craftylass has given you an excellent answer.

Poppy has twisted your question into a "bash the White people" statement. It seems a bit odd to me that an ABC with ties to HongKong would call Americans/Europeans killers. I'm totally unfamilar with any lynchings of Chinese persons in the USA/Europe/HongKong within the past 100 years or so. It's Chinese "cultural" brainwashing which makes them discriminate against others, not Western influences. History and the statistics indicate how wrong she is in making such claims.

If you stay in Shanghai or Beijing, you won't get many problems. Those are big cities, it's not like you're going to a small town in one of the provinces. People might give you a second look maybe since you wear a headscarf, but that is probably because they have not seen many Muslims. It's not like how some Americans think Muslim= terrorist. Most Chinese are atheists and do not care too much about your religion. There isn't a huge stereotype about Muslims in China.

I don't think you'll have a problem. I live in Zhengzhou, Henan Province (a much less cosmopolitan city than Beijing!) and there are many Muslims (Chinese Muslims, and foreign Muslims, too). There are also plenty of restaurants serving up Muslim cuisine. Good luck!

Muslims form a significant portion of the Chinese population.
There are several different ethnic groups in China which are all Muslim.
In Xinjiang, there are the Uighurs, the Kazaks, the Tajiks, Kgrygz, Uzbeks, etc.
In the rest of China most of the Muslims are Hui.
I live in a city with a large Hui population. From my experience discrimination is not a major issue.
I have several Hui friends, and their circles of friends include both Han and Hui.
Many of the Hui do not wear headscarves, but many do.
Many Han Chinese love to eat Hui and Muslim food.
I think you don't have much to worry about, especially if you look like a foreigner.

if they dont get what they want in England then your a rascist so hope its not like that in China.

There are at least 20 million Muslims in China. It will not be strange to see a Muslim in Beijing or Shanghai.

You will be fine.

Unfortunately some of these answers are Chinese people painting a beautiful painting for you (as they so often do). For example, China doesn't pollute! Or, there are no Human Rights Violations in China! Or my favorite, there's no Censorship in China! And if there was it would be for our own good! HA!

To find out how Muslims in China are treated you should consult with well documented history first:

http://chinaperspectives.revues.org/1042

http://www.sup.org/book.cgi?id=5976

During the Muslim so-called 'rebellion' the Han Chinese had a 'civil war' with the Muslims. The rebellion was actually the Muslim people simply demanding the freedom of religion and moving to an area away from the Chinese government's control. The 'civil war' started when the Chinese decided they would not allow the Muslims to break away and form their own country separate from China, but it wasn't a civil war at all, it was a massacre. The Chinese sent soldiers throughout the empire killing ALL the Muslim people, even those who did not want to leave.

Muslims people, indeed, all people of faith in China are second class citizens, but the Muslims people are especially looked down upon.

If you look online you will see videos of Han Chinese chasing Muslim men down the street and beating them, in fact, you'll find videos of Han Chinese chasing Mongolians men down the street and beating them, Mongolian women down the street and beating them, Americans down the street and beating them, Police Chasing Western reporters down and beating them...I think you get the point.

I'll give you an example. I was in Kunming China going towards the Train Terminal. The entrance is at the top (why?) and there was an escalator, however the police were diverting all non Han and non White people to the stairs. Only the Han Chinese and the foreigners were aloud to take the escalator, while the other Muslim, Hill Tribe (Dai, Kon, Mon), Indian, Burmese, African, and everyone else were forced to drag their luggage up the stairs. They even turned away an ancient women carrying to bags. I was sick when I saw that, I almost wanted to get off the escalator and take the stairs, but I thought I'd be in the way.

I've been traveling in China for 3 years and I haven't met a single Muslim women ANYWHERE in China. There's a reason for that.

If you speak Arabic, I would consult Arabic Websites for more information.


Bonus Question: China has been untouched by Terrorism because of how heavy handed the Chinese government is, so Chinese people largely don't even think of 9/11 as anything of significance to them and some haven't even heard of it.

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I'm honestly not sure if you're a troll or serious, but I'll give you the benefit of the doubt. First of all, communism is not the same thing as atheism. Nor are 20th century communist countries the same thing as communism. Communism is an economic system, which means that it does not say anything more about religion than capitalism does. It's basically coincidence that the people who decided to stage communist revolutions in the last century also happened to be atheists. Communism as an economic system has no problem with religion and does not favor atheism over other belief systems. Secondly, the leaders of The Soviet Union and China were not just atheists. Being an atheist just means someone lacks belief in God. The people who ran the Soviet Union and Communist China didn't just lack a belief in God: they thought they knew exactly how all people should live, which is why they decided to impose both communism and atheism on everyone. They also feared that religion would be a threat to their power, so they actively oppressed religious organizations because they feared they could build up power and overthrow the government. That being said, you have a point that atheists are not all as tolerant as they would like to think. I've heard many atheists claim that intolerance is one of the fundamental evils of religion--while at the same time acting very tolerant themselves towards religious people. In that sense atheism can sometimes act like a religion. Once someone is an atheist they sometimes feel the need to "evangelize" others into atheism, whether they choose to call it that or not. So, you have a point about atheists sometimes acting hypocritical. But, modern atheism doesn't really have much to do with Communist China or the Soviet Union, anymore than, say, Islam has to do with Al Qaeda or Christianity had to do with the Inquisition.

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I am not a muslim myself but have muslim friends. I stayed in Shehnzen 2 years and never saw anyone have any problems..I am told that Kumming has the best and cheapest university for learning Chinese, but of course Beijing or Shanghai will be more cosmopolitan and more accepting of minorities. I wish you luck, I am sure you wont need it. The Chinese people stare at all none-Chinese but you get used to it.

No discrimination towards religions, and foreigners.
It's absolutely fine to be Muslims in China, they won't treat you differently,
Chinese don't discriminate people worshipping gods different from them.