Author Archives

  • Ethnographies of Islam in China

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    27-29 March 2017   SOAS, University of London   CALL FOR PAPERS Recent decades have seen increasing global connectedness and rapid changes in Islamic belief and practice in China, across a sphere characterised by great diversity in histories of transmission, socio-economic… Read More ›

  • Islam in Shanghai Suburbs: Jiangwan (江湾) Mosque

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    There are seven main mosques in Shanghai. As Shanghai has expanded many have been moved, on multiple occasions. The oldest, at over 600 years old, is far out in the south-western suburban district of Songjiang (松江区) and is the exception… Read More ›

  • Islam at the heart of Shanghai: Xiaotaoyuan (小桃园) and Fuyou Rd (福佑路) Mosques

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    Downtown, two mosques at the heart of the ‘old city’ are significant for their location and for their historical function (especially during the 1920s, ‘30s and ‘40s) as a conduit for Muslims from inland Chinese provinces who chose to set… Read More ›

  • Music of the Ordam Shrine Festival

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    Music of the Ordam Shrine Festival Professor Rahile Dawut  (Xinjiang University) Aynur Kadir  (Simon Fraser University, Canada) Rahile Dawut has been conducting ethnographic fieldwork around the Xinjiang for over 20 years, and is the world’s leading expert on Uyghur shrine… Read More ›

  • Ethnographies of Islam in China

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      Ethnographies of Islam in China An International Conference 27-29 March 2017 SOAS, University of London Themes: The Islamic resurgence in China Circulation, authority and authenticity Fieldwork methodologies and ethics   The call for papers will be released in September…. Read More ›

  • Urumchi Soundwalks

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    Urumchi Soundwalks Conducting a series of soundwalks is a good way to gauge the range and diversity of the different mosques in Urumchi and to discern, en route, the ‘keynotes,’ ‘signals’ and ‘soundmarks’ of the surrounding city. Experimenting with phone-based… Read More ›

  • A Young Imam Starts the Late Afternoon Prayers at Urumchi Aq Mesjit

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    A Young Imam Starts the Late Afternoon Prayers at Urumchi Aq Mesjit (White Mosque) The ‘White’ Mosque is well attended for the late afternoon service during the month of Ramadan, by a mostly Uyghur population. A young imam calls attendees… Read More ›

  • Early Evening Prayers during Ramadan at Urumchi Shaanxi Dasi

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    Early Evening Prayers during Ramadan at Urumchi Shaanxi Dasi (陕西清真大寺) One of Urumchi’s largest and most influential Hui mosques, it dates from late Qing times and has also been the headquarters of the Urumchi Islamic Association. The Great Hall, with… Read More ›

  • Hui religious freedom

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    Hui religious freedom Source: China Change (13/05/16) Is China Moving to Restrict Religious Freedom for the Hui Muslims? By Wai Ling Yeung https://chinachange.org/2016/05/13/is-china-moving-to-restrict-religious-freedom-for-the-hui-muslims/ http://u.osu.edu/mclc/2016/05/17/hui-religious-freedom China Hui Culture Park http://www.soundislamchina.org/?p=1462    

  • Archaeology of Sound

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    Ha Guangtian (SOAS, University of London) According to one theory, the sharp division between Classical Arabic and varieties of colloquial Arabic, rather than being exemplary of what has been called “diglossia” in socio-linguistics, was in fact the consequence of Islam’s… Read More ›