dhul hijjah, 1438 - september 2017 the history of chinese ... · the history of chinese muslim in...

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Ma Hailong

School of Ethnology and Sociology, Qinghai Nationalities University

The History of Chinese Muslims’ Migration into Malaysia

Ma Hailong

School of Ethnology and Sociology, Qinghai Nationalities University

The History of Chinese Muslims’ Migration into Malaysia

4 No. 27 Dhul Hijjah, 1438 - September 2017Dirasat

© King Faisal Center for Research and Islamic Studies, 2017

King Fahd National Library Cataloging-In-Publication Data

Hailong, Ma The history of Chinese Muslims migration into Malaysia, / Ma Hailong - Riyadh, 2018

36 p ; 16.5 x 23 cm

ISBN: 978-603-8206-48-0

1 - Islam - China - History I - Title

210.9151 dc 1439/4588

L.D. no. 1439/4588

ISBN: 978-603-8206-48-5

5

Table of Content

Abstract 6

Introduction 7

The History of Chinese Muslim in Malaysia before the Twentieth Century 9

The History of Chinese Muslims in Malaysia in the Mid-Twentieth Century 12

The History of Chinese Muslims Who Migrated into Malaysia after the 1980s 13

•StudyingAbroadandMigration 13

•ExploringBusinessandMigration 19

•JobSearchandMigration 23

The General Situation of Chinese Muslims in Malaysia 25

Conclusion 27

References 31


Abstract

ThepurposeofthispaperistoexaminethehistoryoftheChineseMuslims

whomovedtoMalaysiaandexplainthedifferentfactorsthathaveinfluenced

thismigrationatdifferenthistoricalstages.Iseparatethishistorymainlyinto

twoparts,namely,beforethetwentiethcenturyandfromthetwentiethcentury

onward.Beforethetwentiethcentury,themajorityofChineseMuslimswho

streamed into Malaysia were Chinese immigrants who became Chinese

MuslimsbyconvertingtoIslam.Fromthetwentiethcenturyonward,however,

themajorityofChineseMuslimswhocame toMalaysiawereMuslimHui

fromChina,whobelievedinIslamandspokeChinese,andwhoconstitutedan

ethno-religiousminoritygroup.

Key Words: ChineseMuslims;Malaysia;migration

7

Introduction

Accordingtothe2016MalaysianCensus,thetotalpopulationofMalaysia

is 31.7 million, consisting of 16.4 million men and 15.3 million women.

Malaysian citizens accounted for 89.7% of the population. Malaysia is a

multiethnic society, and Malaysia’s ethnic composition has a significant

impact on the nation’s political, economic, and social systems.Among all

Malaysian citizens, theMalays and aboriginal peoplemake up 68.6%, the

Chinesemakeup23.4%,theIndiansmakeup7.0%,andothergroupsmake

uptheremaining1.0%.1Accordingto the2010MalaysianCensus,Islamis

the largest religious community inMalaysia. It is also the official religion

in Malaysia, with Muslims accounting for 61.3% of the total Malaysian

population.2 TheMalaysian Chinese religion is ambiguous and expansive,

encompassingasetofsymbolsandpracticesdrawnfromChineselifestyles

and traditions. These include deity-centered practices drawn fromTaoism,

Buddhism,natureworship,andancestorworship.Thediverseethnicgroups

andreligionsinMalaysiareflectthediversityofMalaysiansociety.However,

Islamic beliefs have become an important factor in deepening the ethnic

boundariesandidentities thatconstitute theMalayandtheChinesepeoples

(Nagata1974).

At present, the Sino-Muslims in Malaysia include Malaysian native

Chinese Muslims, who have Malaysian citizenship, and Chinese Muslims

from China, who have not yet acquired it. The latter are mainly Chinese

Huimigrants,who totaled about 200 families by2016.MalaysianChinese

MuslimsareMalaysianChinesewhoconvertedintoIslamduetointerethnic

marriagewithMalays orwho had learned of Islam throughDakwah from

others,likefriends,teachers,andneighbors.Sofar,accordingtomyinterview

withtheleaderoftheMalaysianChineseMuslimAssociation(MACMA),KL

Branch,inKualaLumpur,thereareabout80,000MalaysianChineseMuslims

inMalaysia. Several scholars havemade great contributions to the history

ofSino-MuslimsinMalaysia.RoseyWangMausedhistoricaldocumentsto


highlighttheirpresencethere,theirhistory,andtheirdevelopment(Ma2003).

AlthoughshedidanexcellentjobofcoveringthehistoryofChineseMuslims

inMalaysiaindifferentperiods,includingtheMingdynasty(1368–1644),the

Britishcolonialera (1824–1957),and themigrationofseveralChineseHui

clansintoMalaysiaattheendofnineteenthandthebeginningofthetwentieth

centuries,shedidnotexaminethehistoryofChineseMuslimswhomigrated

intoMalaysiabeforetheMingdynastyorprovidedetailsabouttheChinese

HuimigrantsinMalaysiaafterthe1980s.

XiaoXian(Xiao2003)andKongYuanzhi(Kong1991,2006)conducted

researchontherelationshipbetweenthespreadofIslaminSoutheastAsiaand

thevoyageoftheMingadmiralZhengHe.Bothprovideddetailedfactsabout

howZhengHe spread Islam in theMalayworld.LiaoDake examined the

historyof theChineseMuslims,whomadegreatcontributionsinspreading

IslaminSoutheastAsiabeforethefifteenthcentury,basedonChinesehistorical

documents(Liao1997).ThesescholarsutilizedanimportantChinesehistorical

document: Ying-ya Sheng-lan (瀛涯勝覽, The overall survey of the ocean

shores),whichwaswrittenin1416byMaHuan(馬歡),whoaccompanied

ZhengHe(鄭和)onseveralofhisinspectiontoursandservedashischronicler

and interpreter. However, this is the only significant historical document

writteninChineseabouttheactivitiesofZhengHeduringhisvariousvoyages.

Moreover, neither of these scholars provided much information about the

ChineseHuiMuslimswhomigratedtoMalaysiaafterthe1980s.

This paper reviews the history of the Chinese Muslims’ influx into

Malaysia,basedontheexistingliterature,andidentifiesthefactorsthathave

impacted theflowofChineseMuslims intoMalaysia at different historical

periods.Inaddition,thispaperfocusesonthehistoryoftheinfluxofChinese

MuslimsintoMalaysiasincethe1980s,basedon16months(fromSeptember

2014toMay2016)ofanthropologicalfieldwork,whichwasconductedmainly

intheMalayPeninsula,andsummarizesthereasonsandcharacteristicsthat

affected the influx ofChineseMuslims intoMalaysia during this period. I

9

describethehistoryoftheChineseMuslimsinMalaysiaintwoparts,withthe

firstfocusingonthemovementsofthesegroupspriortothetwentiethcentury

andtheotherfocusingonthetwentiethcenturyonward.

The History of Chinese Muslims in Malaysia before the

Twentieth Century

StudieshaveshownthatthephenomenonofChineseMuslimsmigratingto

Malaysiahasalonghistory.In1972,FuWukang(WolfgangFranke),afamous

GermanSinologist,foundanancienttomboftheSongdynastywhenhevisited

someChineseculturalmonuments inBrunei. It included inscription saying

thatitwas“thegravestoneofanofficerwhosefamilywasPufromQuanZhou

ofSongDynastyduringtheperiodofJinDing,SongDynasty(1264),[and]

waserectedbyhistwosons,YingandJia.”AccordingtoCaiYongjian’swork,

Xi Shan Za Zhi (西山杂志),intheQingdynastyrecord,“duringtheperiodof

1228to1234in[the]SongDynasty,amannamedPuZongminsucceededin

theimperialcompetitiveexamination,andthenhewasappointedasahigh-

rankingminister.Later,hewassenttoBruneibythedynastyanddiedthere.”

PuwasconsideredtobeadescendantofArabMuslimsinQuanZhou(Fuand

Chen1993).However,alarge-scalemigrationofChineseMuslimsbeganto

takeplaceinthelateYuanandearlyMingdynasties.Theoriginalfactorswere,

first,thefrequentwarsattheendoftheYuandynasty,whichcausedpeople

inthecoastalareastofleetotheseaforsafety;andsecond, therestrictions

and thediscrimination against furtherMuslimmigration found in the early

Mingdynastypolicies.TheMingemperorTaizu(太祖)issuedthefollowing

commands in1372: “All theMongolians andMuslimsmusthave an inter-

ethnicmarriagewiththeChinese,andendogamyisforbiddenstrictly.Those

whobreaktheruleswillbecaned80[times]andrecruitedintotheimperial

palaceasservants”(Min Hui Dian,Vol.141).

Thereisalsoastatementthatin1385,thedynastyorderedthattheMuslims

inGuangdongbedrivenout,whichforcedmanyofthem,includingChinese


Muslims,intoexile.Theymigratedtootherplaces,mostlyinSoutheastAsia

(Broomhall1910:34–35).Forinstance,inPalembang,Sumatra,therewasa

mannamedLiangDaoming,whohadlefthishomeinChinaandsettledthere.

AmongthousandsofCantoneseandFujianesemerchants,Liangwaselected

aschieftainandamannamedShiJunqinwaselectedashisassistant.Shiwas

aMuslim,andwasappointedcommanderofPalembang(Ming Chengzu Shi

Lu,Vol.52).

Inthefourthyear(1406)oftheYongleemperor,Liangsentadelegation

oftwomen,namedHuiHuiHajiandMahmud,totheMingdynasty.Inthe

firstyear(1425)oftheHongxiemperor,theheadofPalembang,amannamed

Ali,andZhangFoNaMa,bothofwhomwereChineseMuslims,paidtribute

totheemperor(Ming Chengzu Shi Lu,Vol.52;Ming Xuanzong Shi Lu,Vol.

5).MaHuan,theinterpreterofZhengHe,wroteinhisbookaboutthescene

heencounteredinJava,whereintheaffluentChinesewereallCantoneseand

FujianesewhohadfledfromChina.Hesaidtheyateonlygoodandpurehalal

food, andmost of them followed the doctrine of Islam in fasting.Thus, it

seemsprobable that at that time, among theChinese ofSumatra and Java,

Muslimsaccountedforaconsiderablenumber(Liao1997,2007).

In theMing dynasty, there was another new development pertaining

to Islam inChina, that is, the formationofanewethniccommunity, the

Hui.AstheChineseMuslimshadhadcontinuousinteractionwithoverseas

countriesandmaritimenetworks,theywerewellacquaintedwithsituations

abroadandwerethereforeabletosettleelsewhere.Throughoutthecenturies,

a largenumberofChineseMuslimsmigrated toSoutheastAsia, forming

a big, scattered, less concentrated residential pattern.As a result, there

wereChineseMuslimcommunitiesinPalembang,Meleka,andelsewhere

(LombardandSalmon2001).

ThemostfamouseventinChineseMuslimmigrationtotheMalayworld

involvedZhengHe’sseveralvoyages.ZhengHe,aYunnanese,wasborntoa

HuiMuslimfamilywhosesurnamewasinitially“MA.”Hewascastratedand

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senttoworkattheimperialpalaceasaeunuchafterawarbetweenYunnan

andthecentraldynasty,whichresultedinhisfather’sdeathandthecaptureof

hisfamilywhenhewasabout10yearsold.Hethenearnedtheappreciationof

MingChengzu(成祖)ZhuLi(朱棣)andwasgrantedthesurname“ZHENG”

bytheemperorafterhehelpedhimwithmanyconquestsagainsthisopponents,

whichhelpedZhuLifinallyascendthethrone.

From 1405 to 1434, Zheng He launched seven voyages to Southeast

Asia,SouthAsia,WestAsia,andEastAfrica.Among thefleets, therewere

Muslimretinues.AccordingtoParlindunganMangaradjaOnggang,ZhengHe

popularizedIslaminSoutheastAsiamainlythroughtwokindsofactivities.

OnewasbywayofprayinginlocalmosqueswithhisMuslimretinuesand

buildingmosquesinJava,andtheotherwasviaestablishingChineseMuslim

communities in Southeast Asia. The first Chinese Muslim community in

IndonesiawasformedinPalembangin1407,andlaterotherChineseMuslim

communitiesemergedintheMalayPeninsula,Java,andthePhilippines,from

1411 to 1416 (Parlindungan1964: 652–653).ZhengHe’s arrival drove the

spreadofIslamintheMalayworldandalsoaidedthegrowthoftheChinese

Muslimpopulation,whowerealreadyinvolvedincommerce.Thus,Islamand

the economy in theMalayworldweredeveloped rapidly as a result of the

activitiesofZhengHeandtheChineseMuslimsinSoutheastAsia.

DuringtheBritishcolonialperiodintheMalayPeninsula(1824–1957),in

ordertoaddressthelargelaborshortagesfacingthetin-miningandplantation

industries, the British East India Company imported a large number of

laborers fromneighboringcountriesaroundMalaysia,especiallyChinaand

SouthAsia. Some scholars have shown that during this period, therewere

HuipeoplefromTianjin,China,whoweretransportedtoSabahbytheBritish

EastIndiaCompany.AstudybyRoseyWangMaontheseTianjinHuishowed

thatamongthe108ChinesewhoweretransportedfromChinatoSabah,there

werefourfamilies,withthesurnamesWang,Li,Hong,andGuo,fromtheHui

ethnicgroupinTianjin(Ma2003).


Bythelatenineteenthandtheearlytwentiethcenturies,therewereanumber

ofHuipeoplewhohadwillinglymigratedfromChinatoMalaysiainsuccessive

waves.Forexample,theGuofamilyfromFujianprovincecametoSingapore

andPenangattheendofthenineteenthcentury,andtheDingfamilycamefrom

MelakaandIpoh.TanChee-Bengconductedastudyin1987onagroupofHui

peoplewhomovedtoTerengganu,Malaysia,fromGuangzhou,Guangdong,

China. They claimed to be “Yunnan natives” and maintained their ethnic

identitywhilebeingacceptedbythelocalMalaysandChinese(Tan1991).

The History of Chinese Muslims in Malaysia in the

Mid-Twentieth Century

DuringtheperiodoftheRepublicofChina(1910–1949),theHuiAhong

(imam) Ma Tianying (馬天英) and his family relocated to Malaysia and

thereafterexercisedanimportantinfluenceonMalaysiansociety.MaTianying,

anativeofShandong,arrivedinMalaysiaaspartofavisitingdelegationfrom

1938to1940,andintroducedIslamandChineseMuslimstothelocalChinese

PhotooftheOverseasChineseMuslimAssociationMalaysia’sdonationceremonyonJanuary17,2015,toprovideaidtothestategovernmentofTerengganu,whichwasstruckbyheavyflooding.

13

populace. Then, in 1948, hemoved his family toMalaysia in 1948.After

that,MaTianyingmademanycontributionsinMalaysia,facilitatingcultural

exchangesanddialoguebetweentheChineseandtheMalaysandbecominga

well-knownfigureinMalaysiansociety.

One thing thatMaTianyinghasdone thathad far-reachingbenefits for

Malaysiaisthatin1960,withthesupportofMalaysia’sfirstprimeminister,

TunkuAbdulRahman(1957–1970),thegovernmentestablishedaMalaysia

Islamic Welfare Organization (Pertubuhan Kebajikan Islam Malaysia,

or PERKIM). Ma Tianying was appointed as the first chairman of this

organization. Headquartered in Kuala Lumpur, PERKIM has chapters in

all the states of the country.The group aims to help andguideMalaysian

Muslims to better understand their faith, carrying out religious classes,

publishing Islamic-oriented books for different ethnic groups, identifying

newly converted Muslims, and contributing to communal social welfare.

Sinceitsestablishmentmorethan50yearsago,thankstotheeffortsofthe

organization,manynewMuslimsfromMalaysiaandabroadhaveconverted

toIslam(Mi1993;Wan2015).

ThelargestmigrationofChineseHuiintoMalaysiainmoderntimesoccurred

afterthe1980s.ThisgroupmigratedtoMalaysiamainlyforthepurposesof

studyingabroad, investing inbusiness,searchingforworkopportunities,or

simplyoutofadesiretolivethere.Inthefollowingsection,Iwillexplorethe

reasons,time,channels,andmodesforthesekindsofmigrations.

The History of Chinese Muslims Who Migrated into Malaysia

after the 1980s

• StudyingAbroadandMigration

Before the middle of the twentieth century, overseas Chinese migrated

largely in order to escape from China’s famines, domestic upheavals, and

wars,aswellas tomakea living.Starting in the1980s,however,overseas

Chineseimmigrantgroupsmostlymigratedtopursueabetterqualityoflife.


Theystudiedandsettledabroad,mostlyinEurope,theUnitedStates,Canada,

Australia,andotherdevelopedcountries.Manyofthesesojournerscamefrom

economically developed areas such as easternChina and the coastal areas.

However,forthevastmajorityoftheHuipeoplelivingininlandChina,their

own economic constraints, poor education, and religious identity—a very

important feature—meant that they often opted to choose, for their study

destinations,Arabic-speaking or simply Muslim countries, such as Egypt,

SaudiArabia, andPakistan, aswell asMalaysia,whichwas emerging as a

populardestinationforHuimigrantsafterthe1980s.

China’sreformandopening-up(post-1979)markedamajorturningpoint

initsmodernhistory,andsincethatnationhassoughttorestorecontactwith

theoutsideworld,whichincludesrenewimngthosedormantlinksbetweenits

ChineseMuslimcommunitiesandtheMuslimworld.Intheinitialstagesof

reformandopening-up,ArabcountriesintheMiddleEastandinternational

IslamicsocietiesandorganizationsvisitingChinahelpedcreatedtheconditions

forChineseMuslimstostudyabroad.

ItisnoteworthythatChineseHuistudentswereabletostudyinMalaysia

andwereenabledindoingsobythehelpandassistancetheyreceivedfrom

variousmultinationalMuslimnongovernmentalorganizations.Forexample,the

first-andsecond-generationChineseHuistudentscomingtoMalaysiaobtained

scholarships for school tuitions in Malaysia, along with living subsidies,

admissionnotices,visas,andotherformsofsupportandhelpfromtheRegional

IslamicDa’wahCouncilforSoutheastAsiaandthePacific(RISEAP).

RISEAP aims to connect Muslim minorities in different countries in

theAsiaPacificregion togetherand tohelp introduceIslamtonon-Muslim

groups. Itsheadquarters is located inKualaLumpur,withbranchoffices in

manyplaces throughout theAsiaPacific region, includingHongKong and

China.Theabovementionedprimeminister,TunkuAbdulRahman,servedas

thefirstpresidentofthisorganization.In1982,attheinvitationoftheChinese

IslamicAssociation,adelegationfromTunkuAbdulRahman,ledbytheAsia

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PacificEconomicCooperation(APEC)forum,visitedChinaforthefirsttime

(RISEAP1982).FromJuly1988toOctober1995,APECdispatchedtwomore

delegations to China to talk with the China IslamicAssociation about the

enrollmentofmoreChineseMuslimstudentsinhighereducationinstitutions

inMalaysia(RISEAP1988,1995).

The earliest group ofChineseHui students to study inMalaysia came

in1989–1998.Thebasisof thisdivision is as follows: thefirstgeneration

ofChineseMuslimstostudyinMalaysiaattendedtheInternationalIslamic

University Malaysia (IIUM) and the Sultan Royal Islamic Institute in

TerengganuZainalAbidinIslamicCollege(KUSZA).AsaresultoftheAsian

financial crisis, the IIUMstopped admitting international students in 1998

and1999,butitreturnedtorecruitinternationalstudentsin2000.Terengganu

StateIslamicCollege,from1994to1998,hadenrolledwiththeAsia-Pacific

Syria and Malaysia Islamic Development Authority to sponsor the only

groupofChineseHuistudentstogototheschoolforafour-yearreligious-

trainingprogram.Sincethen,theprogramhasbeenshelved.However,after

thisperiod,thestudydestinationforChineseHuistudentswasnotlimitedto

PhotooftheOverseasChineseMuslimAssociationMalaysia’svisitanddonationceremonytoaRohingyarefugeesprimaryschoolinMalaysiaonMay1,2015.


thesetwoschools.Therefore,wecanrefertothefirst-generationandsecond-

generationChinese studentswho came to IIUM before 1998. In addition,

theChineseHuistudentswhowenttostudyinMalaysiaduringthisperiod

received assistance and support from international Muslim organizations

in applying for schools and receiving grants, but afterward, Chinese Hui

studentsdidnotenjoythesebenefits.

ThesestudentsconstitutedthefirstgroupofChineseHuipeoplewhocameto

MalaysiaaftertheimplementationofChina’sreformandopening-up.Withthe

supportofinternationalMuslimorganizations,theyattendedsuchinstitutions

asIIUMandKUSZA.Itisworthnotingthatatthattime,althoughtheywere

MuslimswhooriginatedfromNorthwestChina(Gansu,Qinghai,andNingxia),

andhadastrongsenseoftheiridentityasMuslimsandadesiretostudyinMuslim

countries,fewofthemactuallystudiedreligiouscoursesinMalaysia.Onthe

contrary,most,infact,selectedmajorsfromthehumanitiesandsocialsciences,

suchashistory,economics,management,andpoliticalscience.

AccordingtoanumberofinterviewsIconductedinmyfieldwork,upuntil

1995–1998,ChinaandMalaysiahadnotyetengagedinextensivecooperation

in thefieldofeducation.Therefore, thefirstbatchofChinesestudentswho

studiedinMalaysiaatthattimewaslimitedtoMuslimChineseHuistudents,

and they had very few Han Chinese counterparts attending Malaysian

educationalinstitutions.TheseChineseHuiwerethereforeapioneeringgroup,

andlaterstudentsfromtheHuicommunityturnedtothemforhelpandsupport

aspartofatransnationalnetwork.

Between 1994 and 1998, RISEAP and the department of Islamic

Development Malaysia (Jabatan Kemajuan Islam Malaysia, or JAKIM)

conductedafour-yearreligious-trainingprogramatKUSZA,whichsoughtto

recruitagroupofChineseHuiMuslimstudentsinordertoreceivereligious

traininginTerengganu.Thestudentsweretobeawardedadiplomainreligion

followingthecompletionofthecourse.Participatinginthisprogramwerea

totalof36ChineseMuslimstudents,whocamefromvariouslocationsacross

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China,includingtheNorthwest,Northeast,InnerMongolia,Henan,Sichuan,

andFujian.

By1998,thevastmajorityofthefirst-generationofChineseHuistudents

whohadcometoMalaysiahadgraduatedandchosentoreturntoChina,where

theyfoundemploymentinthefieldsofbusinessandreligiouseducation.The

fewwhooptedtoremaininMalaysiastartedvariousbusinesses,andaneven

smaller handful found work as university lecturers, doctors, and religious

professionals.

Through the assistance of local and internationalMuslimorganizations,

ChineseHuistudentsgottheopportunitytostudyinMalaysiaandpromote,

through their presence, notonlySino-Malaysian relations, but also cultural

exchanges betweenChina and theMuslimworld.Additionally, their study

abroadinMalaysiaalsohadapositiveandfar-reachinginfluenceonChinese

MuslimcommunitiesinChina.Inparticular,fromMay27toMay31,2004,

theprimeministerofMalaysia(2003–2009),AbdullahAhmadBadawi,paida

visittoChinaandconcludedseveralagreementsaimedatenhancingstrategic

cooperationbetweenthetwocountries,asexpressedinajointcommuniqué.

Theseincludedonepertainingtothefieldofeducation—the“Memorandum

ofUnderstandingonCooperationinEducationintheContextofDiplomacy

andInternationalRelations.”

Since then, the number of Chinese Hui students attending Malaysian

institutionshasbeen increasingyear byyear. In2004, theKolejUniversiti

Insaniah,locatedinJeddahMalaysia,startedtoenrollMuslimstudentsfrom

China.Ithas,sincethen,changedintoauniversityandpresentlyhasaSchool

ofManagement, a Faculty of Islamic Studies, a School of Economics, an

InstituteofQur’anicResearch,aSchoolofEngineeringandTechnology,and

an Institute ofArabic Literature, among others.The first batch of Chinese

Muslims consisted of four Hui students from a famousArabic college in

Henan. Following that, the university has annually received large influxes

of ChineseMuslim students fromArabic schools throughout China.At its


peak,theuniversityboastedmorethan300ChineseMuslimstudentsatone

time. In addition to this institution,nearly20otherpublicuniversitieshost

ChineseMuslimstudents,includingtheMalaysiaUniversityofScienceand

TechnologyandNationalUniversity.

Private universities have also attractedmanyChineseMuslim students.

According to the statistics of the second All-China Muslim Students

Communication Conference 2012, there were more than 2,000 Muslim

students from China in the country, with their numbers expected to reach

2,500 by 2015.Among these, 90%were identified as Hui.3 Based on this

statistic,amongtheseChineseMuslimstudents,thenumberofChineseHui

studentswouldbeexpectedtoberoughly2,250.Accordingtotheavailable

statistics,morethanhalfoftheseChineseMuslimstudentsattendedprivate

universities.ComparedwiththefirstgenerationofChineseMuslimstudents

inMalaysia, the characteristicsof the later generationof students couldbe

describedasfollows:First,intermsofthedegreeofeducation,themajority

of the students had already received a standard education from China’s

nationaleducationsystembeforeheadingabroad.Second, in termsof their

geographical origins, the ChineseMuslim students in this periodwere not

limited to those coming from theNorthwest, but also includedmanyother

provinces.Third, theseChineseMuslimstudentswerebasicallyself-funded

anddidnotreceivefinancialsupportfrominternationalMuslimorganizations

astheirpredecessorsdid.Onlyaverysmallnumberofthemactuallyobtained

university scholarships. Fourth, this group enjoyed a far greater number of

educationalchoices,bothpublicandprivate,thantheirpredecessorsdid.

In termsofacademicandprofessionalchoices, theearliergenerationof

ChineseMuslimstudentsinMalaysiasoughtareligiouseducationandoften

becamereligiousprofessionalsinChinafollowingtheirgraduation,although

a few did settle in Malaysia and do business there. After the post-2010

generation, ChineseMuslim students showed greater interest in the social

andhardsciences.Aftergraduation,relativelyfewchosetostayinMalaysia,

19

and instead they opted to return their homeland in search of lucrative job

opportunities.Thefewwhodidsettle inMalaysiadidnotgo intobusiness,

but rather assumed various professional jobs, such as doctor, academic, or

charteredfinancialanalyst.

• ExploringBusinessandMigration

TheemergenceofHuibusinessesinMalaysiawascloselyconnectedtothe

arrivalofmanyChineseMuslimstostudy.Arguably,educationandbusiness

wereanintertwinedfeatureofChineseMuslimlifeinMalaysia.Businesswas

notonlyamotivationfortheirmigration,butalsoameansfortheadaptation

ofthesenewimmigrantsintoMalaysianculture.

Many of the first generation of ChineseHui students were involved in

business,particularlyintheMuslimapparelandtextileindustries.Thethree

HuibusinessmenKeQin,MaHongji,andCuiWen,whowerethepioneers

inthisindustryinMalaysia,andwhohadaccumulatedextensiveexperience

PhotoofporcelainsprintedwithArabiclettersinoneChineseHuimigrant’stextileshop.


andinternationalconnectionswellbeforetheirarrivaltothecountry,aregood

examples.BothKeQinandMaHongjiwerefromXinjiang.Inthe1980s,they

studiedArabicinvariousinstitutionsacrossNorthwestChinaandBeijing.After

completingtheircollegeeducationinBeijing,theycontactedmultipleforeign

Islamicuniversities,andeventuallywereadmittedtotheIIU,whichislocated

inPakistan, around1990. In an interview,4MaHongji said, “In the1980s,

therewasa‘goingabroad’feverthroughoutChinaandinourHuicommunity,

aswell.ForourHuipeople,learningArabicwasapopularthingatthattime.

AslongassomeonelearnedArabic,hecouldgetgoodopportunitiestostudy

orworkinArabcountries.Therefore,wehadstudiedArabicforseveralyears

inNorthwestChinaandBeijing.”

KeQinandMaHongjistartedtheirbusinessinPakistanduringtheirstudy

abroad and took advantageof the holidays to importChinese silk,Muslim

clothing,bedding, andother textileproducts for sale.They reproduced this

modelinSaudiArabia,wheretheirArabicskillswereutilizedtogoodeffect,

beforemovingtoMalaysia.Itshouldbenotedthatafterthereformandopening-

up,theArabiclanguagebecamealinkbetweentheChineseMuslimsandthe

Muslimworld, andChineseHui sought to position themselves, given their

linguisticskills,asmiddlemeninthesedifferentinternationalrelationships.

ManyHuimerchantswhoenteredintotheMalaysianbusinessarenadidso

inapart-timefashionwhilealsostudyingatvariousuniversities.Thepursuit

ofreligiousknowledge,whichwasprioritizedbythisearlygeneration,was

accompaniedbyaprocessoflearningaboutdifferenttradesandbusinessskills

aswellaseconomicconditionsontheground.Thepart-timenatureoftheir

work in business partially arose from the fact thatmany owned very little

capitalandthereforehadtostartfromscratch.

Insucceedingdecades,however,andwiththeincreasingnumberofHui

peoplemigratingtoMalaysia,asocialcapitaleffecthasemergedamongthe

transnationalHuicommunitiesthatlinksMalaysiaandChina.Regardlessofthe

authenticityoftheinformationaboutMalaysiaobtainedfromthepioneers,the

21

sizeofitsMuslimpopulation,itsappealingreligiousandsocialenvironments,

and itsmomentumof commercial growth all succeeded in attractingmany

HuipeoplelivinginChina.Atthesametime,withthedevelopmentofmodern

transportationnetworksandtheimprovementsinsocialstatusandeconomic

conditionsfortheHuipeople,travelabroadisnolongeraluxury.“Regardless

ofwhether[thereis]successornot,atleast,weshouldgooutandtakealook”

hasbecome theattitudeofmanyHuipeople.Thisunderlies thecontinuous

influxofHuibusinessmenandcapitalintoMalaysia.

Modern information technologies also play an increasingly important

role in the transnationalmigrationofethnicgroups.When religiousgroups

makeuseofthesetechnologiestoformatransnationalnetwork,theoutflow

andinfluxoftransnationalmigrationarecloselylinkedandhelpcultivatean

“exotic”imaginationamongthegroup’smembers.AsAppadurai(2012:8–9)

put it: “thosewhoareeager tomove, thosewhohavemigrated, thosewho

want to comeback, and thosewho choose to staybehind aremoreor less

influenced by radio, television, tapes, videos, newspapers and telephones.

Both the political issues involved in adapting to the new environment and

thefactorsdrivingthemtomoveorreturnhomearedeeplyinfluencedbythe

imaginationofthemassmediaandoftentranscendthenationalrealm.”These

technologies,especiallytheInternet,andtheassociatedriseofsocialmedia

outletslikeWeChat,Facebook,andsoon,playanimportantroleinthecross-

bordermigrationoftheHuiinChinatoday.

UnliketheearliergenerationofChineseHuimerchantswhoimmigrated

toMalaysia(1989–2009), theHuimerchants in thisperiod(2010–)already

had some commercial experience in the country and had also accumulated

somecapital.Moreover,theyhadaccesstotransnationalcontactsfromamong

the Chinese Hui diaspora in Malaysia, and accordingly gained valuable

informationandassistancewithrespecttodevelopingtheirbusinessesinthe

country.TheyhavealsobenefitedfromtheMalaysiangovernment’srelaxation

ofvisaandsettlementpoliciesforforeignersoverthepasttwodecades.


TheMalaysiaMy SecondHome (MM2H) program originated in 1996

as part of a long-term targeting of retired foreigners, namely, the Silver

HairProject,aimedatencouragingretiredpeoplewithpensionstotravelto

Malaysiaandresidethereforextendedperiodsoftime.Duetotheproject’s

success, the government decided in 2002 to officially rename the Silver

Hair Project asMalaysia’s SecondHome Project.The target audiences of

the projectwere no longer confined to retirees but nowwere aimed at all

foreignersaged21andabove.

Once it was implemented, the MM2H was met with considerable

enthusiasm.In2003alone,thenumberofapplicationstotaledthesumofall

cumulativeapplicationsin1996–2002.Asoftheendof2009,theMalaysian

governmenthadapproved32,063eligible foreign individualsor families to

settle inMalaysia.Chineseapplicantshavebeen rankedfirst in theMM2H

program in termsof theirnumbers,withsome4,111applying, followedby

peoplefromBangladesh,Britain,Japan,Singapore,andelsewhere.In2009,

theMalaysiangovernmentmodifiedtheMM2Hproject,withthetimeframe

for visas increased from5years to 10years and the possibility of lifelong

conditionalrenewal.In2010,undertheprogram,theapplicationprocedures

forforeignspousesofMalaysiannationalswererelaxed.Participants in the

MM2HcanalsoenjoythebenefitsofpurchasingpropertyandcarsinMalaysia

andmakeuseofmedicalservicesandeducationalservicesthere.

Since2010,therehavebeengrowingnumbersofChineseHuiparticipants

inMM2H.Accordingtotheauthor’sinterviewwithZhouJun,aleaderofthe

MalaysianChineseHuiChamberofCommerce,asof2015,thetotalnumber

ofHuifamilyapplicantsapprovedbytheMalaysianMinistryofTourismto

China approachednearly200. It shouldbenoted that not allHuimigrants

who possessed a home in Malaysia planned to live there throughout the

year.Rather,mostofthempurchasedahouseinMalaysiawhilemaintaining

constant transnational movement—like migratory birds—to oversee their

businessesbetweenthetwocountries.Inaddition,someoftheHuifamily’s

23

children stay inMalaysia for secondary and higher education. In order to

takecareoftheirchildrenandsupervisethem,theparentsapplyforStudent

DependentVisas.Itisnotuncommonforparentstobeinvolvedinbusiness

whilecaringfortheirchildren.

In short, the ChineseHui businessmenwhomigrated toMalaysia after

the reform and opening-upwere partially driven byMalaysia’s image as a

Muslimcountrywith a favorable social environment.Additionally, policies

oftheMalaysiangovernmentthatweredesignedtoencouragetheinflowof

foreigncapitaland thedevelopmentof foreignbusinesseshavealsobeena

factorinthesemigrations.

• JobSearchandMigration

Inadditiontostudentsandbusinessmen,therearealsosomeprofessionals

whomigrated toMalaysia in the 1980s in search ofwork.Two examples

follow:

MaZhongbenspenthisearlyyearsinLibyastudyingArabic,andgraduated

in1992.ThankstotherecommendationofhisfriendMaZhiliang,aclassmate

who attended the same graduate program inChina,MaZhongben became

a lecturer at the Royal Islamic College in Terengganu. He is responsible

for teachingArabic tostudents,makingDakwah tonon-MuslimChinese in

Malaysia,andrecruitingMuslimstudentsfortheuniversity.Withrespectto

Muslimstudents,hesuccessfullyrecruitedagroupfromChinain1993–1994.

Insucceedingyears,heearnedhisMSandPhDdegreesfromtheUniversity

of Malaya. His academic research focuses largely on popularizing Islam

among the non-MuslimChinese inMalaysia, and he has published several

monographs.

FromMaZhongben’scase,wecanseethatduetolong-standingcultural

barriersbetweentheMalaysandtheChineseinMalaysia,theirunderstanding

ofeachother’scultureandreligionwasnotdeeporcomprehensiveenough.

Therefore,comparedwiththeMalays,whowerequiteknowledgeableabout


Islam,orthenativeMuslimChinese,whoknewlittleaboutit,thoseChinese

Muslims from China were the most suitable in approaching the Chinese

anddoingDakwah toward the localChinesecommunity.AsMaZhongben

is ethnicallyChinese,with considerable familiarity inChinese culture, this

helped facilitate his exchange and communicationwithMalaysianChinese

groups.HeisalsoaMuslimbornintoatraditionalreligiousfamilyandhas

studied inArabcountries,and thuspossessesadegreeof Islamicexpertise.

This dual identitymakes him an extremely suitable culturalmiddleman in

Malaysiansociety.

Another interesting case is that ofYu Xinglong, a native of Pingliang,

Gansu.He studied at the IslamicSeminary inLanzhou,Gansu, from1996

to2001.Afterworkingfora localmagazinecalledMuslim Communication

(穆斯林通訊) for threeyears,he laterworkedataschool forstudentswho

haddroppedout inLanzhou.In2005hemovedtoGuangzhouandbecame

involvedintheforeignimport-exportbusiness.

DuringhisstudyinLanzhou,YuXinglongmetauniversitylecturernamed

MaQing.In2009,whenMaQingvisitedauniversityinMalaysiaasavisiting

scholar,helearnedthattheChineseMuslimAssociationinSarawakneededa

ChineseMuslimimamwhocouldteachArabicandIslamtonativeMalaysian

ChineseMuslims.UndertherecommendationofMaQing,YuXinglongwent

toSarawakin2009andsuccessfullyappliedforthejob.Throughouthistenure

attheChineseMuslimSocietyinSarawak,YuXinglongwasputinchargeof

aChineseMuslimmosque,wherehegaveakhutba,orsermon, inChinese

every Friday. He also held many activities for Chinese Hui migrants and

MalaysianChineseMuslims,thusbringingthesetwocommunitiestogether.

InmyinterviewwithYu,5hesaid:

I think we have advantages in Malaysia. We Muslims in China are

deeply influenced by Islamic civilization and Chinese civilization. We

have two cultures, and we can become a bridge between the Malays and

the Chinese here. Malaysian Chinese Muslims is quite a small group

25

here and the non-Muslim Chinese always maintain a wrong perception

on them. It is not true when they call Islam the “Malays’ Religion.”

Islam is a worldwide religion, not a religion of one ethnic group. Only

by bringing Chinese Muslims in China into Malaysia and introducing

the history and culture of Chinese Muslims to Malays and the Chinese,

will they be able to understand and respect each other better.

Currently,Yu Xinglong has been transferred to theMalaysian Chinese

MuslimAssociation branch in Sembilan to become an imam, where he is

engagingwithMalay,Chinese,andChineseMuslimsandservingasabridge

betweentheIslamicandChinesecivilizations.

FromthecaseofMaZhongbenandYuXinglong,wecanseethattheHui

people,whoareimmersedinboththeirMuslimandChineseidentities,enjoy

certainadvantagesinMalaysia.

The General Situation of Chinese Muslims in Malaysia

ThepopulationofthenativeMalaysianChineseMuslimsinMalaysiais

estimated to be around 80,000.Among them, only a small number are the

actual descendants of Chinese Muslims from the mainland, and most are

convertstoIslamduetointerethnicmarriagewithMalaysorsimplyfromtheir

culturalandsocialassimilationviathestudyofIslamortheencouragement

of theirMuslim social circles.Thegeneral dilemma facedby this group is

thatfollowingtheirconversion,theyhavetogiveuptheirChinesenamesand

change toMuslim names such as “Muhammad” and “Amina.” Their non-

Muslimfamilymembersandthewholenon-MuslimChinesecommunitywill

oftendescribethemashaving“betrayed[the]ancestors.”Thus,theirfamily

members,andeventheentireChinesesociety,willdrawaline,makingthem

feelostracizedbyMalaysianChinesesociety.

Ontheotherhand,however,theChineseMuslimsarenotenthusiastically

acceptedbytheMalays.Instead,theyaresubjecttosomedegreeofsuspicion

andmistrust.Thereareoftenquestionsabouttheirmotivationsforconverting


to Islam, and they are accusedof actuallywanting access to the privileges

grantedbythegovernment to theMalays.Thehardshipssufferedbynative

MalaysianChineseMuslimsarenotlimitedtotheirlifetimes,butalsocontinue

on indeath.Forexample, therearecasesofChinesesecretlyconverting to

Islam and not informing their families, a situation which often results in

“corpse-grabbing”incidentsbetweentheirrelativesandIslamicorganizations

with respect to proper burial. The array of ethnic, religious, political, and

economicdivisionsinMalaysiaisattheheartofthepredicamentfornative

MalaysianChineseMuslims,whoneither“belongtotheChineseortheMalay

communities”(Ma2012).

Accordingtomyfieldwork,atpresentthereareabout200familiesofHui

migrantsfromChinawhohavebeensettledinMalaysiaforanextendedperiod

oftime(1–30years).Mostofthem,withtheexceptionofafewindividuals

whohaveobtainedpermanentresidentrightsinMalaysia,stillholdChinese

nationality and live inMalaysia as overseas Chinese under different kinds

of visas. They still cherish strong memories regarding China and their

hometowns, and they maintain close cross-border ties with their families

andsocialnetworksfromthose locales.Therelativelystableand long-term

PhotoofafamousLamianbrandofChineseHuifoodwithmanybranchesthroughoutMalaysia.

27

residentsfromamongtheHuimigrantstoMalaysiaarecurrentlythestudents

attendingvariouspublicandprivateuniversitiesandcolleges,whosenumbers

areroughly2,250.ThenumberofChineseHuimigrantswhofrequentlytravel

betweenChina andMalaysia for family visits, trips, and business is about

50,000eachyear.6

The Hui migrants are mainly located in Kuala Lumpur and Selangor.

Roughly60%ofthemgatherintheGombakdistrictofSelangor.Thisdistrict

is closely related to the concentration of earlyHui students.As increasing

numbers of Hui migrants have come to settle in Gombak, it is gradually

transformingintothelargestcommunityforHuimigrantsinallofMalaysia.

Asalreadynoted,mostoftheChineseHuimigrantsengageinvarioustypesof

business,suchastheprovisionofhalalfoodandbeverages,thetextileindustry

(mainlyMuslimclothingandvarious typesof textiles), tourism,education,

andeveninrealestate.Notsurprisingly,Gombakhasbecomeanimportant

businesscenterforthesemigrants,andwiththeexceptionofhalalrestaurants

andtextilecompanies,manyoftheseenterprisesandshopstherearerunby

ChineseHuimigrants.

Conclusion

This paper reviewed the history of Chinese Muslims who migrated to

Malaysiaandsought to identify thefactors that influenced these influxesat

differenthistoricalperiods.Itmainlyfocusedonthemigrationsthattookplace

afterthe1980sandanalyzedthereasonsandcharacteristicsoftheChineseHui

migrationsatthattime.

TherehasbeenevidenceofChineseMuslimsettlementinMalaysiadating

back to theSongdynasty.Before the1940s,ChineseMuslimsweremostly

forced by circumstances—including war, famine and labor trafficking—to

move to Malaysia and other Southeast Asian countries. They contributed

to the spreadof Islam in the regionandbrought somedegreeof economic

development.Followingthemid-twentiethcentury,theHuipeopleinChina


startedmovingintoMalaysia in largerwaves,andplayedanimportantrole

in Dakwahworkamongnon-MuslimMalaysianChinesecommunities.After

the1980s,anevenlargerwave—insearchofeducation,business,andwork—

arrivedinMalaysia.

Turning to the reasons and factors that encouraged Chinese Muslim

migration intoMalaysia since 1980s, I argue that the religious and ethnic

environment inMalaysiawas important inattracting thiscommunity to the

country.Inaddition,transnationalnetworksbasedonreligionandethnicity,as

wellasthereductioninthecostsofmovementandtravelandaccesstonew

streamsofinformation,facilitatedthesemigrationsintoMalaysia.

First,MuslimsarethemajorityoftheMalaysianpopulationandIslamis

positioned as an official religion and protected by the government, factors

that,alongwiththesizablepopulationofMuslimsinMalaysia,havebecome

importantinattractingthemigrationofHui,whoareaminorityintheirlargely

non-Muslimhomecountry.ThereligiousatmosphereinMalaysiaisanother

importantattractionforChineseHuistudentsandbusinessmen.

Second,themultiethniccultureinMalaysiaisappealingtomanyChinese

Hui, as thefluidity in languageandculture is convenient for those seeking

toadaptand interactwithMalaysiansociety.Malaysiastill retainsa strong

Britishinfluenceasaformercolony,anditsmixofvariouscultureshascreated

anenvironment that canpotentiallymeet theneedsofpeoplecoming from

manydifferentculturalbackgrounds.

Third,theimprovementsineconomicconditions,thelowmigrationcosts,

and the conveniences offered by modern transportation and information

technologieshaveall facilitated the transnationalmigrationofChineseHui

people abroad. Compared with theWestern andArab countries, Malaysia

is geographically closer to China, and its tuition fees and living costs are

relatively low.Access has been facilitated furthermore by the opening of

severalAirAsiainternationalflightroutesbetweenMalaysiaandseveralcities

inChina,makingiteasyforChineseHuipeopletotravelthere.

29

Finally,atransnationalnetworkbasedonsharedreligionandethnicity,has

providedChineseHuimigrantswithimportantsocialsupportnetworks.The

constantmovementofthesemigrantshasalsobecomeatypeofsocialcapital

initsownright.


(1) MalaysiaOfficialPortal,DepartmentofStatistics,“CurrentPopulation

Estimates,Malaysia,2014–2016,”https://www.dosm.gov.my/.

(2) Malaysia Official Portal, Department of Statistics, “Population

Distribution and Basic Demographic Characteristic Report 2010

(Updated:05/08/2011),”https://www.dosm.gov.my/.

(3) ThisinformationwassuppliedbyoneoftheheadsoftheChinese

MuslimInternationalStudentsAssociationwhohasbeenstudying

inMalaysiaformanyyearsandwhoorganizedtheSecondChina

MuslimExchangeConferenceinKualaLumpur,Malaysia,in2016.

(4) I conducted this interviewwithMaHongji in the evening at his

homeinGombakonMay28,2016.

(5) IconductedthisinterviewwithYuXinglongandhisfamilymembers

intheafternoonathishomeinSerembanonMay3,2016.

(6) The figure is based on my interviews with several Chinese Hui

businessmenwhoruntravelagenciesinMalaysia.

End Notes

31

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33


About the Author

Ma Hailong; Muslimname,SaeedbinUthman; received aBachelor

inEducation(2010)andaMaster inEthnology(2013)fromLanzhou

UniversityandPhDinAnthropology(2017)fromSunYat-senUniversity.

HeiscurrentlyalecturerattheSchoolofEthnologyandSociologyat

QinghaiNationalitiesUniversity.HisresearchfocuseslargelyonIslam

andMuslimsocietyinChinaandthecultureandsocietiesofoverseas

ChinesediasporasinSoutheastAsiaandCentralAsia.

P.O.Box 51049 Riyadh 11543 Kingdom of Saudi Arabia

Tel: (+966 11) 4652255 Ext: 6892 Fax: (+966 11) 4659993

E-mail: [email protected]

King Faisal Center for Research and Islamic Studies (KFCRIS)

King Faisal Center for Research and Islamic Studies is an independent non-

governmental institution founded in 1403/1983 in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. As

envisionedbythelateKingFaisalbinAbdulaziz,theCenterseekstobeaplatform

for researchers and institutions to preserve, publish, and produce scholastic

work, to enrich cultural and intellectual life in SaudiArabia, and to facilitate

collaborations across geopolitical borders.TheChairman ofKFCRIS board is

HRHPrinceTurkiAl-FaisalbinAbdulaziz,anditsSecretaryGeneralisDr.Saud

binSalehAl-Sarhan.

TheCenter provides in-depth analysis on contemporary political issues, Saudi

studies,NorthAfricanandArabMaghrebstudies,Iranianstudies,Asianstudies,

Modernitystudies,Energystudies,andArabiclanguagestudies.TheCenteralso

organizesconferences,collaborateswithprestigiousresearchcentersaroundthe

world,employsagroupofdistinguishedresearchers,andmaintainscontactswith

awiderangeofindependentexpertsindifferentdisciplines.TheCenterishome

to a library containing rare manuscripts, an Islamic art museum, King Faisal

MemorialHall,andavisitingfellowsprogram.TheCenteraimstoexpandthe

scopeofexistingliteratureandresearchsoastobringtotheforefrontofscholarly

discussionsthecontributionsandrolesofMuslimsocietiesinthehumanities,the

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dhul hijjah, 1438 - september 2017 the history of chinese ... · the history of chinese muslim in...

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