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RUEHCN/AMCONSUL CHENGDU 2871

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 CHENGDU 000034 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SIPDIS 
 
DEPT FOR EAP/CM AND DRL 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL:  2/2/2027 
TAGS: PHUM PGOV KIRF CH
SUBJECT: SOUTHWEST CHINA MUSLIM POPULATION GROWING 
 
CHENGDU 00000034  001.2 OF 002 
 
 
CLASSIFIED BY: James A. Boughner, Consul General, United States 
Consulate, Chengdu. 
REASON: 1.4 (b), (d) 
 
 
 
¶1.  (SBU) Summary: Poor environmental and living conditions 
where many Muslims live in China's northwest have contributed to 
the expansion the Muslim population in the country's southwest 
provinces.  Almost all of Sichuan Province's 200 Imams receive 
both religious and Arabic language training from Chinese 
teachers in China, having little opportunity for contact with 
foreign teachers.  Muslim children usually learn the Koran in 
their homes or in mosques, but there is no formal system for 
youth education in Sichuan's mosques.  Seventeen Muslims from 
Sichuan participated in the Haj in 2006.  The Government may 
offer financial assistance to mosques in need of repair and in 
financial difficulties.  The mixed ages of Muslim believers and 
the presence of young and energetic Imams in Sichuan contrasts 
with the overall aging Christian and Catholic populations in 
official churches in the province.  End Summary. 
 
¶2.  (U) On February 1, CG, Congenoff and Consulate Economic 
Assistant met with Guo Gaoming, Secretary General of the Sichuan 
Islamic Association to discuss the status of Islam in Southwest 
China. 
 
Demographics of Muslim Population in Southwest China 
--------------------------------------------- ------- 
¶3.  (SBU) Guo said southwest China's Muslim population is 
growing partly due to the poor environmental and living 
conditions where many Muslims live in China's northwest. 
Sichuan, Yunnan, Guizhou, and Chongqing all experience incoming 
migration from Muslims who come to engage in small businesses. 
He attributed the recent growth of the Muslim population in 
Chengdu to the fact the city has become a transportation hub and 
information center, while historically, it was Yunnan which had 
more Muslim migrants. 
 
¶4.  (SBU) Guo stated there are 112,780 Muslims in Sichuan 
Province and 18,483 in Chengdu (Note: These numbers likely do 
not take into consideration the migrant population or those with 
household registrations outside of the province).  Guizhou has 
approximately 170,000 Muslims and Yunnan has even more, said 
Guo.  Sichuan has 125 mosques and 19 Islamic Associations. 
Chengdu has 8 big mosques and almost every county in Chengdu has 
one.  The Huangchen Mosque where the offices of the Sichuan 
Islamic Association are located, is the largest in the province. 
(Note: the current Mosque dates to 1997.  When the more historic 
former structure was torn down in 1997, it led to a series of 
demonstrations by Chengdu Muslims that lasted for approximately 
one month.  End Note.) 
 
¶5.  (SBU) In response to a question about the age range of 
Muslims in Sichuan, Guo responded that unlike the Catholic and 
Christian churches, Islamic believers had a wide age range, 
including many younger adherents.  (Note:  In post's experience, 
the majority of attendees at services in both the Three Selves 
Patriotic Christian Churches and official Catholic church are 
elderly women.  End Note). 
 
¶6.  (U) Almost 98 percent of Muslims in China, including 
Sichuan, are Sunni, according to Guo.  He opined that there are 
generally no conflicts between Sunnis and Shiites in China.  He 
indicated that both groups came to China over 1,000 years ago. 
The first Islamic missionary in China was from Iran and came 
during the Tang Dynasty.  He started a mission in Shantai 
County, Sichuan. 
 
Training of Imams 
------------------ 
¶7.  (SBU) Guo said there are approximately 200 Imams (Chinese: 
"Ahongs") in Sichuan.  Almost all of them receive both religious 
and Arabic language training in China with Chinese teachers. 
The Sichuan Islamic Association, in coordination with the 
Central level Islamic Association, occasionally provides 
opportunities for Ahongs to travel to Islamic countries for 
further education.  In recent years, 10 individuals, who were 
selected through a religious and Arabic language testing 
process, have had this opportunity.  The participants in these 
programs generally travel to Egypt and Pakistan. 
 
¶8.  (C) Interaction inside of China with foreign Muslims is 
limited.  According to Guo, there is a regulation permitting 
foreign religious teachers on condition of approval from the 
Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs, but no foreign Islamic 
 
CHENGDU 00000034  002.2 OF 002 
 
 
teachers have come to Sichuan to work.  Guo stated there was 
regular intra-province interaction with other mosques and that 
members of the community also know their co-believers in other 
parts of China, even though he did not directly admit to vibrant 
religious exchanges outside the province.  He remarked that 
members of Chengdu's Pakistani community do not come to the 
Huangcheng mosque to worship.  (Note: Pakistan is in the process 
of establishing a consulate in Chengdu and has had engineers 
working with Chinese firms in the area on fighter aircraft 
development projects for a number of years.  End Note). 
 
¶9.  (C) CG chatted briefly in Arabic with one of four young 
Imams present at the meeting.  Guo and several other attendees 
at the meeting did not understand the conversation and appeared 
somewhat nonplussed.  The Imam, who remarked he could also speak 
and read Uighur, told CG he had studied in Yemen and Egypt. 
(Note: All 4 Imams made a speedy exit when Guo began a listing 
of Communist slogans on "harmonious society," and returned at 
the end of the meeting.  End Note.) 
 
Education and Worship for the Young and Female Muslims 
--------------------------------------------- --------- 
¶10.  (SBU) Guo explained that Muslim children usually learn the 
Koran in their homes or in mosques.  However, there is no formal 
system for youth education in the mosques.  The ability of 
families to provide Arabic language instruction to their 
children depends on the family's economic situation.  As for the 
religious practice of Muslim women, Guo said women worship 
separately from men, but participate equally with men in all 
other religious activities. 
 
The Haj 
------- 
¶11.  (SBU) Guo said pilgrimage to Mecca is organized by the 
National Islamic Association.  As incomes increase in southwest 
China, more people want to participate.  In 2006 approximately 
9,600 Muslims from China, including himself and 16 others from 
Sichuan, participated in the Haj.  In response to a question 
from CG, Guo responded that no one from Sichuan had received 
financial support from the Saudi Arabia Government for the 
pilgrimage.  The Saudi Government has provided financial support 
for one Sichuan Muslim to study in an Islamic country, he added. 
 
Financial Support for Mosques 
------------------------------ 
¶12.  (SBU) Asked how mosques support themselves, Guo explained 
the government encourages religious organizations to be 
self-supporting.  However, if mosques are too old, need repair 
or restoration, and are in financial difficulties, the 
government may offer some economic assistance .  Huangcheng 
Mosque, the place of worship of several hundred Chengdu Muslims, 
was rebuilt in 1997 with government funding.  Guo added that 
several thousands believers generally participate in important 
religious festivals. 
 
Muslim Views of the United States 
--------------------------------- 
¶13.  (SBU) When asked how Sichuan Muslims view the United 
States, Guo said that from a national perspective, China and the 
United States have a very good relationship.  Muslims in China, 
like other ethnic groups, should "stay in line" with the 
principles of the country to build a "people-centered" and 
"harmonious" society. 
 
Comment 
------- 
¶14.  (C) The mixed ages of Muslim believers and the presence of 
young and energetic Imams in Sichuan contrasts with the aging 
Christian and Catholic populations in the province.  There is 
clearly information exchange occurring between different Muslim 
communities in the southwest and some opportunity for overseas 
travel for Imams.  While the observation might be only anecdotal 
in nature, Post has noted on a number of travels within the 
district the interest of young Muslims in studying Arabic.  Even 
in Lhasa, we were impressed to find a young Hui Muslim working 
in a mosque close to the Jokhang, Tibetan Buddhism's most holy 
temple, who could speak Arabic.  The young man indicated he had 
been taught Arabic by his Imam who learned it while "studying in 
South Dakota." 
BOUGHNER