Controversy erupts online over study of 13 Hui classics

A project under China’s National Social Science Fund which studies the 13 classics of ethnic Hui minority has sparked controversy online as some questioned the propriety of the topic since the books are of Islamic philosophy but not all Hui people are Muslim.

Titled “The collection, collation and interpretation of 13 classics of ethnic Hui,” the project was accused by some of violating China’s principle of not binding ethnic groups to religion.

The accusation was published by WeChat account “Fengsui” on Wednesday. The article has been removed from the internet as of press time.

Zhou Chuanbin, a researcher at Lanzhou University who led the research, told the Global Times that the project, which is a literature study, will gather manuscripts and interpretations of the 13 classic books circulating among Hui people.

“The 13 classics belong to an Islamic philosophy system. It has been circulating among Hui people in China since the Ming Dynasty,” Zhou said.

The project was named as 13 classics of the Hui only because it is widely circulated among Hui people in China, and not all regions which believe in Islam have the book, he said. Those traditional books are for professional researchers, he added.

Gao Zhanfu, vice dean of the Beijingbased China Islamic Institute, told the Global Times that the “project on 13 classics of the Hui aims to offer a new interpretation of the classics to make it conform to the path of Islam sinicization.”

China welcomes positive or negative academic research on religion but the research has to highlight China’s basic principles and guidelines toward religion and the value of dialectical materialism, Zhu Weiqun, former head of the Ethnic and Religious Affairs Committee of the National Committee of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference in Beijing, told the Global Times on Thursday.

Judging from its title, the project violates the principle that China objects to binding ethnicity to religion. Not all Hui people believe in Islam, Zhu noted.

The project was listed on the website of the National Office for Philosophy and Social Sciences (NSSFC) for public comments until next Tuesday.

The NSSFC told the Global Times on Thursday that they have received diverse feedback from scholars and are examining the project.