FROM OBSERVERS TO PARTICIPANTS: SINO-MUSLIM INTELLECTUAL’S ENGAGEMENT WITH THE ISLAMIC WORLD IN THE EARLY TWENTIETH CENTURY

Abstract

This paper aims to shed light on the evolving perception of the
Sino-Muslim intellectuals on Pan-Islamism as they engaged with the
Islamic world. Scholarly literature examining the relationship
between Sino-Muslim intellectuals and the Islamic world often
discusses the role of Chinese Azharites in the 1930s. However, the
engagement of Sino-Muslim intellectuals with the Islamic world prior
to the emergence of Chinese Azharites is rarely explored. This paper
aims to address this gap by examining the process of Sino-Muslim
intellectuals’ engagement with the Islamic world in the early
twentieth century, using magazines, books and travelogues published
by Sino-Muslim intellectuals and official archives as primary
sources. It argues that their level of engagement with the Islamic
world depends on their acceptance of Pan-Islamism, an idea that
emerged in the late nineteenth century advocating for the political
unity of the Islamic world. Notably, the engagement of Sino-Muslim
intellectuals with the Islamic world was not always as harmonious.
Prior to the end of World War I, most Sino-Muslim intellectuals were
sceptical of the idea of Pan-Islamism, which hindered the
relationship between Sino-Muslim communities and governments.
Nevertheless, after World War I, thanks to the efforts of certain
Sino-Muslim intellectuals, they not only embraced this idea but also
actively participated in various issues in the Islamic world.