Tibetan Muslims

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Tibetan Muslims
Khache, Khazar
Tibetan Muslim family in Amdo, early 20th century
Regions with significant populations
 China (Tibet AR)5,000[1]
 India (Kashmir, Ladakh)1,500+[2]
   Nepal300–400[3]
Languages
Tibetan, Mandarin, Kashmiri
Religion
Islam
Related ethnic groups
Tibetan Buddhists, Baltis
Tibetan Muslims
Tibetan name
Hanyu Pinyin
Gǔgé rén
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Tibetan Muslims, also known as the Khache (Tibetan: ཁ་ཆེ་, lit. 'Kashmiris'), are Tibetans who adhere to Islam.[2][4] Many are descendants of Kashmiris, Ladakhis, and Nepalis who arrived in Tibet in the 14th to 17th centuries.[5] There are approximately 5,000 Tibetan Muslims living in China,[1] over 1,500 in India,[2] and 300 to 400 in Nepal.[3]

The government of the People's Republic of China does not recognize the Tibetan Muslims as a distinct ethnic group; they are grouped with Tibetan adherents of Buddhism and Bon. In contrast, the Chinese-speaking Hui Muslims are distinguished from the Han Chinese majority.[6]

Etymology

In Tibet, Tibetan Muslims are known as Khache, literally "Kashmiris" in Tibetan, because many are descendants of pre-modern emigrants from Kashmir.[5] In Nepal, they are split into two groups: Khache, who have Kashmiri ancestry and therefore hold Indian passports; and Khazar, who have Nepali ancestry and therefore hold Nepali passports.[7]

History

Lhasa Great Mosque

Early history

The first contacts between Tibet and the Islamic world began around the mid-eighth century when it grew out of a combination of trade via the

Lhasa had one mosque and a small Muslim population.[8]

During the reign of Sadnalegs (799–815), there was a protracted war against Arab powers to the West. It appears that Tibetans captured a number of Arab troops and pressed them into service on the eastern frontier in 801. Tibetans were active as far west as Samarkand and Kabul.[9] Arab forces began to gain the upper hand, and the Tibetan governor of Kabul submitted to the Arabs and became a Muslim about 812 or 815.[10]

Fourteenth century to present

Extensive trade with Kashmir, Ladakh, and Baltistan also brought Muslims to Tibet especially after the adoption or growing presence of Islam in these regions starting from the fourteenth century. The ongoing growth of Muslims continued as an effect of the Tibetan-Ladakhi treaty of 1684 in which the Tibetan government allowed trade missions from Ladakh to enter Lhasa every three years.[11] Many Kashmiri and Ladakhi Muslims joined these missions with some settling in Tibet.[12]

During the reign of the Dalai Lama

Lhasa.[13] The community soon adopted aspects of Tibetan culture like dress, diet, and the Tibetan language.[14]

An influx of Kashmiri Muslims in Nepal (originally having trade contacts with their kin in Tibet) fled to Tibet starting from 1769 due to the invasion of the Kathmandu Valley by Prithvi Narayan Shah. As early as the seventeenth century, Ningxia and other northwestern Hui (Chinese Muslims) began to settle in the eastern regions of Tibet (like in Amdo). They intermarried with the local Tibetans and continued to have extensive trade contacts with other Muslims inside China.[12]

Another recent wave of new Muslim settlers began after the Dogra conquest of Tibet in 1841. Many Kashmiri, Balti and Ladakhi Muslim troops (who were taken as prisoners when fighting against the Dogra army) stayed behind to settle in Tibet. A few Hindu Dogras also settled in Tibet and subsequently converted to Islam.[12][14]

Among the many Hui subgroups, the geographical distribution of the "Tibetan Hui/Tibetan Muslims" is limited to the Tibetan area, and there are two main distribution areas in China - the "Tibetan Hui" in the Karigang area of the present-day Hualong Hui Autonomous County in

Lhasa (unlike other Tibetan Muslims living elsewhere) consider themselves to be very different from the Chinese Muslims and sometimes marry with other Tibetans (including Buddhists).[15]

Outside of the Lhasa area, smaller Muslim communities and mosques exist in

Dongbaism, witchcraft, and primitive beliefs, and a more devout belief in Islam.[18]

Language

The Tibetan Muslims, like Muslims elsewhere in China, are

Shiite sect, also use a dialect of Tibetan (locally known as Balti) that is a mixture of other languages,[20] but is written in the Arabic alphabet, with many loanwords from Arabic, Persian, and Urdu, and the Balti people also use both Persian and Urdu.[21][22]

See also

References

Citations

  1. ^ a b "Tibet". United States Department of State.
  2. ^ a b c Zargar, Safwat (31 July 2019). "The Tibetan Muslims of Kashmir". The Diplomat. Retrieved 1 December 2023.
  3. ^ a b Hennig, Clare (11 July 2014). "A minority within a minority". Nepali Times.
  4. ^ "The Tibetan Muslims who have made Kashmir their home". BBC News. 1 December 2017.
  5. ^ a b c Cabezon, Jose Ignacio (February 1998). "Islam on the Roof of the World". Aramco World. Retrieved 8 January 2022.
  6. ISBN 978-7-222-09611-0
    .
  7. ^ Sherpa, Duksangh (23 May 2018). "There are Muslims in Tibet, too". Nepali Times.
  8. ISBN 978-0-231-13599-3
    .
  9. ISBN 978-1-64983-961-9
    . Retrieved 11 March 2024.
  10. ISBN 0-691-02469-3
    , p. 14, 48, 50.
  11. ISBN 978-1-134-03294-5
    . Retrieved 11 March 2024.
  12. ^ a b c Berzin, Alexander. "History of the Muslims of Tibet". studybuddhism.com. Retrieved 22 October 2019.
  13. ISBN 9780300194104
    .
  14. ^
    JSTOR 43300418
    .
  15. ISBN 0-674-59497-5
    .
  16. ISBN 978-7-5085-0232-8
    .
  17. ISBN 978-7-5130-1197-6
    .
  18. ^ 李红春 (2008). "关于云南"藏回"社会文化变迁的思考". 中国藏学 (2): 41–48.
  19. ISBN 978-90-474-1145-1
    . Retrieved 11 March 2024.
  20. ISBN 7-223-00313-8
    .
  21. ISBN 978-7-80253-336-3
    .
  22. ISBN 978-90-04-51492-8
    . Retrieved 11 March 2024.

Sources

External links

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