Tibetan Muslims
Khache, Khazar | |
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Tibetan Muslims | |
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Tibetan name | |
Hanyu Pinyin | Gǔgé rén |
Part of a series on Islam in China |
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Tibetan Muslims, also known as the Khache (
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 Bön. In contrast, the Chinese-speaking Hui Muslims are distinguished from the Han Chinese majority.[7]
Etymology
In Tibet, Tibetan Muslims are known as Khache, literally "Kashmiris" in Tibetan, because many are descendants of pre-modern emigrants from Kashmir.[6] 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.[8]
History

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
During the reign of
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.[13] Many Kashmiri and Ladakhi Muslims joined these missions with some settling in Tibet.[14]
During the reign of the Dalai Lama
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.[14]
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.[14][16]
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
Outside of the Lhasa area, smaller Muslim communities and mosques exist in
Question of citizenship
In 1959, Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru concluded that the Barkor Khache were Indian citizens.[21] The first letter written by the Barkor Khache community in Lhasa was to Tibetan Muslims in Kalimpong in 1959:[21]
It is vitally important for us to let you know that the Chinese Government, after the recent trouble in Lhasa, has threateningly asked us about our ancestry. In reply we declared ourselves with cogent evidence as Kashmiris and subjects of India. The Chinese Government is trying its best to subjugate us and make us Chinese Nationals.
The Chinese government attempted to coerce the Barkor Khache into accepting Chinese citizenship and giving up their claims to Indian citizenship.
Language
The Tibetan Muslims, like Muslims elsewhere in China, are
See also
- Islam in China
- Balti people, Muslims of Tibetan ancestry that live in Baltistan, Pakistan
- Purigpa, Muslims of Tibetan ancestry that live in Ladakh, India
- Religion in Tibet
References
Citations
- ^ "Tibetan Muslims". Tibet House US. Retrieved 16 February 2025.
about 2–3 per cent of the Tibetan population consists of Muslims
- ^ a b "Tibet". United States Department of State.
- ^ a b c Zargar, Safwat (31 July 2019). "The Tibetan Muslims of Kashmir". The Diplomat. Retrieved 1 December 2023.
- ^ a b Hennig, Clare (11 July 2014). "A minority within a minority". Nepali Times.
- ^ "The Tibetan Muslims who have made Kashmir their home". BBC News. 1 December 2017.
- ^ a b c Cabezon, Jose Ignacio (February 1998). "Islam on the Roof of the World". Aramco World. Retrieved 8 January 2022.
- ISBN 978-7-222-09611-0.
- ^ Sherpa, Duksangh (23 May 2018). "There are Muslims in Tibet, too". Nepali Times.
- ISBN 978-0-7881-4666-4. Retrieved 13 May 2024.
- ISBN 978-0-231-13599-3.
- ISBN 978-1-64983-961-9. Retrieved 11 March 2024.
- ISBN 0-691-02469-3, p. 14, 48, 50.
- ISBN 978-1-134-03294-5. Retrieved 11 March 2024.
- ^ a b c Berzin, Alexander. "History of the Muslims of Tibet". studybuddhism.com. Retrieved 22 October 2019.
- ISBN 9780300194104.
- ^ JSTOR 43300418.
- ISBN 0-674-59497-5.
- ISBN 978-7-5085-0232-8.
- ISBN 978-7-5130-1197-6.
- ^ 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.
- ^ a b Atwill 2018, p. 103-104.
- ^ Atwill 2018, p. 109.
- ^ Atwill 2018, p. 112.
- ^ Atwill 2018, p. 115.
- ^ Atwill 2018, p. 116.
- ^ Atwill 2018, p. 118.
- ISBN 978-1-5017-7240-5. Retrieved 13 May 2024.
- ISBN 978-90-474-1145-1. Retrieved 11 March 2024.
- ISBN 7-223-00313-8.
- ISBN 978-7-80253-336-3.
- ISBN 978-90-04-51492-8. Retrieved 11 March 2024.
Sources
- Akasoy, Anna; Burnett, Charles; Yoeli-Tlalim, Ronit. (2016). Islam and Tibet: interactions along the musk routes. Routledge, 2016. ISBN 978-1-138-24704-8.
- Atwill, David G. "Boundaries of Belonging: Sino-Indian Relations and the 1960 Tibetan Muslim Incident." The Journal of Asian Studies 75, no. 03 (August 2016): 595–620, .
- Atwill, David G. (2018), Islamic Shangri-La: Inter-Asian Relations and Lhasa's Muslim Communities, 1600 to 1960 (1 ed.), University of California Press
- Sheikh, Abdul Ghani. (1991). "Tibetan Muslims." The Tibet Journal. Vol. XVI, No. 4. Winter, 1991, pp. 86–89.
- Siddiqui, Ataullah. (1991). "Muslims of Tibet." The Tibet Journal. Vol. XVI, No. 4. Winter, 1991, pp. 71–85.
External links
- Tibetan Muslims
- Islam in Tibet: Preface by His Holiness The Dalai Lama; Including 'Islam in the Tibetan Cultural Sphere'; 'Buddhist and Islamic Viewpoints of Ultimate Reality'; and The Illustrated Narrative 'Tibetan Caravans'- Fons Vitae books
- Islam in Tibet 'The Ornaments of Llasa' Video – Fons Vitae books
- Gallery of Tibet (Includes picture of a Minaret)
- Mosque in Lhasa
- Islam and Tibet: cultural interactions, 8th to 17th centuries
- Exploring Ethnicities: A Sociological Profile Of Tibetan Muslim Community In Kashmir Valley – Analysis
- A minority within a minority: Nepal's Tibetan Muslims mark Ramadan