SOAS Research Online

Abstract

This introduction to a journal special issue draws together an interdisciplinary group of international scholars interested in the ethnographically grounded, historically informed study of local Islamic practices within Muslim communities across China. The contributors draw on the diverse methodologies of historical, textual analysis, and sensory ethnography to map the Islamic soundscapes of China. The content of this volume ranges from a 16th century Sufi text from Eastern Turkestan, to legal clashes in 18th century Yunnan, from the soundscape of women’s mosques in Henan, and recitation of Jahriyya Sufis in Ningxia, to Internet videos circulating amongst Uyghur Muslims in Xinjiang. These investigations aim to provide new insights into the nature of religious practice, meaning and power, and illustrate the ways in which they are sonically negotiated both within society and in relation to the state.