The Muslims Of Tibet

Taking the Muslims of Western Tibet as a case study and mainly using the method of Historical Anthropology, this paper attempts to make a profound study of the background and process and patterns of the spread of Islam in Western Tibet and the migration of Muslims from Western Tibet to Central Tibet. For a start, the author introduces the native and abroad research status about the Muslims of Western Tibet in order to confirm the necessity and significance of further study on this topic. Then the author analyzes the process of the spread of Islam in the Himalayan surrounding areas from a historical and cultural perspective in order to clarify the historical background of the spread of Islam in Western Tibet. On this basis, taking historical Kashmir, Baltistan and Ladakh, Nga' Ri region, Nepal as the examples, the author specifically analyzes the means and patterns of the spread of Islam in Western Tibet and its surrounding areas. Finally the author introduces the migration of Muslims from Western Tibet (mainly Kashmir and Ladakh) to Central Tibet on the clues offered by two English works Tibet and Tibetan Muslims (Dr.Abu Bakr Amir-uddin Nadwi. Prof. Parmanada Sharma. Dharasala: Library of Tibetan Works and Archives, 2004) and Islam in Tibet (Abdul Wahid Radhu. Louisville: Fons Vitae, 1997) and particularly introduces the professions, legal concessions, mosques, schools, cemeteries, culture and customs of these Muslims and the interaction between Tibetan culture and Islamic culture in the process of contact and communication in Central Tibet.Through the above research, some conclusions can be made: First, the spread of Islam in Western Tibet is an inevitable result of contention and deep communication among Tibetans, Turks, Arabs and Chinese around the Middle Ages. Second, the spread of Islam in Western Tibet mainly relies on the preaching activities of the Islamic missionaries and the spread of Islam from Western Tibet to Central Tibet mainly relies on the Muslim immigrants, especially the Muslim businessmen. Third, the development of Islam in Western Tibet and Central Tibet is related to the indigenization of Muslims. In Central Tibet the indigenization of Muslims reflects in the intermarriage between the Muslim men and the local Buddhist women, Muslims learning Tibetan language and their customs in clothing and eating and so on. So the Muslims' culture of this region has its unique characteristics. Fourth, as far as the cultural identity is concerned, the Muslims of Western Tibet and Central Tibet not only have strong religious identity to Islam but also have geographical identity to the places where they live and the latter is related to their position and treatment in the local places. Fifth, in Western Tibet and Central Tibet, Islamic culture and Tibetan culture influence each other in the process of contact and communication. Islamic culture injects new blood to Tibetan culture at the same time absorbs quintessence from Tibetan culture. Sixth, in Western Tibet and Central Tibet Muslims' tradition of being good at doing business and their social roles as businessmen are the important reasons that they are needed by local peoples and acquire the quite high social position in the local societies.