The Establishment Of A1-Ikhwani Denomination Together With Its Spread In Gansu Province

al-Ikhwani is one of the three major denominations of Islam in China, it was founded by an outstanding Islam scholar Ma Wanfu, who comes from Dongxiang area in Gansu, at end of the nineteenth Century. This denomination attributed to a progressive Islam sect which was influenced by the thought of Saudi Arabia’s schools. The Arabic meaning of al-Ikhwani denomination refers to "abide" so it was also called a "abided school". They stand for the belief that "Established in Koran and Reformed by Koran" and believes in one and only one Allah in the whole universe. At the beginning of its establishing, al-Ikhwani experienced the exclusions from other sects and government officials, however, it then rapidly rose up with the help and support of the Ma’s family. They strived more chances and spaces for its better development and diffusion in China. Before the writing of this paper, a large number of historical data was read and investigated, besides, the author had pay visits to some al-Ikhwani mosques in order to glean the elaborated details and information of al-Ikhwani denomination and its main proposals, spread, and development in Gansu province Then the author made a complete diagnosis of its development in Gansu and its influence on the Muslims to put forward her own understandings. The scattered historical materials and some folk oral records have been discarded and reorganized to supply more abundant historical materials for the research of Yihawani denomination in the future.