[GUEST ACCESS MODE: Data is scrambled or limited to provide examples. Make requests using your API key to unlock full data. Check https://lunarcrush.ai/auth for authentication information.]  Arnaud Bertrand [@RnaudBertrand](/creator/twitter/RnaudBertrand) on x 339.6K followers Created: 2025-07-24 12:23:58 UTC This is fascinating: China is virtually unique in the Islamic world for having an established, centuries-old tradition of female imams (nü ahong - 女阿訇) in women-only mosques (known as nüsi, literally "women’s temple"). In these mosques, the female imams lead women-only prayers, usually standing shoulder to shoulder with the other women (as opposed to in front, for male imams). They also teach women and girls how to recite the Quran, basic Islamic doctrine, and offer guidance on daily life from a religious perspective. The origins of this tradition date to the late Ming and early Qing period (17th–18th century), when Hui Muslim communities in central China (Henan, Shanxi provinces) began setting up separate spaces for women’s religious education. Initially these were Qur’anic schools for girls, meant to improve women’s basic religious literacy. Over time, many of these schools evolved into full-fledged women’s mosques. The oldest surviving women’s mosque is said to be the Wangjia Hutong Women’s Mosque in Kaifeng, Henan, which was founded in 1820. Today, in Kaifeng alone, there are XX women’s mosques – about one women’s mosque for every three men’s mosques. It's only recently that “women-led mosques” have started to appear in other countries – for example, the Women’s Mosque of America in Los Angeles (est. 2015). Interestingly, the pioneers of these Western women’s mosques often cite China’s nü ahong as an inspiration. There's so much disinformation about Islam in China when the truth is that China is actually one of the countries in the world with some of the oldest Muslim traditions, older than in most Muslim countries, and with a form of Islam that has evolved along distinctly Chinese lines for over XXXXX years. According to tradition, the Prophet Muhammad’s companion Sa’d ibn Abi Waqqas reached the port of Guangzhou in XXX CE, and Guangzhou’s Huaisheng Mosque (the “Lighthouse Mosque”, 怀圣寺) is claimed to have been founded in the 7th century by Waqqas himself. Which means that Islam in China is pretty much as old as Islam itself. This of course makes some of the critics of China and Islam deeply ironical. Many in the West, such as the FT recently claim that "China is tearing down Islam" because it decided to renovate many of its mosques to make them more Chinese in their architecture. When actually mosques in China have always looked Chinese - the Arabic domes and minarets are a recent post-1980s fashion that represents a complete departure from, not a continuation of, China's authentic Islamic architectural tradition. Far from 'tearing down Islam,' China is restoring thirteen centuries of Chinese Islamic identity by ensuring it remains "Islam of China" rather than a deterritorialized imitation of Middle Eastern styles. The FT and others making this critic are actually the ones arguing in favor in cultural and religious destruction. The real "tearing down" here being their insistence that authentic Islam can only look Arabic - a form of cultural colonization that would erase China's unique Islamic heritage. Another profound irony, perhaps the biggest one, is that when one looks at Islam in China, you find some of the most progressist traditions in the Muslim world, like these female imams. And that many of the actions presented in the West as China "destroying Islam," or even a "cultural genocide," are actually often China fighting to preserve its indigenous Islamic heritage -with all its progressive innovations - against external influence that would replace China's authentic Islamic traditions. Which means that in effect, again, these critics are insisting that Islam should reject its own capacity for progressive innovation and cultural adaptation and conform to their own very stereotypical - and actually insulting - vision of Islam as necessarily inflexible and culturally uniform, incapable of producing traditions like female spiritual leadership or architectural diversity. Which is incidentally a big part of the reason why no Muslim country ever criticizes China when it comes to Islam and the way it treats Muslims - quite the contrary in fact - and why the critics pretty much only comes from the West: because they have a very limited and superficial understanding of what Islam actually is, shaped by their own stereotypes. They think they "protect" Islam and Muslims but in effect they're misrepresenting the religion as incapable of adaptation, progress, or cultural synthesis - exactly the kind of mischaracterization that fuels anti-Muslim sentiment. For more on the history of Islam in China, read this wonderful Substack post from which this quote 👇 is from:  XXXXXXX engagements  **Related Topics** [women](/topic/women) [china](/topic/china) [Post Link](https://x.com/RnaudBertrand/status/1948358496040137134)
[GUEST ACCESS MODE: Data is scrambled or limited to provide examples. Make requests using your API key to unlock full data. Check https://lunarcrush.ai/auth for authentication information.]
Arnaud Bertrand @RnaudBertrand on x 339.6K followers
Created: 2025-07-24 12:23:58 UTC
This is fascinating: China is virtually unique in the Islamic world for having an established, centuries-old tradition of female imams (nü ahong - 女阿訇) in women-only mosques (known as nüsi, literally "women’s temple").
In these mosques, the female imams lead women-only prayers, usually standing shoulder to shoulder with the other women (as opposed to in front, for male imams). They also teach women and girls how to recite the Quran, basic Islamic doctrine, and offer guidance on daily life from a religious perspective.
The origins of this tradition date to the late Ming and early Qing period (17th–18th century), when Hui Muslim communities in central China (Henan, Shanxi provinces) began setting up separate spaces for women’s religious education. Initially these were Qur’anic schools for girls, meant to improve women’s basic religious literacy. Over time, many of these schools evolved into full-fledged women’s mosques.
The oldest surviving women’s mosque is said to be the Wangjia Hutong Women’s Mosque in Kaifeng, Henan, which was founded in 1820. Today, in Kaifeng alone, there are XX women’s mosques – about one women’s mosque for every three men’s mosques.
It's only recently that “women-led mosques” have started to appear in other countries – for example, the Women’s Mosque of America in Los Angeles (est. 2015). Interestingly, the pioneers of these Western women’s mosques often cite China’s nü ahong as an inspiration.
There's so much disinformation about Islam in China when the truth is that China is actually one of the countries in the world with some of the oldest Muslim traditions, older than in most Muslim countries, and with a form of Islam that has evolved along distinctly Chinese lines for over XXXXX years.
According to tradition, the Prophet Muhammad’s companion Sa’d ibn Abi Waqqas reached the port of Guangzhou in XXX CE, and Guangzhou’s Huaisheng Mosque (the “Lighthouse Mosque”, 怀圣寺) is claimed to have been founded in the 7th century by Waqqas himself. Which means that Islam in China is pretty much as old as Islam itself.
This of course makes some of the critics of China and Islam deeply ironical. Many in the West, such as the FT recently claim that "China is tearing down Islam" because it decided to renovate many of its mosques to make them more Chinese in their architecture.
When actually mosques in China have always looked Chinese - the Arabic domes and minarets are a recent post-1980s fashion that represents a complete departure from, not a continuation of, China's authentic Islamic architectural tradition. Far from 'tearing down Islam,' China is restoring thirteen centuries of Chinese Islamic identity by ensuring it remains "Islam of China" rather than a deterritorialized imitation of Middle Eastern styles.
The FT and others making this critic are actually the ones arguing in favor in cultural and religious destruction. The real "tearing down" here being their insistence that authentic Islam can only look Arabic - a form of cultural colonization that would erase China's unique Islamic heritage.
Another profound irony, perhaps the biggest one, is that when one looks at Islam in China, you find some of the most progressist traditions in the Muslim world, like these female imams. And that many of the actions presented in the West as China "destroying Islam," or even a "cultural genocide," are actually often China fighting to preserve its indigenous Islamic heritage -with all its progressive innovations - against external influence that would replace China's authentic Islamic traditions.
Which means that in effect, again, these critics are insisting that Islam should reject its own capacity for progressive innovation and cultural adaptation and conform to their own very stereotypical - and actually insulting - vision of Islam as necessarily inflexible and culturally uniform, incapable of producing traditions like female spiritual leadership or architectural diversity.
Which is incidentally a big part of the reason why no Muslim country ever criticizes China when it comes to Islam and the way it treats Muslims - quite the contrary in fact - and why the critics pretty much only comes from the West: because they have a very limited and superficial understanding of what Islam actually is, shaped by their own stereotypes. They think they "protect" Islam and Muslims but in effect they're misrepresenting the religion as incapable of adaptation, progress, or cultural synthesis - exactly the kind of mischaracterization that fuels anti-Muslim sentiment.
For more on the history of Islam in China, read this wonderful Substack post from which this quote 👇 is from:
XXXXXXX engagements
