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Islam in Hong Kong

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  • 6 chapters

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Through Islam and Muslims

About 12,000 of the Muslim families in Hong Kong are 'local boy' families, Muslims of mixed Chinese and South Asian ancestry descended from early Muslim South Asian immigrants who took local Chinese wives (Tanka people) and brought their children up as Muslims. Hui Muslims from mainland China also played a role in the development of Islam in Hong Kong, such as Kasim Tuet from Guangzhou, one of the pioneers of Muslim education in the city, for whom the Islamic Kasim Tuet Memorial College is named.

In the new millennium, the largest number of Muslims in the territory are Indonesian, most of whom are female foreign domestic workers. They account for over 120,000 of Hong Kong's Muslim population.

History

The history of Muslims in Hong Kong started since the British Hong Kong government period. The first Muslim settlers in Hong Kong were of Indian origin, in which some of them were soldiers. From the mid 19th century onwards, more and more soldiers and businessmen arrived in Hong Kong from South Asia and mainland China. As the number of them increased, the British Hong Kong government allocated land for them to build their communities and facilities, such as mosques and cemeteries. The British government respected the rights of those Muslim communities by giving them aid.

Chinese Muslims first arrived in Hong Kong in the late 19th and early 20th century, coming from southern Chinese coastal areas, where they had lived for centuries prior. They established their community around Wan Chai District (location of the Wan Chai Mosque). Later Chinese Muslim influxes occurred following episodes of unrest on the mainland. Some Chinese are also more recent converts to Islam. As of 2004, the Chinese Muslims account for over 50% of the Muslim resident population of Hong Kong, and they play an important role in the Islamic organisations of Hong Kong. Hong Kong's Muslims have historically been treated as separate to Chinese Muslims in terms of Hajj arrangements.

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