From October 17 to 18, 2024, the Jiangsu Islamic Association and the Research Center for Strengthening the Consciousness of the Chinese Nation’s Community hosted in Nanjing a conference on the “Research on Integrating Islam and Confucianism and Strengthening the Consciousness of the Chinese Nation’s Community.” The conference was part of a campaign promoting the Jinling School as a model of “Confucianized” Islam.
The Jinling School, formed in late Ming China, established Chinese-language educational institutions for Muslims. Ma Zhenwu, Zhang Shaoshan, and Ma Junshi, all Muslim teachers involved in both Sufism and Confucian studies, taught in Nanjing. They promoted the idea that Confucianism and Sufism were similar, advocating a connection between Islam and Confucianism. This movement faced opposition for introducing non-Islamic elements into Islam and eventually declined.
The CCP bureaucrats’ interest in the Jinling School is noteworthy, but it’s doubtful they fully understand the nuances of 17th and 18th-century Muslim Chinese theologians. For them, “Confucianizing” Islam means supporting the movement to eliminate “Arabic” architectural elements and replacing them with Chinese ones. Ultimately, the CCP is interested in a “Confucian” approach to Islam as a call for unquestioning alignment with the government in power. While this perspective may not accurately reflect the intentions of the Jinling School theologians, it is applicable to the current China Islamic Association.
Over 50 experts, scholars, and Islamic community representatives attended the seminar. Yang Faming, President of China Islamic Association, opened the meeting and delivered a keynote speech. Officials from the Second Division of the United Front Work Department, in charge of supervising religious communities, also attended the conference.
President Yang Faming praised the Jiangsu Islamic Association for promoting the sinicization of Islam in Jiangsu. He emphasized the importance of understanding the spirit of the Third Plenary Session of the 20th CCP Central Committee and Xi Jinping’s thoughts on ethnic and religious work to integrate Islam and Confucianism. Yang urged carrying out basic research, editing Muslim classics to publish them in “Sinicized” versions, and highlighting the contemporary value of the Jinling School. He also called for “innovative approaches that reflect modern times and are easily accepted by believers to advance the integration of Islam and Confucianism.”
In his speech, Qin Hua, member of the Party Leadership Group and Deputy Director of the Jiangsu Provincial Ethnic and Religious Affairs Commission, in turn emphasized that the Islamic community should follow political guidance, study and implement the spirit of the Third Plenary Session of the 20th CCP Central Committee, and increase publicity and education efforts to promote the Sinicization of Islam. He also stressed the importance of strengthening Confucian thought among Muslims as part of the efforts to Sinicize Islam.
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