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Using Religion to Resist Rural Dispossession: A Case Study of a Hui Muslim Community in North-west China

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  29 April 2016

Qiangqiang Luo*
Affiliation:
School of Politics and Law, Ningxia University
Joel Andreas
Affiliation:
Department of sociology, Johns Hopkins University. Email: jandreas@jhu.edu.
*
Email: nxluoqq@163.com (corresponding author).

Abstract

In this paper, we examine the role played by religion in a struggle waged by Hui Muslim villagers against land expropriation. Religion can provide powerful resources for protest movements, especially for religious minorities, but it can also be dangerous. This is particularly true in China where the state has had little toleration of autonomous organization and has long been suspicious of religious organization, especially among ethnic minorities. Scholarly literature about collective action by religious minorities in China has focused on protests about cultural and political issues – and the repression of such protests – but there has been relatively little scholarship about protests by religious minorities over economic issues. The number of protests over economic conflicts has increased in recent years, and the state has been more tolerant of economic than of political protests. These conditions have shaped the following questions: what happens when villagers employ religious ideas and use religious organization to advance economic demands? How effective are religious ideas and organization as tools of mobilization? How do government authorities respond?

摘要

本文分析了宗教在回族穆斯林村民抵制土地剥夺过程中的作用。中国的现实情况是国家严格管理自治组织, 对少数民族地区的宗教组织也长期进行管控。因此, 对于有宗教信仰的少数民族而言, 宗教既能为他们的抗争活动提供有力的资源, 但同时也会带来一定的政治风险。当前学术界对于中国有信仰的少数民族的集体行动的研究主要集中在文化和政治议题的抗争, 以及对这些抗争的镇压方面。相对而言, 很少有学者关注有宗教信仰的少数民族对经济议题的抗争。实际上, 近些年来经济议题的抗争不断呈上升趋势, 国家对此也采取了比政治议题抗争更加宽容的态度。正是这样的背景促使我们研究这样的问题: 当村民利用宗教语言和宗教组织来推动经济需求是会发生什么? 将宗教语言和宗教组织作为动员工具的效果如何? 政府部门对此会采取什么样的反应?

Type
Articles
Copyright
Copyright © The China Quarterly 2016 

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