3.2 China Islamic Association

3.2 China Islamic Association

Management of local branches of the China Islamic Associations (CIA) is perceived as a precondition for CCP control of mosques and Islamic communities more broadly. The Five-Year Plan and Document 10 both envisage an expanded role for the CIA, and the national structure of Islamic Associations has effectively served as implementing organizations for Sinicization policy. Formally, the CIA does not have control of individual mosques, as it is intended to serve as a conduit between religious communities and the Party-state. Individual mosque management committees are theoretically the highest authority over the affairs of a single mosque, and mosques are required to be independent of each other. Party-state policy continues to assert the mosque management committee as a representative of the democratic control of mosque affairs by the people.

As a result, the level of influence enjoyed by the Islamic Association had previously varied by region. As Doyon notes, the relationships between local Islamic Associations and mosque management committees were previously differentiated by region: in small Muslim communities, where donations were low, the local Islamic Association had significant control of mosque affairs; in larger Muslim communities with higher levels of donations, the mosque management committees were the primary directors of mosque affairs, with the Islamic Association acting primarily as a mediator between the mosque and local government. In Qinghai, Gansu, and Ningxia, mosque management committees retained primary control of imam appointments, with the CIA merely approving the chosen candidates. Mosque management committees also control finances and property for individual mosques, some of which lease space to shopkeepers. Control of mosque management committees thus ensures much tighter control of imam appointments, allowing the Party-state to install members who will stringently facilitate and enforce Sinicization policies.

The 2018 incorporation of the State Administration for Religious Affairs (SARA), the bureau which previously sat above the CIA and the other official religious organizations, into the UFWD brought religious affairs back under the direct control of the Party. In addition, changes to the CIA’s Constitution in 2022 further emphasize the extent to which the Association serves the Party, with repeated references to Xi Jinping Thought added to the text. Requirements for the head of the Islamic Association stress the importance of their political credentials, while “extensive knowledge of Islam” is listed as desirable but not essential. Where earlier constitutions stated the Association “is a patriotic religious group and Islamic religious organization for Muslims of all ethnic groups in the country,” the 2022 revision states that “The Association is a national Islamic patriotic religious group and a non-profit social organization for religious affairs, formed voluntarily by Muslims and people who care about and support the cause of Islam.” This change opens the door for non-Muslim participation in the CIA and de-emphasizes ethnicity (minzu) within the Association.

Since 2016, the CIA has expanded its roles and remit within mosque communities, fulfilling the “bridge” role anticipated in Document 10. Since the 2018 passing of the revised Regulations on Religious Affairs, SARA has issued a number of ordinances designed to regularize and regulate the activity of religious organizations, in cooperation with other relevant departments. These have included the Administrative Measures for Religious Groups (宗教团体管理办法, 2019), Notice on Registration of Legal Persons of Religious Venues (关于宗教活动场所办理法人登记事项的通知, 2019), Measures for the Administration of Islamic Hajj Affairs (伊斯兰教朝觐事务管理办法, 2020), Administrative Measures for Religious Clergy (宗教教职人员管理办法, 2021) and the Measures for the Establishment of Religious Institutes (宗教院校管理办法, 2021); and Measures for the Administration of Internet Religious Information Services (互联网宗教信息服务管理办法, 2021). As a whole, the new regulations mandate greater oversight of mosque personnel and mosque administration, with stringent requirements on financial reporting and legal duties. Dissemination and study of the new regulations has been core to CIA activity, reflecting the new emphasis within their constitution on adherence to the national legal system.

To guide implementation of the above, the CIA has issued a series of specific regulations designed for Islamic communities, collectively known as the “three measures and the one code.” Respectively, these are the “Measures for the Democratic Management of Mosques” (清真寺民主管理办法), “Measures for the Qualifications of Islamic Clergy” (伊斯兰教教职人员资格认定办法), “Measures for the Appointment of Major Clerical Positions in Islamic Activity Venues” (伊斯兰教活动场所主要教职聘任办法), and “Code of Conduct for Islamic Clergy” (伊斯兰教教职人员行为守则). The four regulations were issued in 2019, and have since been revised in 2023. Collectively, the regulations seek to standardize the patchwork of regulation of clergy and venues that had emerged since 2017.

Additionally, CIA bodies have become the visible faces of Sinicization policy by organizing lecture tours on Sinicization, overseeing architectural renovations, and hosting preaching competitions and training sessions. Despite the lack of a formal hierarchical relationship between individual mosques and the CIA, branch associations increasingly exercise authority over individual mosques, issuing directives for policy implementation as supported by the suite of SARA regulations. For instance, regulations issued by the Hohhot Islamic Association in August 2019 include stipulations that mosques should a) not permit storage of illegal religious publications, b) strengthen management of religious personnel and should not host Tablighi Jamaat missionaries, c) not permit storage of personal property in the mosque, and d) that minors cannot be forced to attend religious activities. Duplicates of the new regulations were issued to both the city United Front Department and the Huimin city district (回民区) United Front. The Hohhot Islamic Association has since established a ‘China Exceptional Traditional Culture Activity Centre’ inside Hohhot Great Mosque, with an inauguration ceremony held in December 2020.