12 BOOKS Book Review China and Islam: The Prophet, the Party, and Law By Matthew S Erie. New York: Cambridge University Press. 2016. 447pp. ‘In China, state law severs religion from religious law, yet following Islamic law is central to Muslim minorities’ ideas of good life, defined such values as authenticity, piety, orthodoxy and purity. ] This book is a study about how Hui [Muslims] exercise this capacity when the Party-State, backed by its monopoly on force, mobilises considerable institutional and discursive resources to make Islam conform to Chinese socialism and nationalism.’ Matthew S Erie, an anthropologist-lawyer, has written a pioneering study based on extensive primary sources and 18 months of field-work in Linxia (formerly Hezhou), known as “Little Mecca,” an important Islamic centre in Gansu Province. This is the first ethnography of Islamic law in China with a focus on the substantive and procedural conflicts between the Shari’ah and Chinese state law. China’s Islamic law revival is part of an Islamic renaissance in the country, one that is particularly visible among Hui communities. Erie finds that both Hui and the Party-State invoke, interpret, and make arguments based on Islamic law, a minjian (unofficial) law in China, to pursue their respective visions of ‘the good’. This study follows Hui ulama, youthful translators on the ‘New Silk Road’, female educators who reform traditional madrasas, and Party cadres as they reconcile Islamic and socialist laws in the course of the everyday. Erie places his study within the established field of “law and society,” carefully elucidating the categories used in China – such as jiaofa (religious law) and xiguanfa (customary law), and the changing relationship between state and non-state legal systems under Qing, Republican, and Communist rule. ‘My use of “law” is shorthand for what would otherwise be an enumeration (ie, “law” plus “ethics” plus “morals” plus “customs”)’. The substantive chapters of China and Islam focus on areas of potential contradiction and disorder, narrating both structural, institutional histories and personal tales of community life and conflict resolution. China has more than 23 million Muslims. The Party-State identified ten distinct Muslim ethnic groups as part of its nation-building efforts in the 1950s. In contemporary China, the largest group is Hui, of whom there are over 10 million, (10,586,087) followed by Uyghurs, (10,069,346). Unlike Uyghurs, Hui are geographically dispersed throughout China. Hui identify as the descendants of the Persian and Arab merchants, migrants, and envoys who entered China beginning in Tang Dynasty (618-907 CE). However, they are concentrated in Gansu, Ningxia, Qinghai and eastern Xinjiang. Even though Hui have a much longer history of interaction and intermarriage with the majority Han Chinese, they face considerable discrimination and confined to a second-class citizenship in China. Hui Muslims have adopted a ‘flexible and tolerant form of Islamic law in regard to interactions with the Han majority. From their daily prayer obligations to disposing of real property and marrying in accordance with scripture, Hui work through and around both the rules of the Party and those of the state.’ Erie has not focused on the Turkic-speaking Muslims (Uyghurs) of Xinjiang, maybe because of the sensitivity of the region which has been suppressed by the Government. However, even to Muslims across other parts of the country, ‘to be Muslim in post- 2009 China is to be a suspect class. Such adaptability has enabled them to integrate into China’s markets and state bureaucracies. ’ The book is very well researched and insightful account of Hui Muslims and challenges they face practising Islam and Islamic law in China. Reviewed by Abdul Adil and this article first appeared online on: www.MuslimNews.co.uk Book Launch ‘Step Up Embrace The Leader Within’ Brisbane Sisters Support Services had the pleasure of hosting Kathryn Jones at the launch of her recently published book ‘ Step Up Embrace The Leader Within,’ on Tuesday the 25th of September at Michael’s Oriental. Kathryn greeted and personally signed each book for all the attendees of the evening. At Sisters Support Services we are very big on empowering women and jumped at the chance to coordinate this event with Kathryn due to her extensive experience and background. She is the founder of the ‘Beautiful Muslimah Academy’, the annual ‘Me First Summit’ and she is known internationally as the ‘Peaceful Parenting Coach’ as well as being a Business Performance Coach. Kathryn’s focus is on supporting Muslim women to step us and embrace the leader within themselves, so they can take charge of their lives, rather than have life take charge of them. This evening, Kathryn inspired all the sisters in the room to embrace the leader within and to have the confidence to make the right decisions to benefit themselves and those around them whether they are a home maker, community leader or working within in a professional role. I highly recommend the book. I particularly liked the fact that it is referenced with Quran and authentic hadith, which is great evidence and back up to incorporate and implement into our everyday lives, to use as a tool to benefit ourselves as empowered women in Islam and those around us. If anyone would like a copy of the book, we have some available to purchase for only $20. Please contact us on 0404 921 620 or email on contact@sisterssupportservices.org.au Aliyah (Alison Berger) Sisters Support Services Inc الوسط ¿ 94 صفَ ر 1440 ه ¿ تشرين األول AL WASAT 94 ¿ Safar 1440 ¿ <strong>October</strong> <strong>2018</strong>
13 Burhan Yigit Advertising LABOR CANDIDATE FOR NORTHERN METRO REGION Authorised by Samuel Rae, Australian Labor Party, Victorian Branch. 438 Docklands Drive, Docklands 3008. Printed by Kosdown Printing, 10 Rocklea Drive, Port Melbourne 3207. الوسط ¿ 94 صفَ ر 1440 ه ¿ تشرين األول AL WASAT 94 ¿ Safar 1440 ¿ <strong>October</strong> <strong>2018</strong>
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