Abstract
There is wide consensus that Islam is an important rallying point for the Uyghurs and an essential component of their national identity. Yet despite its centrality in Uyghur culture, there is only marginal reference to religion in modern Uyghur poetry. In this article, I argue that poets such as Adil Tuniyaz, Tahir Hamut Izgil, and others, most of whom are secular and urban, choose to relate to religion through mysticism and nostalgia in reaction to the Chinese state’s characterization of Islam as identified with violent fundamentalism and terrorism. By avoiding the use of separatist symbols, these poets contribute to a broad national ethos that strengthens contemporary Uyghur identity.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 846-877 |
| Number of pages | 32 |
| Journal | Modern China |
| Volume | 48 |
| Issue number | 4 |
| DOIs | |
| State | Published - Jul 2022 |
Bibliographical note
Publisher Copyright:© 2021 The Author(s).
Funding
I would like to thank Nimrod Baranovitch and Yitzhak Shichor for their wise and diligent guidance while writing the manuscript on which this article is based. I am also thankful for the insightful comments of the Modern China reviewers, as well as the generous help of two anonymous Uyghur scholars and the Uyghur poets who inspired this research. The author received no financial support for the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.
Keywords
- China
- Islam
- Uyghur
- Xinjiang
- poetry
