CHINESE-STYLE ROOFS OF THE KELANTAN BEIJING MOSQUE. PHOTO: HEW WAI-WENG – TAASA Review September 2013
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This article was originally found in the September 2013 edition of TAASA Review (Volume 22, Issue 3, Page 16).
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Most of these newly-completed mosques have adopted the architecture of old mosques in mainland China, yet they are reconfigured within local contexts.
By discussing the Surabaya Cheng Hoo Mosque in Indonesia, as well as the Kelantan Beijing Mosque and the Seremban Al-Saadah Mosque Complex in Malaysia, this article examines how and under what conditions, such mosques play a crucial role in manifesting Chinese Muslim cultural identity, upholding the universality of Islamic principles, as well as promoting religious tourism.
The architectural designs of these mosques are forms of intentional hybridity (Werbner 1997), where elements of Islam and Chineseness' are strategically combined to declare thatthere can be a Chinese way of being Muslim’, as well as to uphold inclusive Islam. The Surabaya Cheng Hoo Mosque is the first Chinese-style mosque built in post-Suharto Indonesia...