Session Name: Living Elsewhere: Minority Experiences and Marginalization in Foreign Communities
Communities on the Move: Transnational Muslim Interactions and Mobilities in Taiwan
Wednesday, July 31, 2024
14:00 – 15:45 (GMT+7)
Paper Abstract: This paper examines how the migration of foreign Muslims, mainly Indonesian Muslims and Yunnanese Muslims from Myanmar and Thailand to Taiwan has influenced the Chinese Muslim community in Taiwan. With the rapid increase of Yunnanese Muslims from Myanmar and Thailand since the 1980s and the increase of migrant workers from Indonesia and other Southeast Asian countries since the 1990s, it has been pointed out that the Muslim community in Taiwan has become more pluralistic. Furthermore, previous literature has argued that the increasing number of foreign Muslims has revitalized the aging Chinese Muslim community. In fact, most of the imams in mosques in Taiwan are Yunnanese Muslims from Myanmar and Thailand. Furthermore, many foreign Muslims participate in activities such as prayer at mosques. Therefore, it can be said that the acceptance of new immigrants has played an important role in the revitalization or reproduction of the Muslim community in Taiwan over time. However, not only are the major positions in mosques monopolized by Chinese Muslims, but also religious activities in mosques are based on the Chinese language. In this sense, foreign Muslims have been marginalized in the existing Muslim community in Taiwan. Focusing on the mobilities of foreign Muslims and the relationships among diverse Muslims in religious activities, this paper reveals that the "pluralization" of Muslim community in Taiwan is the formation of nodes of Muslims moving in different cycles, rather than the formation of community that are inclusive of Muslims with diverse attributes.