Mainland Chinese Muslims in Malaysia: Cultural Diversity within a Specific Islamic Framework

On 22 August 2024, a mosque in the Malaysian royal city of Klang, Selangor, opened its doors with maghrib (sunset) prayers. Passersby would not have been faulted for mistaking it for a Chinese temple as the pagoda-like building with Chinese tiles on the roof and Chinese calligraphy within was modelled after the Great Mosque of Xi’an. At the entrance, visitors are greeted by a screen wall (照壁 zhaobi), with the Prophet Muhammad’s last sermon written in Chinese characters, before entering a wooden door with bronze door knockers that opens to moon gates and a courtyard that resembles Chinese imperial gardens.

The Chinese-styled mosque illustrates the inroads made by mainland Muslim believers in Malaysia. It also underscores the dual nature of Chinese Muslims in Malaysia. While they have made inroads into a culture dominated by their Malay-Muslim co-religionists, the incorporation of Chinese cultural elements into their Muslim lifestyle is tolerated insofar as it does not affect the primacy of Malaysia’s Malay-Muslim identity.

Although Chinese-Muslim mosques and are not new in Malaysia, they are rare ­— the Chinese-Muslim Mosque of Klang (Masjid Jamek Cina Muslim Klang) is one of the most intricate and extensive in its mainland Chinese architectural influence. It also illustrates the historical influence that the practice of Islam in China has had on the faith in Malaysia.

Such cultural diversity in Islam is uncommon in modern Malaysia, as Malay culture has long been the dominant and inseparable force intertwined with Islam. Islam was institutionalised during the Malacca sultanate (1400 to 1511 AD), reinforced by the British colonial administrators as a Malay-Muslim identity, before being codified into the Malaysian Federal Constitution. In modern politics, political Islam features prominently in Malay nationalism, from state-sponsored Islamic departments to grassroots politics. 

Despite this entrenched norm of the Malay-Muslim identity, several threads of cultural diversity have emerged in an unthreatening way from mainland Chinese Muslims. 

A mainland Chinese-Muslim ecosystem of actors, events, and institutions exists to reinforce this phenomenon, similar to the Klang mosque. TikTok influencers like Shoaib (@eatai786, 534K followers), Majin (@majing.fatima, 482K followers), and Shuang Yi (@shuangaunt, 52K followers) create conversations about mainland Chinese living as Muslims in Malaysia and cultural events like Pasar Eatai One UtamaChinese-Muslim Food Fair and Chinese-Muslim Food Festival.  Such diversity is only possible if it does not substantially alter the existing Malay-Muslim norm and/or operates within the norm’s existing framework.

A hallmark of this phenomenon is the increase in Chinese-Muslim restaurants in Malaysia because the halal nature of the food makes it more acceptable to Malay Muslims. The number of restaurants run by Malaysian Chinese Muslim converts has risen in the recent decade. These include the Mohammad Chow Kitchen, Mohammad Chan Restaurant, and Sharin Low Restaurant. Restaurants run by mainland Chinese Muslims have further accelerated this increase. They are best known for their mix of Northwestern Chinese and Xinjiang dishes, notably the Lanzhou pulled noodles (拉面, lamian, or “mee tarik”) and Xinjiang lamb skewers.

The Power of Chinese Muslims Restaurants

Figure 1. Heatmap of Chinese-Muslim Restaurants in Kuala Lumpur and Selangor

As seen in Figure 1, the highest-density areas (red and orange markers) for these restaurants are in the Kuala Lumpur city centre (northeast), Ampang, Gombak, and Bangi. Unsurprisingly, these are places with a high Malay population, particularly middle-class, where halal consumption patterns are diversified. Chinese-Muslim restaurants are also developing in moderate-density areas (yellow and green markers) with a growing middle-class Malay population, such as Bandar Sri Permaisuri, Bandar Mahkota Cheras, Bandar Tun Hussein Onn, Cyberjaya, Kelana Jaya, Subang Jaya, and parts of Petaling Jaya.

Such mainland Chinese-Muslim influence in Malaysia is not new, but its resurgence and degree of influence on Malay-Muslim culture is unprecedented. The earliest Chinese voyager to Malaysia, Cheng Ho, was a Muslim and likely played a key role in disseminating Islam in the 15th century. After independence, Malaysia, under Prime Minister Tun Razak, became the first Southeast Asian country to establish diplomatic relations with China, accelerating a series of people-to-people exchanges. Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim sees China as an economic partner and shows appreciation for Chinese culture and civilisation, viewing Malaysia as an ideal site for Confucian-Islamic dialogue, i.e. discussions on Confucian and Islamic thoughts.   

At the ground level, cultural diversity in Islam is more readily accepted as it presents a dakwah (Islamic preaching) opportunity to non-Muslims. The “halalisation” of Chinese food in restaurants and the incorporation of Chinese culture — lion dances, Islamic booklets in Chinese, Lunar New Year celebrations — is a “subtle way of preaching Islam among non-Muslim Chinese Malaysians”. Similarly, the Chinese-Muslim Mosque in Klang offers guided tours for non-Muslims, apart from having Qurans with Mandarin translations with the same dakwah intentions.

Such mainland Chinese-Muslim influence in Malaysia is not new, but its resurgence and degree of influence on Malay-Muslim culture is unprecedented.

However, such cultural diversity does not extend to religious pluralism; it could be argued that cultural diversity only happens because it does not affect the primacy of Malay-Muslim identity, which includes operating under an increasingly strict religious code. The recent halal certification controversy on whether restaurants that do not serve pork or alcohol need a compulsory halal certificate reflects the increasing strictness of religious practices. Malaysian society has become more particular about halal food choices, preferring restaurants to have clear halal certification, and simply stating “pork-free” or “alcohol-free” is not enough.

Additionally, a mainland Chinese version of Islam may not be entirely acceptable to Malaysian Muslims, cementing the need to adhere to the Islamic beliefs of Malay Muslims in Malaysia. Mainland Chinese-Muslim influencer Shuang Yi was regularly criticised by local Muslims for being reckless with her Islamic practice standards, including wearing short blouses, attending non-halal food exhibitions, and claiming Muslim men cannot marry more than one wife. She would typically attribute these differences to mainland Chinese culture. Other Malaysian Chinese Muslim influencers, like Firdaus Wong and Ridzuan Ong, would criticise her for not being “pure”. Their opinions were accepted as valid and congruent with the beliefs of Malay Muslims — this validating the phenomenon that some diversity is allowed provided they fall within the boundaries of dominant Malay-Muslim norms.

In short, only a limited cultural diversity is acceptable to the average Malay-Muslim populace, and they must be under the umbrella of Islam. However, this is only likely as long as the Chinese-Muslim population remains small (total estimated to be less than 200,000 in Malaysia). Otherwise, it would invite more criticism similar to that of former prime minister Mahathir Mohamad, that Malaysia is becoming a “Little China”, where the country’s cultural diversity is replaced by that from mainland China.

2025/14