On the first evening of #Ramadan , here is a story from @initiumnews about the modern history of Muslims in Taiwan - beginning with the retreat of the KMT in 1949, the rapid assimilation of the 2nd & 3rd generation & the arrival of new Indonesian migrants https://theinitium.com/article/20210410-strangers-mainland-taiwan-muslim/

Although some Muslim settlers arrived with Koxinga in the 17th c., their assimilation to dominant Han customs & beliefs means that nearly all Muslims today in Taiwan are modern arrivals, falling into 4 main categories:
1. Soldiers & civil servants who arrived with the KMT in 1949

2. Local Taiwanese who converted post-1949
3. Immigrant spouses of Taiwanese, mostly Indonesian women
4. Indonesian students, who typically stay 3-6 years in Taiwan

A 5th category are KMT soldiers who fled from Yunnan to Thailand & Myanmar & were eventually resettled in Taiwan

Why do many of descendants of Muslims who settled here in 1949 no longer identify as such or only adhere to a few practices? @initiumnews highlights the incompatibility of a typical Taiwanese diet & schedule w/a devout lifestyle (e.g. the ubiquity of pork and & Friday work days)

One of the most interesting aspects of Muslim history in Taiwan is how the transnational nature of the religion enabled adherents living here to participate in different regional movements outside of East Asia, through study abroad scholarships (e.g. Pan-Arabism in the 1970s)

A Muslim cemetery is located in Liuzhangli 六張犁 in Taipei. Bai Chongxi 白崇禧, a Hui KMT general, is buried there. (The cemetery is also near the grave sites of 100s of White Terror victims, discovered in the 1990s - as translated by @durrivedfunktor) https://www.twreporter.org/a/white-terror-liuzhangli-english

Tonight I passed worshippers headed to Taipei Grand Mosque, which received a visit from King Faisal of Saudi Arabia in 1971. Fascinatingly, Saudi Arabia did not end diplomatic recognition of the ROC until 1990. At one point, more than 7000 people from Taiwan lived in the kingdom.

Taiwan's freedom of religion is highly admirable & people of all faiths have the right to worship. Two ways Taiwan can become more Muslim-friendly is to offer long-term residence to migrant workers & cover domestic helpers under the Labor Standards Act. https://twitter.com/iingwen/status/1381952518960246790?s=20

Finally, a plug to subscribe to @initiumnews, from which most of the information above is derived. They have a team of gifted writers based here and are committed to reporting on what they call the Ｂ面 (B-side) of Taiwan. https://theinitium.com/article/20210410-strangers-mainland-taiwan-muslim/invite_token/ONQRaizvck