Uyghur University Students and Ramadan
Uyghur University Students and Ramadan
Challenging the Minkaomin/Minkaohan Labels
In his chapter, Timothy Grose critically interrogates the relationship between social background and religiosity among his Uyghur informants. He explores the complex attitudes Uyghur students in Beijing have towards Ramadan, the obligatory month-long fast observed by Muslims worldwide. He reminds us how fluid and situational ethnic identity is outside official state discourse, and warns against the dangers of reifying educational categories like minkaomin (minority students taking exams in minority languages) and minkaohan (Han students taking exams in Chinese) or projecting cultural stereotypes onto them. He demonstrates how the decision to fast during Ramadan is closely correlated with family background and personal choice rather than educational background. It is an important reminder that while state categories might be rigid, quotidian identity (both group and individual) is anything but.
Keywords: Uyghurs, Xinjiang, China, Minority education, Ramadan, Minkaomin, Minkaohan, Chinese minorities, ethnicity
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