On the Relationship Between the <i>Ikhwān</i> Sect in China and the <i>Wahhābi</i> Movement in the Arabian Peninsula

Min Keqin; Ma Zhanming

doi:doi:10.11648/j.hss.20251305.15

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On the Relationship Between the Ikhwān Sect in China and the Wahhābi Movement in the Arabian Peninsula

Min Keqin^*, Ma Zhanming

Published in Humanities and Social Sciences (Volume 13, Issue 5)

Received: 21 May 2025 Accepted: 17 June 2025 Published: 8 September 2025

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Abstract

This article is to clarify an intellectual obfuscation which since long has puzzled the scholars involved in the studies of Chinese Islam. For those scholars who always followed the view on the relationship between the Ikhwān in China and the Wahhābi movement in the Arabian Peninsula as the relationships of fountain source (the Wahhabi movement) and stream (the Chinese Ikhwan), which was firstly held by a Chinese Muslim scholar, Ma Tong, a pioneer researcher on this problem, have overlooked, I believe, the factual elements, such as time displacement, chronological sequence, opposing stand on theological tenets, different sources of reference books, different reform proposition and more, which are clearly analyzed in this study. Ma Tong’s and other pioneer researchers like Bai Shouyi’s and Feng Jinyuan’s role in this intellectual obfuscation is very important, because their works are only references available for the later researchers. With careful inference it is not difficult for one to find many fractures in their accounts. They linked Chinese Ikhwan with Arabia Wahabism simply because they believed that the latter was a popular movement when the Chinese imam Ma Wan-fu 马万福 (1853-1934), the founder of the Ikhwān sect, performed hajj, and afterwards stayed there on for furthering his studies for five years (from 1888 to 1893), before he returned to China. The Ikhwān sect was formally established in Monigou of Linxia, China, soon after that. Based on this sole connection, the upholders of the view of presupposed relations thought that the Ma Wan-fu’s Ikhwan must be influenced by Wahhābi movement during his five years stay in Mecca. However, some other scholars like Gao Wenyuan and others believed that there might be least connections between the two, but not source-stream relations, because they are clearly attached to two different ideological schools. This scholarly obfuscation has so far not been dealt with by any researchers. Thus, in this article we try to solve this scholarly conundrum from the six angles mentioned above, aimed at a firm conclusion that between the two movements there exist no source-stream nexus as upheld by many famed intellectuals.

Published in	Humanities and Social Sciences (Volume 13, Issue 5)
DOI	10.11648/j.hss.20251305.15
Page(s)	445-452
Creative Commons	This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, provided the original work is properly cited.
Copyright	Copyright © The Author(s), 2025. Published by Science Publishing Group

Keywords

Islam, Ikhwān, Wahhābī, Relationship

References

[1]	Ma Tong马通. (2000a). Zhongguo Yisilanjiao Menhuan Suyuan 中国伊斯兰教门宦溯源 (Sources of Chinese Sufi Sects). Yinchuan: Ningxia People’s Press. Pp. 131-133; 136; 136.
[2]	Compiling Committee. (2011). Zhongguo Yisilan Baikequan shu 中国伊斯兰百科全书 (The Encyclopedia of Chinese Islam). Chengdu: Sichuan Dictionary Publisher. P. 353; 578; 494; 659; 620; 620.
[3]	Sulaiman, Muhammad. (2015). Xinyuanbaojian 信源宝鉴 (Precious Mirror of the Faith). Lanzhou: Boshuxiang Mosque Press. Pp. 47-49.
[4]	Anonymous. (May 21, 2025). Wahhabi Islamic Movement, https://www.britannica.com/topic/wahhabi (accessed 9, Jun. 2025).
[5]	Hitti, Philip K. (2008). History of Arabs. Trans. by Ma Jian. Beijing: New World Publisher. P. 674.
[6]	Lipman, Jonathon N. (1997). Familiar Strangers: A History of Muslims in Northwest China. Seatle & London: University of Washington Press. P. 202.
[7]	Ma Tong马通. (2000c). Zhongguo Yisilanjiaopai yu Menhuanzhidu Shilue 中国伊斯兰教派与门宦制度史略 (A Brief Account on Chinese Islamic Sects). 3^rd edition. Yinchuan: Ningxia People’s Press. P. 108; 96; 94-111; 112.
[8]	Bai Shouyi白寿彝. (1997). Huizu Renwuzhi: Jindai 回族人物志•近代 (Biographical Pedigree of Hui Nationality: Modern Age). Yinchuan: Ningxia People’s Press. Pp. 228-233.
[9]	Ma Kexun (1982). “Zhongguo Yisilanjiao Yiheiwanipai de Changdaozhe: Ma Wanfu” 中国伊斯兰教伊黑瓦尼派的倡导者 (Ma Wanfu: the Founder of Chinese Ikhwan), in Gansusheng Minzu Yanjiusuo 甘肃省民族研究所 (Gansu Nationalities Institute) (ed.). Yisilanjiao zai Zhongguo 伊斯兰教在中国 (Islam in China). Yinchuan: Ningxia People’s Press. Pp. 439-458; 15.
[10]	Gao Wen-yuan高文远. (1989). Guoyuan Hazhi: Zunjinggesu de Changdaozhe果园哈智: 遵经革俗的倡导者 (Guoyuan Hajj: the Promoter of Chinese Purist Islam). Taipei: China Islamic Educational Fund. P. 14; 4.
[11]	Ma Tong马通. (2000b). Zhongguo Xibei Yisilanjiao Jibentezheng 中国西北伊斯兰教基本特征 (The Main Characteristics of Chinese Islam in the Northwest Region). Yinchuan: Ningxia People’s Press. Pp. 988-999.
[12]	Feng Jinyuan冯今源. (1996) Zhongguo de Yisilanjiao 中国的伊斯兰教 (Islam in China). Yinchuan: Ningxia People’s Press. Pp. 74-75.
[13]	Li Xinghua 李兴华 & Feng Jinyuan冯今源. (1985). Zhongguo Yisilanjiaoshi Cankaoziliao Xuanbian (Selected Literatures on the History of Chinese Islam). Vol. 1. Yinchuan: Ningxia People’s Press. Pp. 618-619.
[14]	Haddad, Gibril Fouad. (no date). the Four Imams and Their Schools. London: Muslim Academic Trust. Pp. 7, 221, 185, 301; 79.
[15]	Ma Xiao-xu. (2015). Ma Wan-fu Zongjiaosixiang Tanxi 马万福宗教思想探析 (Probing into Ma Wan-fu's Religious Thought), master dissertation, Northwestern University, 2007; in Hai Mo (ed.), Guoyuan Hazhi yu Yihewani Yanjiu Lunji 果园哈智与伊赫瓦尼研究论集 (Collection of the Articles on Guoyuan Hajj and Ikhwan). Beijing: Blue Sky Press. pp. 377-416.

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Keqin, M., Zhanming, M. (2025). On the Relationship Between the Ikhwān Sect in China and the Wahhābi Movement in the Arabian Peninsula. Humanities and Social Sciences, 13(5), 445-452. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.hss.20251305.15

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ACS Style

Keqin, M.; Zhanming, M. On the Relationship Between the Ikhwān Sect in China and the Wahhābi Movement in the Arabian Peninsula. Humanit. Soc. Sci. 2025, 13(5), 445-452. doi: 10.11648/j.hss.20251305.15

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AMA Style

Keqin M, Zhanming M. On the Relationship Between the Ikhwān Sect in China and the Wahhābi Movement in the Arabian Peninsula. Humanit Soc Sci. 2025;13(5):445-452. doi: 10.11648/j.hss.20251305.15

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@article{10.11648/j.hss.20251305.15,
  author = {Min Keqin and Ma Zhanming},
  title = {On the Relationship Between the Ikhwān Sect in China and the Wahhābi Movement in the Arabian Peninsula
},
  journal = {Humanities and Social Sciences},
  volume = {13},
  number = {5},
  pages = {445-452},
  doi = {10.11648/j.hss.20251305.15},
  url = {https://doi.org/10.11648/j.hss.20251305.15},
  eprint = {https://article.sciencepublishinggroup.com/pdf/10.11648.j.hss.20251305.15},
  abstract = {This article is to clarify an intellectual obfuscation which since long has puzzled the scholars involved in the studies of Chinese Islam. For those scholars who always followed the view on the relationship between the Ikhwān in China and the Wahhābi movement in the Arabian Peninsula as the relationships of fountain source (the Wahhabi movement) and stream (the Chinese Ikhwan), which was firstly held by a Chinese Muslim scholar, Ma Tong, a pioneer researcher on this problem, have overlooked, I believe, the factual elements, such as time displacement, chronological sequence, opposing stand on theological tenets, different sources of reference books, different reform proposition and more, which are clearly analyzed in this study. Ma Tong’s and other pioneer researchers like Bai Shouyi’s and Feng Jinyuan’s role in this intellectual obfuscation is very important, because their works are only references available for the later researchers. With careful inference it is not difficult for one to find many fractures in their accounts. They linked Chinese Ikhwan with Arabia Wahabism simply because they believed that the latter was a popular movement when the Chinese imam Ma Wan-fu 马万福 (1853-1934), the founder of the Ikhwān sect, performed hajj, and afterwards stayed there on for furthering his studies for five years (from 1888 to 1893), before he returned to China. The Ikhwān sect was formally established in Monigou of Linxia, China, soon after that. Based on this sole connection, the upholders of the view of presupposed relations thought that the Ma Wan-fu’s Ikhwan must be influenced by Wahhābi movement during his five years stay in Mecca. However, some other scholars like Gao Wenyuan and others believed that there might be least connections between the two, but not source-stream relations, because they are clearly attached to two different ideological schools. This scholarly obfuscation has so far not been dealt with by any researchers. Thus, in this article we try to solve this scholarly conundrum from the six angles mentioned above, aimed at a firm conclusion that between the two movements there exist no source-stream nexus as upheld by many famed intellectuals.
},
 year = {2025}
}

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TY  - JOUR
T1  - On the Relationship Between the Ikhwān Sect in China and the Wahhābi Movement in the Arabian Peninsula

AU  - Min Keqin
AU  - Ma Zhanming
Y1  - 2025/09/08
PY  - 2025
N1  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.hss.20251305.15
DO  - 10.11648/j.hss.20251305.15
T2  - Humanities and Social Sciences
JF  - Humanities and Social Sciences
JO  - Humanities and Social Sciences
SP  - 445
EP  - 452
PB  - Science Publishing Group
SN  - 2330-8184
UR  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.hss.20251305.15
AB  - This article is to clarify an intellectual obfuscation which since long has puzzled the scholars involved in the studies of Chinese Islam. For those scholars who always followed the view on the relationship between the Ikhwān in China and the Wahhābi movement in the Arabian Peninsula as the relationships of fountain source (the Wahhabi movement) and stream (the Chinese Ikhwan), which was firstly held by a Chinese Muslim scholar, Ma Tong, a pioneer researcher on this problem, have overlooked, I believe, the factual elements, such as time displacement, chronological sequence, opposing stand on theological tenets, different sources of reference books, different reform proposition and more, which are clearly analyzed in this study. Ma Tong’s and other pioneer researchers like Bai Shouyi’s and Feng Jinyuan’s role in this intellectual obfuscation is very important, because their works are only references available for the later researchers. With careful inference it is not difficult for one to find many fractures in their accounts. They linked Chinese Ikhwan with Arabia Wahabism simply because they believed that the latter was a popular movement when the Chinese imam Ma Wan-fu 马万福 (1853-1934), the founder of the Ikhwān sect, performed hajj, and afterwards stayed there on for furthering his studies for five years (from 1888 to 1893), before he returned to China. The Ikhwān sect was formally established in Monigou of Linxia, China, soon after that. Based on this sole connection, the upholders of the view of presupposed relations thought that the Ma Wan-fu’s Ikhwan must be influenced by Wahhābi movement during his five years stay in Mecca. However, some other scholars like Gao Wenyuan and others believed that there might be least connections between the two, but not source-stream relations, because they are clearly attached to two different ideological schools. This scholarly obfuscation has so far not been dealt with by any researchers. Thus, in this article we try to solve this scholarly conundrum from the six angles mentioned above, aimed at a firm conclusion that between the two movements there exist no source-stream nexus as upheld by many famed intellectuals.

VL  - 13
IS  - 5
ER  -

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Author Information

Min Keqin

Department of Fundamentals and Disciplinary Studies, Kulliyyah of Islamic Revealed Knowledge and Human Sciences, International Islamic University Malaysia, Malaysia

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Ma Zhanming

School of Foreign Languages, Guangzhou University, Guangzhou, China

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Plain Text BibTeX RIS

APA Style

Keqin, M., Zhanming, M. (2025). On the Relationship Between the Ikhwān Sect in China and the Wahhābi Movement in the Arabian Peninsula. Humanities and Social Sciences, 13(5), 445-452. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.hss.20251305.15

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ACS Style

Keqin, M.; Zhanming, M. On the Relationship Between the Ikhwān Sect in China and the Wahhābi Movement in the Arabian Peninsula. Humanit. Soc. Sci. 2025, 13(5), 445-452. doi: 10.11648/j.hss.20251305.15

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AMA Style

Keqin M, Zhanming M. On the Relationship Between the Ikhwān Sect in China and the Wahhābi Movement in the Arabian Peninsula. Humanit Soc Sci. 2025;13(5):445-452. doi: 10.11648/j.hss.20251305.15

Copy | Download

@article{10.11648/j.hss.20251305.15,
  author = {Min Keqin and Ma Zhanming},
  title = {On the Relationship Between the Ikhwān Sect in China and the Wahhābi Movement in the Arabian Peninsula
},
  journal = {Humanities and Social Sciences},
  volume = {13},
  number = {5},
  pages = {445-452},
  doi = {10.11648/j.hss.20251305.15},
  url = {https://doi.org/10.11648/j.hss.20251305.15},
  eprint = {https://article.sciencepublishinggroup.com/pdf/10.11648.j.hss.20251305.15},
  abstract = {This article is to clarify an intellectual obfuscation which since long has puzzled the scholars involved in the studies of Chinese Islam. For those scholars who always followed the view on the relationship between the Ikhwān in China and the Wahhābi movement in the Arabian Peninsula as the relationships of fountain source (the Wahhabi movement) and stream (the Chinese Ikhwan), which was firstly held by a Chinese Muslim scholar, Ma Tong, a pioneer researcher on this problem, have overlooked, I believe, the factual elements, such as time displacement, chronological sequence, opposing stand on theological tenets, different sources of reference books, different reform proposition and more, which are clearly analyzed in this study. Ma Tong’s and other pioneer researchers like Bai Shouyi’s and Feng Jinyuan’s role in this intellectual obfuscation is very important, because their works are only references available for the later researchers. With careful inference it is not difficult for one to find many fractures in their accounts. They linked Chinese Ikhwan with Arabia Wahabism simply because they believed that the latter was a popular movement when the Chinese imam Ma Wan-fu 马万福 (1853-1934), the founder of the Ikhwān sect, performed hajj, and afterwards stayed there on for furthering his studies for five years (from 1888 to 1893), before he returned to China. The Ikhwān sect was formally established in Monigou of Linxia, China, soon after that. Based on this sole connection, the upholders of the view of presupposed relations thought that the Ma Wan-fu’s Ikhwan must be influenced by Wahhābi movement during his five years stay in Mecca. However, some other scholars like Gao Wenyuan and others believed that there might be least connections between the two, but not source-stream relations, because they are clearly attached to two different ideological schools. This scholarly obfuscation has so far not been dealt with by any researchers. Thus, in this article we try to solve this scholarly conundrum from the six angles mentioned above, aimed at a firm conclusion that between the two movements there exist no source-stream nexus as upheld by many famed intellectuals.
},
 year = {2025}
}

Copy | Download

TY  - JOUR
T1  - On the Relationship Between the Ikhwān Sect in China and the Wahhābi Movement in the Arabian Peninsula

AU  - Min Keqin
AU  - Ma Zhanming
Y1  - 2025/09/08
PY  - 2025
N1  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.hss.20251305.15
DO  - 10.11648/j.hss.20251305.15
T2  - Humanities and Social Sciences
JF  - Humanities and Social Sciences
JO  - Humanities and Social Sciences
SP  - 445
EP  - 452
PB  - Science Publishing Group
SN  - 2330-8184
UR  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.hss.20251305.15
AB  - This article is to clarify an intellectual obfuscation which since long has puzzled the scholars involved in the studies of Chinese Islam. For those scholars who always followed the view on the relationship between the Ikhwān in China and the Wahhābi movement in the Arabian Peninsula as the relationships of fountain source (the Wahhabi movement) and stream (the Chinese Ikhwan), which was firstly held by a Chinese Muslim scholar, Ma Tong, a pioneer researcher on this problem, have overlooked, I believe, the factual elements, such as time displacement, chronological sequence, opposing stand on theological tenets, different sources of reference books, different reform proposition and more, which are clearly analyzed in this study. Ma Tong’s and other pioneer researchers like Bai Shouyi’s and Feng Jinyuan’s role in this intellectual obfuscation is very important, because their works are only references available for the later researchers. With careful inference it is not difficult for one to find many fractures in their accounts. They linked Chinese Ikhwan with Arabia Wahabism simply because they believed that the latter was a popular movement when the Chinese imam Ma Wan-fu 马万福 (1853-1934), the founder of the Ikhwān sect, performed hajj, and afterwards stayed there on for furthering his studies for five years (from 1888 to 1893), before he returned to China. The Ikhwān sect was formally established in Monigou of Linxia, China, soon after that. Based on this sole connection, the upholders of the view of presupposed relations thought that the Ma Wan-fu’s Ikhwan must be influenced by Wahhābi movement during his five years stay in Mecca. However, some other scholars like Gao Wenyuan and others believed that there might be least connections between the two, but not source-stream relations, because they are clearly attached to two different ideological schools. This scholarly obfuscation has so far not been dealt with by any researchers. Thus, in this article we try to solve this scholarly conundrum from the six angles mentioned above, aimed at a firm conclusion that between the two movements there exist no source-stream nexus as upheld by many famed intellectuals.

VL  - 13
IS  - 5
ER  -

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