Hong kong citizens’ understanding of islam: The case of the sheung shui mosque development project

Lok Yin Law

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

3 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

The Hong Kong government consistently emphasizes how Hong Kong is a society marked by cultural pluralism, as all citizens can enjoy freedoms of religion and belief under the Basic Law. Reality is more complex than this. To fulfill the needs of increasing numbers of worshippers, several representatives of Hong Kong’s Muslim community suggested, in the early 2000s, the building of a new mosque in Sheung Shui, a rural area of the territory. However, social protests and governmental stonewalling created barriers for its building. In this article I suggest that the difficult development of a new mosque in Sheung Shui appears to be against the free and open religious policy espoused by the Hong Kong government. Through the lenses of Sheung Shui Mosque’s development, and making use of multiple sources (from local newspapers to government documents), this article aims to reassess Hong Kong citizens’ understanding of Hong Kong’s Muslim community as well as Hong Kong society’s concept of pluralism and multiculturalism.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)57-66
Number of pages10
JournalAsian Anthropology
Volume14
Issue number1
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 2015
Externally publishedYes

Keywords

  • Hong Kong
  • Mosques
  • Muslims
  • Religious discrimination
  • Sheung Shui

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