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1. Islam in Taiwan
[By Peter G. Gowing,saudi Aramco World]
Twice in its history the island of
Taiwan has been invaded by Chinese refugees fleeing the collapse of a
mainland regime. And both times Muslims were among them. The first invasion
occurred in 1661, after the fall of the Ming dynasty, when a legendary hero
called Koxinga (Cheng Cheng-kung) led 25,000 followers from the southern
coast of China and seized Taiwan from the Dutch. The second invasion took
place nearly three centuries later, in 1949, when Nationalist President
Chiang Kaishek, after his defeat by the Communists, led more than a million
followers into exile on the island of Formosa, a Portuguese name meaning
"beautiful." |
2. Taiwan Muslim
[By International Islamic News Agency(IINA)]
Taiwanese Muslims ignored, WAMY official
Taipei, Rabi Thani 10/June 31 (IINA) - Dr. Abdul Wahhab Nurwalli,
the Assistant Secretary-General of WAMY,the Riyadh-based World
Assembly of Muslim Youth, Makkah Branch, has revealed that because
the Muslims of Taiwan were ignored by their brethren, they had to
revert to other religions, such as Buddhism. He said there are
50,000 Muslims in the island nation, but most of them are not even
aware that they are Muslims. However, he added that WAMY will soon
hold a seminar in Taiwan, with the objective of not only
reactivating Islam among the Muslims, but also to reactivate Daawa
activities. He said that one of the most important needs of the
Muslims of Taiwan is to read Islamic books written in the Chinese
language, which they understand.
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3.
Taiwan Info
[By
U.S. Library of Congress]
Religion: Freedom of
religion is guaranteed in Article 13 of the Republic of China constitution.
In the early 2000s, of Taiwan’s 12.7 million temple, church, and mosque
members, 42.9 percent were Buddhists, 35.6 percent were adherents of Daoism
(Taoism), 6.6 percent were believers in I-kuan Tao (Yiguan Dao, Religion of
One Unity, a modern syncretic faith), 4.7 percent were Protestants, and 2.3
percent were Roman Catholics. The 16 other religions tabulated by the
Ministry of Interior include Islam (4.1 percent) and Confucianism, described
as “a philosophy with a religious function” (1 percent). Taiwan has 23,201
temples and churches, and most are Daoist temples (37 percent), Buddhist
temples (17.4 percent), or Protestant churches (15.5 percent). Among the
general population, religious beliefs are often eclectic rather than
exclusive, such as Christianity and Islam. Many people in Taiwan belong to a
particular temple or specific religious sect but engage regularly in
religious practices based on one or more religious traditions. Thus, small
shrines are seen throughout Taiwan honoring a deity, a hero, or an ancestor.
The goddess Mazu, to whom are attributed seeing the future, curing the ill,
and rescuing people imperiled on the sea, is extremely popular in Taiwan,
and more than 400 temples honor her. While many aborigines are animists
whose beliefs center around deities in nature, spirits of dead people,
living creatures, and ghosts, more than 70 percent are said to be
Christians.
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