Kuala Lampur, Sept. 21 -- Xinjiang, contrary to what many people believe, is not the word which Uighur Muslims themselves chose, or accept. In Mandarin, it means "new land." But here is the puzzle. Islam has a history in China, especially Xi-An, even much further east to Xinjiang, since the 7th century AD.
And, if the local lores can be accepted, Muslims in China do believe that the first merchant to propagate Islam to Han Chinese and Uigur Muslims was none other than Saad Ibn Waqqas, a close disciple of Prophet Muhammad (Pbuh) himself.
The Han Chinese, who constitutes almost 95 per cent of entire population of China did not accept or understand Islam immediately. Nor should they, as Islam is based on non compulsion.
But some of the Han ...