The Secularist Role in Forging National Identity in the Muslim Society: The Case of Xinjiang (Chinese Central Asia)

There has been nothing straightforward in the development of "national identity" among ethnic minorities in the Muslim world of Central Asia. Cataclysmic events, the rise of the People’s Republic of China (post-1949) and the strengthening of the Soviet imperial power followed by the fall of the Soviet Union (1945-1989) demonstrate that forces external to the local Muslim population have been critical. Among the Uyghur people of Chinese Central Asia, secularists and Muslims have alternatively cooperated and competed for leadership in cultural change. This investigation details the secularist influence on Uyghur identity. The situation in Xinjiang, the Chinese home of the Uyghurs, is politically difficult. The focus of the investigation will be on art and visual imagery, a subject that can more easily be discussed openly and freely. The role of identity in the imagery in painting and folk art will be investigated. Both folk art and fine art will be analyzed.