[6] They established
themselves in China, it is said, about the second century of Islam, and
their missionaries were men of Arab race. They are found scattered in
groups all over China, but principally inland, and have full enjoyment
of their religion, being a united body which is respectable and makes
itself respected--so much so that the "Houi-tse," or people of the
resurrection, as they are called, are employed in the highest offices of
the Chinese State.[7] It is plain, however, that they are hardly at all
connected with the modern life of Islam, for it is only within the last
few years that any of them have performed the pilgrimage; and if I
include them in my lists as Sunites and Shafites it is in default of
other classification. They probably hold to the Mussulman world a
position analogous in its isolation to that of the Abyssinian Church in
Christendom. They too, however, may one day make their existence felt;
for China is no dead nation, only asleep. And with them our survey of
orthodox Islam ends.
The heretical sects remain to us. Of these the most notable without
contestation is the Shiite, or Sect of Ali, which traces its origin to
the very day of the Prophet's death, when Abu Bekr was elected Caliph to
Ali's exclusion.
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