Taiwan
Taiwan is an island in East Asia, in the Pacific Ocean, southeast of China, north of the Philippines Sea, the South China Sea, and the Philippines. More than 95% of the population is Han Chinese, and the rests are Malay-Polynesians and indigenous ethnic groups. 16 different ethnic groups are officially recognized.
Taiwan is a country with high religious diversity. The two most common religions in the country are Buddhism and Taoism; Christianity, Islam and local beliefs are also common. Muslims first came to the island from mainland China in the 17th century, but Islam did not spread in the region in the following period.
Beginning in the late 19th century and lasting until the end of the Second World War, Islam was banned in the country as part of the policies of the Japanese colonial administration, therefore many of the local Muslims either continued to practice their faith in secret or distanced themselves from Islam over time. After the 1980s, the number of Muslims in the country grew gradually with immigration flows from outside the country.
Today, an estimated 250,000 Muslims live in Taiwan, which is more than 1% of the country's population. Around 70,000 of the country's Muslims are Hui, Muslims of Chinese background from mainland China. The Hui are Chinese of the Han nation, the main ethnicity of China, who have converted to Islam. The rest of the Muslims in the country are immigrants who have come to work in recent years from countries in the region, especially Indonesia, and other parts of the Islamic world. The vast majority of Muslims in the country follow the Hanafi school.
Taiwan's Muslims have relatively more comfortable and acceptable conditions in a highly problematic region. Especially considering China's policies in East Turkestan, Thailand's Patani, Myanmar's Rakhine, and, until recently, the Philippines' policies in Moro, it can be concluded that the conditions for Taiwanese Muslims are more favorable. However, the main problem of the country's Muslims is the lack of institutions such as schools to provide religious education. Mosques and Islamic cultural centers can fulfill the needs of Muslims in this aspect to a limited extent. Particularly for local Muslims, access to Islamic writings in their native language is limited and parents require help in teaching their children the religion and culture of Islam. The Chinese language and alphabet make it more and more difficult for new generations to understand Islamic terminology and concepts. On the other hand, Muslims' representation is very weak in terms of the political and public sphere. Due to the small population of Muslims in certain regions and the lack of political activities, they cannot be represented at the state level.