The Qing Dynasty was overthrown in the Revolution of 1911, but the successive regimes of both the Northern Warlords andthe Republic practiced a policy of ethnic bias and political oppression towards Muslims. They did not acknowledge the rights of the Huis as an ethnic group deserved. These political factors led to insults and discrimination towards the Huis either orally or in publications, with the purpose of manufacturing ethnic conflicts. In this situation, Muslims all rose up to clarify any problems when they could not stand it any more. Cases of insults against Islam and the Muslims‘ efforts against these insults emerged endlessly.
In July of 1931, a paper entitled “The Story Why the Muslims in Southeast Asian Don"t Eat Pork” by Wei Juezhong was published in the 4th issue of the 2nd volume of “New Asia” magazine, whose chief editor was Dai Jitao, a founding member of the Kuomintang, to undisguisedly insult Islam. It deeply hurt the Muslims both at home and abroad, and aroused the indignationof Huis throughout the country. They wrote to the editorial office of “Yue Hua”, a Hui cultural publication, to request it to lodge a protest and make representation to it on their behalf. The principal of “Yue Hua” wrote to Dai Jitao at once to lodge a solemn protest, severely criticizing its faults and requesting it to apologize and clear it up in due form, and guarantee that they would never publish papers of this kind any more. “New Asia” magazine replied and admitted that the paper was sheer nonsense, and it was a great shame for them. In the 6th issue of the 2nd volume of “New Asia” they cleared it up.
In September of 1932, “Why Muslims Don"t Eat Pork” written by Lou Zikuang, a paper that stopped at nothing to defile Islam and Muslims, was published in the 14th issue of the 1st volume of “Nanhua Literature”, run by Zeng Zhongming, vice minister for Railways of the Nanjing Kuomintang government. The Huis in Shanghai filled with indignation recommended Ha Shaofu and two others to make representation to it on their behalf, requesting the office of “Nanhua Literature” to apologize and publish refuting papers of the Huis. When the news arrived in Beijing, Muslims of all circles came to a conclusion that successive cases of insult towards Islam were by no means only directed at Hui Muslims in one place or at one time, and theyshould unite all Huis in the entire country to make representation to the government. Soon after that they organized Islam Protection Group of the Huis in Northern China and dispatched representatives to Nanjing to present a petition, putting forwards the following requests to the Nanjing Kuomintang Government:1. to dismiss the chief editor of “Nanhua Literature” ZengZhongming; 2. to order “Nanhua Literature” to stop publishing;3. to punish Lou Zikuang, author of the paper. However, what one never expectedwas that “Little Pig” written by Lin Lan which contained insulting comments against Islam was published by Beixin Publishing House Shanghai just aroundthe time when the former case had not yet been settled.
Hearing this, Huis inShanghai were
infuriated, and they chose Da Pusheng and others to represent them and present a petition to Nanjing. As the “Nanhua Literature” incident had not yet been settled, the representatives of Islam Protection Group of the Huis in Northern China were still in Nanjing when they arrived. So the two delegations allied with each other and explained in detail the facts of the incidents of “Nanhua Literature” and the Beixin Publishing House to the Government, requesting a fair and just settlement. On November8, the Nanjing Kuomintang Government declared ethnic equality and religious freedom and put an end to the incidents by ordering “Nanhua Literature” to stop publishing, punishing the writer, sealing up the Beixin Publishing House and punishing the ones who were responsible for.
