Comparing the Cultural Roots of Islamophobic Policy in China and France: The Cultural Similarities and Differences Behind State Rhetoric, Homogenisation and Repressive Policy

Abstract This research comparatively analyses the cultural roots of Islamophobic policy in China and France using an interdisciplinary, literature-based approach. In China, Han sentiments of cultural superiority interact with the deep influence of Confucianism on Han culture; a history of ethnic conflict particularly between the Uyghurs and Han Chinese; and historical scars from the century of humiliation. This results in a hatred particularly of non-Sinicized Islam, which manifests in the persecution of the Muslim-majority Uyghur cultural group. In France, colonial arrogance interacts with an increase in immigration and consequent diversity after World War II resulting in a shift in laicité’s focus towards minimising visible diversity. This centres on reducing the expression of Islam in public spaces and particularly focuses on Muslim women. In both contexts, then, cultural arrogance interacts with ethnic tensions to result in the perception that Islam that has not been homogenised is incompatible with the dominant culture.