The Chinese Communist Party (CCP) granted Sinophone Muslims minzu 民族 (ethnicity/nationality) status, finally settling a debate on the nature of Chinese Muslim identity. This article argues that the CCP’s decision should be contextualized within Nationalist-era politics. Sinophone Muslim intellectuals strategically employed their historical, cultural, and political resources to negotiate with the Nationalist Party (GMD) to secure autonomous rights for all Muslims of China. The secular state, however, denied autonomy to religious groups. As such, a cohort of influential Sinophone Muslim intellectuals wrapped their demands in the minzu discourse. Negotiations with the GMD finally reached a compromise, which granted a representative quota in the National Assembly exclusively to Sinophone Muslims, recognizing their distinct status on the grounds of their “special ways of living and habits.” When the CCP confirmed Sinophone Muslims’ minzu identity, it also legalized their de facto status already recognized by the GMD.
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