Danish cartoon controversy in the Chinese context: Transnational Islam and public visibility of Hong Kong Muslims

Placed within the wider Chinese context of Muslims’ reticent response to the publication of twelve cartoons by Danish newspaper Jyllands-Posten, this paper attempts to understand the transnational impact of global Muslim protests against the Danish cartoons, which resulted in the re-emergence of Hong Kong Muslims in the public sphere. By discussing the genesis of the public appearance of Hong Kong Muslims in response to the Danish Cartoon affair, this paper argues that the controversy has resulted in a heightened sense of Islam in the Chinese public sphere. Framing the emerging Islamic voices in a context where the Chinese government has a coherent rationale towards religious policy in its domestic politics, and its unprecedented political experiment of ‘One country, two systems’, this article points out the contrasting public visibility and global connection of Muslims in Hong Kong and the Mainland. © Springer Science+Business Media B.V. 2009.