Islam is the second largest religion in the People's Republic of China (PRC), including about 20 per cent of all religious worshippers. Thailand, which nearly borders China's Yunnan province, is a Buddhist kingdom where Islam is accepted.

Administratively, China's near-twenty million Muslim population, 600,000 of which is Yunnanese, is divided into ten minorities. Islam in China is an irregular mosaic of nationalities and cultures. Since the Tang dynasty, the dominant Han have tried to sinicize Islam and integrate the Muslims; present Muslim identity reflects this historical fact (Berlie 1996, p. 213).

According to Joseph Fletcher (1934–84), three Islamic waves flowed into China (Gladney 1996, pp. 36–62). These three tides can be termed those of the “Old Religion” (laojiao, gedimu), mystic Sufism, and “New Religion”. The present complexity is a result of these three tides. The orthodox Sunni “Old Religion” is the main pillar of the state Chinese Islamic Association and dominates also in northern Thailand (although there is also a Pakistani influence). In dialectical Yunnanese, laotou (“Old Head”) is still a common self-designation of the Muslims, showing clearly that “Old Religion”, orthodox Islam, is predominant.

Most of the “New Religion” (xinjiao) reformers are also Sunnites and members of the Islamic Association through the network of mosques and other structural institutions.

Formerly involved in the trade with Thailand and Laos, the Sufi group (also Sunni) is divided into Naqshabandi tarîqa or pai (“schools” or “sects” in Chinese). Some follow the Islamic Association and the Party, while others are by tradition against the concept of non-Islamic governments.

Yunnanese Muslims are present in Keng Tung and Mae Sai in Myanmar, and in Chiang Rai and Chiang Mai in Thailand, where they are known as khon Islam or simply “Ho” (a Dai Lüe name for “Chinese” which has no religious connotation). In China, their common and official designation “Hui” (minzu or huizu) is a puzzling name; the character also means “return”.