In the People’s Republic of China, Muslim minority nationalities generally enjoy certain privileges such as daily religious activities, pilgrimage, the Islamic Feasts, burial, halal slaughter since 1949. Although Muslim minorities had suffered from the political oppression mainly during the Cultural Revolution, halal slaughter has never been prohibited by the government. Halal slaughter continues to be performed only by ritual specialists in Hui Muslim communities. Prior to 1949 there used to be a ritual specialist called a “
knife ākhund” who was responsible for slaughter according to the Islamic law. Even now, while most Hui locals prepare for sacrifice on the Feast of Sacrifice, they never slaughter a victim for themselves because of the avoidance of killing animals. Thus, the slaughter has been marginalized as a highly professional practice in Hui Muslim communities. Furthermore, due to the socialization, most locals have lost an opportunity to slaughter an animal in daily life. Consequently, halal slaughter faces extreme marginalization in Hui Muslim communities. In this paper I examine the marginalization of slaughter by focusing on the techniques of slaughter, ritual specialists, and the socialization of slaughter industries.
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