Hu Songshan

Who was Hu Songshan?

Hu Songshan, a Hui, was born in 1880, in Tongxin County, Ningxia, China. His muslim name in Arabic was Sa'd al-Din simplified Chinese: 赛尔敦丁; traditional Chinese: 賽爾敦丁; pinyin: sài ěr dūn dīng). Although he was born Sufi and turned Wahhabi, he changed his views and turned his back on Wahhabism after a Hajj to Mecca and later became an important Imam, scripturalist, and leader of the Yihewani Muslim sect in China. He was influential and played an important role in Chinese Islam in this position as he propagated reformist doctrines in Ningxia in his later life. Hu also played a role in rallying Muslims against the Japanese invasion of China.