Lingshan Islamic Cemetery

The Lingshan Islamic Cemetery is located in the city of Quanzhou within the Fujian province of China. One of the oldest Islamic sites in China, the cemetery also contains a special burial ground that holds two venerated graves of two Muslim missionaries. The site was also visited by Zheng He in the 15th century.

History

The cemetery had already existed in the 14th century, when a group of Arab Muslims arrived in 1323 to repair the two sacred tombs in the cemetery. In the year 1417, Chinese explorer Zheng He (who was probably a Muslim as well) visited the cemetery and left behind an altar, as well as a concrete stele detailing his visit of the site. In 1962, the cemetery received renovations including a reconstruction of the tombs of the two Arab missionaries.

Holy Tombs

A burial ground in the site known as the Holy Tombs holds the graves of two Arab missionaries, of whom their Chinese names are Sa-Ke-Zu and Wu-Ko-Shun and they were reportedly from the 7th century when Islam was in its early stages. The pagoda over their graves was reconstructed in 1962, although the tombs themselves have been repaired earlier in 1323 by Arab Muslim immigrants. The burial ground of Holy Tombs was designated as a cultural heritage monument of China in 1988.

Controversy

The authenticity of the tombs belonging to two 7th-century Arab Muslim missionaries has been contested, as the Islamic prophet Muhammad was only in his teenage years during the time the missionaries reportedly arrived in China, dated to the 610s.