Tibetan Muslims
Khache, Khazar | |
|---|---|
Tibetan Muslim family in Amdo, early 20th century | |
| Total population | |
| 120,000-180,000 | |
| Regions with significant populations | |
| China (Tibet AR) | 5,000 |
| India (Kashmir, Ladakh) | 1,500+ |
| Nepal | 400 |
| Languages | |
| Tibetan • Mandarin • Kashmiri • Nepali | |
| Religion | |
| Islam | |
| Related ethnic groups | |
| Tibetan Buddhists • Baltis • Purigpa | |
| Tibetan Muslims | |||||||
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| Tibetan name | |||||||
| Tibetan | ཁ་ཆེ་ | ||||||
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| Chinese name | |||||||
| Chinese | 卡契 | ||||||
| Literal meaning | Khache (phonetic) | ||||||
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| Alternative Chinese name | |||||||
| Chinese | 藏回 | ||||||
| Literal meaning | Tibetan Hui | ||||||
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| Second alternative Chinese name | |||||||
| Chinese | 古格人 | ||||||
| Literal meaning | Guge people | ||||||
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| Part of a series on Islam in China |
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| Islam portal • China portal |
Tibetan Muslims, also known as the Khache (Tibetan: ཁ་ཆེ་, lit. 'Kashmiris'), are Tibetans who adhere to Islam. Many are descendants of Kashmiris, Ladakhis, and Nepalis who arrived in Tibet in the 14th to 17th centuries. There are approximately 5,000 Tibetan Muslims living in China, over 1,500 in India, and 300 to 400 in Nepal.
The government of the People's Republic of China does not recognize the Tibetan Muslims as a distinct ethnic group; they are grouped with Tibetan adherents of Buddhism and Bön. In contrast, the Chinese-speaking Hui Muslims are distinguished from the Han Chinese majority.