Quiet Rebels - Muslims in China
2000, 45’, ORF
Chinese are not just Chinese. Unknown to many, 55 ethnic minorities exist in China - among them China’s Muslims. "Silent Rebels" was the first film allowed to be made in China about Chinese Muslims since the repression of the democratic movement in 1989.
It is the story of Muslim merchants and soldiers who made China their home from the 7th century on. It’s a story of religious leaders, internal conflicts and bloody rebellions. A story of Muslim peasants, then and today, struggling to preserve their identity and religion in the face of oppression and persecution. With over 20 million, China’s Muslim population now exceeds that of Saudi Arabia or Iraq. This, and the fact that there has been a newly-felt Muslim resurgence in China, makes the leaders of the Communist Party very uneasy. TV writer/director Susanne Brandstätter, who has made numerous documentaries in China, filmed in remote villages of the Northwest and South, as well as in Beijing.
2000, 45’, ORF
Chinese are not just Chinese. Unknown to many, 55 ethnic minorities exist in China - among them China’s Muslims. "Silent Rebels" was the first film allowed to be made in China about Chinese Muslims since the repression of the democratic movement in 1989.
It is the story of Muslim merchants and soldiers who made China their home from the 7th century on. It’s a story of religious leaders, internal conflicts and bloody rebellions. A story of Muslim peasants, then and today, struggling to preserve their identity and religion in the face of oppression and persecution. With over 20 million, China’s Muslim population now exceeds that of Saudi Arabia or Iraq. This, and the fact that there has been a newly-felt Muslim resurgence in China, makes the leaders of the Communist Party very uneasy. TV writer/director Susanne Brandstätter, who has made numerous documentaries in China, filmed in remote villages of the Northwest and South, as well as in Beijing.