Prelude to the Axis: Chinese Pilgrims on a Japanese-Sponsored Hajj in 1938

After WWII started on mainland China in July 1937, but before the German invasion of Poland in September 1939, cooperation between the Italians and the Japanese enabled five Muslims from Beijing to go on a Japanese-sponsored hajj pilgrimage to Mecca. Without visa sponsorship from the Italian consulate in Shanghai and passage on an Italian steamship, the Chinese pilgrims would have never made it from Japanese-occupied China to Italian-occupied Eritrea. From Eritrea, they boarded another Italian vessel that ferried them across the Red Sea to Jeddah with East African pilgrims headed to Mecca. Supported in their religious journey by the Japanese, in some ways these five men were pawns, deeply involved in the international diplomacy of the war; in other ways, the hajjis from North China actively navigated and circumvented obstacles they faced with the help of the Japanese and the Italians.

Although the idea of wartime collaboration of Chinese with the Japanese continues to be an important area of research, I draw attention to a historically significant minority group in China who made the choice to work with their Japanese occupiers. By presenting the experience of Muslims living under occupation, this paper refutes claims that there was anything resembling a cohesive Muslim resistance to the Japanese throughout the war. This paper also demonstrates the transnational character of minority actors and explores the history of Sino-Muslims beyond China’s borders during WWII, showcasing their experiences in Tokyo, Mecca, and places beyond occupied China.