Gedimu

Gedimu ( Chinese, from Arab. " قديم " Qadīm for " old " ) or Qadim is the earliest school of Islam in China. It is a Hanafi, non- Sufi school of the Sunni tradition. Their followers are centered around local mosques that act as relatively independent units.

It is numerically the largest Islamic school of thought in China and at the Hui, Dongxiang, Salar, Bonan the most common school tradition of Islam.

Since the introduction of the first Islam during the Tang Dynasty in China, he learned to the Ming period no splittings. End of the Ming and early Qing Dynasty came increasingly Sufism to China. In particular, in Xinjiang, Gansu and Qinghai, the Muslim faith began to change and the new directions were as old teaching / New Faith / New Religion (Ch Xinpai or Xinjiao ) refers. Those who clung to the old forms of faith, members of the Gedimu or Laojiao were called ( the old doctrine / of the old faith / religion of the ancients ).

In their religious ideas, this school retains the basic Islamic principles of Tawheed. In religious practice, this requires the faithful a strict observance of the principle of the Rukun, the five basic duties of Islam.

In the long period of its development, formed a conservative tradition. It is against unorthodox innovations and sticking to old rules, without interference in the affairs of other denominations.

Another important feature of the school is that it places an emphasis on culture and education. Organised by the mosques they visit the children from their neighborhood to obtain religious instruction here. Usually Arabic and Persian writings are studied.

Qadim has the longest history of dissemination in China. In its development, the school has been influenced by Chinese culture and has taken many Han Chinese customs and traditions in their rites. The church architecture is different from the other Muslim areas. Qadim was the result of the Sunni faith under a certain environment in the Chinese hinterland.

Qadim is, together with Ikhwan and Xidaotang to the three major traditions of China school.