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Xidaotang (Chinese: 西道堂; pinyin: Xīdàotáng), originally called Jinxingtang 金星堂, the "Han-schools-sect" (Hanxue pai 汉学派) bzw. "Chinese School") is a Chinese-Islamic school of thought. Together with Ikhwan (Yihewani) and Qadim (Gedimu), Xidaotang is one of the three major sects of Islam in China.
It was founded by Ma Qixi (1857–1914), a Chinese Muslim from Lintan in Gansu, at the beginning of the 20th Century. Their teaching of Islamic faith is relatively strongly fused with traditional culture.
In 1914, Ma Anliang tried to exterminate the "New New Sect" (another name for the Xidaotang) and Ma Qixi. Ma Qixi's Arabic name was Ersa (Jesus).Ma Anliang was nearly successful, but a portion of the sect evaded capture. West Gansu was one of the places New New Sect followers were to be found.
Hui Muslims belonging to the Xidaotang sect and Tibetans in Taozhou were attacked by Hui Muslim leader Ma Zhongying and his own Hui Muslim soldiers, causing an exodus of panicked Xidaotang Hui Muslims running away. The Xidaotang pledged allegiance to the Kuomintang after their rise to power and the Hui Muslim General Bai Chongxi acquainted Chiang Kai-shek with the Xidaotang jiaozhu Ma Mingren in 1941 in Chongqing.
It is mainly distributed in Lintan and Hezheng County in northwest China's Gansu Province, and also has followers in the province of Qinghai, the Autonomous Region Xinjiang and the province of Sichuan. It is a Hanafi school of the Sunni tradition similar to Qadim (Gedimu) has included Jahriyya elements.
Great emphasis is put on Jiaocheng (教乘), and the "own belief system" (Daocheng 道乘), "which gradually leads to depersonalization and mystical union with God" (Hu Fan).
Its members organize collectively and work together. One focus of the organization is on education.
Great importance is put on observing holidays such as Mawlid an-Nabi (in honor of the birthday of Prophet Mohammad), his death, and the anniversary of the death of Ma Qixi. There were no mausoleums built for Ma Qixi.
Other leaders in the movement were: