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Sailaifengye () or Salafiyah refers to the Chinese Salafi Movement.
According to modern cultural anthropologist Leif Manger, the differences between the Sailaifengye and the Yihewwani are that the Sailaifengye are an apolitical movement focusing on the Wahhabi ideal of Atharism, which became an arguing point as they viewed the Yihewwani were too influenced by Chinese cultural accretions. Their strong apolitical stance cause them to discourage any subversive movement against the government. Akin to the Salafists in Saudi kingdom, the Sailaifengye in their movement rejected the militant oppositions against a state that were raised by Al-Qaeda.
Bernard Haykel surmised that the Sailaifengye rejected Taqlid on their juristic methodology. The Sailaifengye were also known for their exaltations towards the "three first generations of Islam"(Sahaba, Tabi'un, & Tabi' al-Tabi'in ), which the Sailaifengye named the collectives as "Santay" in their creed.
The first known importer is Ma Debao (1867–1977), when he undertook the Hajj, was influenced by the Salafi movement in Mecca. It is reported that figures who influenced him were several persons, first was an obscure figure named "Huzhandi" an alleged disciple of Muhammad Abduh, then by a Salafist named Jialei Buhali, a native of Bukhara. Upon his return to China he began to preach the Salafi ideology. The movement criticizes innovative Islam. It opposes new movements which it believes are against the Sunnah. It opposes the influence of no-sunna Chinese culture on Islam. The sect was first imported into Hezhou of Gansu province but has now spread in many other regions, notably Ningxia, Qinghai, Yunnan, Tianjing with support of Saudi religious organizations. Sects And Legal Schools Represented By Muslims In China
Ma Debao and Ma Zhengqing promoted Salafism as the main form of Islam. But it was opposed by a number of Hui people Muslim sects such as the Gedimu, Sufi Ma Laichi and Jahriyya, to the extent that even the fundamentalist Yihewani (Ikhwan) Chinese sect, founded by Ma Wanfu after Salafi inspiration, condemned Ma Debao and Ma Zhengqing as heretics. They were branded traitors and Wahhabi teachings were deemed as heresy by the Yihewani leaders.
The Kuomintang Yihewani General Ma Bufang, who backed the Yihewani (Ikhwan) Muslims, persecuted the Salafis and forced them into hiding. They were not allowed to move or worship openly. The Yihewani had become secular and Chinese nationalists; they considered the Salafiyya to be "heterodox" ( xie jiao) and people who followed foreigners' teachings ( waidao). After the Communists took power, Salafis were allowed to worship openly again.
Even among Hui Salafis and Uyghur Salafis, there is little coordination or cooperation and the two take totally different political agendas, with the Hui Salafists content to carry out their own teachings and remain politically neutral. In 2016, Los Angeles Times news reported on the rise of Salafism in China in Linxia Hui Autonomous Prefecture in area which the report said it is called “Little Mecca” by locals. The reports also said the community was largely non-political and rather conservative and rigid ideology.
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