ELI5: Explain Like I'm 5

Islam during the Tang dynasty

Okay kiddo, so you know how there are many different religions in the world, right? One of them is called Islam and it was founded by a man named Prophet Muhammad a long time ago. During the Tang Dynasty in China, which was a really long time ago, there were some people who believed in Islam too.

Now, the Tang Dynasty was quite different from the places where Islam was mostly practiced at that time, like in the Middle East. The people in China spoke a different language, had different customs and beliefs, and followed a different ruler. So, the Muslims who were living in China during the Tang Dynasty had to adapt to their new surroundings.

They followed their Islamic beliefs like praying five times a day and fasting during the month of Ramadan, but they also started to adopt some Chinese traditions. For example, they started to wear Chinese-style clothing and began to incorporate Chinese characters into their calligraphy.

The Tang Dynasty rulers were generally tolerant of different religions, including Islam, and even welcomed foreign traders and merchants. This helped the Muslims to spread their religion and culture, and they built mosques and schools in China.

However, like in many other parts of the world, there were also some tensions between the Muslims and the local Chinese people. Sometimes they had disagreements over things like business deals or cultural differences, but overall they managed to coexist peacefully.

So, that's a brief summary of Islam during the Tang Dynasty, where Muslims adapted to their new surroundings and coexisted with the local Chinese people.