People through ages commonly have held the view that Tibetans by and large have worshipped Buddhism. However, although Tibetan Buddhism does indeed dominate people's religious life in the Land of Snows, we can find several sacred halls of Islam. At present, there are four small or large mosques in the Tibet Autonomous Region, and we need to go back to the 8th Century to trace their origins.

Available historical records show that, as early as the period of the Tubo Kingdom in the 8th century, Tibetans were associated with Muslim businessmen from Arabia. In the I Ith century, Islam flourished in the Kashmir area to the west of the Tibet Autonomous Region, which made it more convenient for Muslims going to Lhasa to engage in business. In the 14th century, Kashmiri Muslims began to settle in Lhasa City and gradually assembled to form a new national communication. Tibetans called them Khache, which means in Tibetan "Muslim". With the almost total triumph of Buddhism in Tibet, especially in Lhasa, Islam eventually railed to establish deep roots in the city. In the reign of the 5th Dalai Lama, the Gelug Sect of Tibetan Buddhism grew vigorously, and Kashmiri Islamism was hindered in expanding its influence. As a result, the tradition of Islam was only followed by businessmen and butchers catering for Muslims in Tibet, which was small and unitary in terms of followers.

But to some degree, Tibetans depended on Muslims and for two major reasons. First, market and business activities relied on Muslims, and, secondly, cities and towns of the Tibetan areas need special butchers to kill animals. As Tibetans, long influenced by Tibetan Buddhism, they have little interest in business and are especially reluctant to kill living things because of religious taboo. Therefore, due to social requirements, Islam in the end managed to take roots in the Tibetan areas.

Historical records show that the first mosque in Lhasa City was built in the period of Emperor Kangxi of the Qing Dynasty. It was located at today's Hebalhin in the Chengguan district of Lhasa City (300 meters east of Barkor Street), and was called the Great Mosque of Lhasa. At first, it was only a small mosque and only covered an area of 200 square meters. Later, it was renovated and extended in 1793, when troops dispatched by the Qing government succeeded in suppressing a rebellion by Koerkars. It indirectly indicates that there were quite a number of Muslims among those Qing troops from the Han areas. The inscribed board that reads Dignity and Orthodox Religion kept in the mosque dates back to the 30th year of Emperor Qianlong, namely 1766, which shows that Muslims from the Han area lived in Lhasa City at that time. Unfortunately, the mosque was burnt down by rebels when several upper-class national separatists launched an armed rebellion against the Chinese central government. In 1960, it was reconstructed, and in 1978, after the Third Plenary Session of the eleventh Central Committee of the Communist Party of China (CPC), the monastery was further renovated. In 1985, on the occasion of the 20th anniversary of the foundation of the Tibet Autonomous Region, central government presented the Great Mosque of Lhasa with an inscribed board that reads "the Ancient Mosque", which now hangs over the building.

At present, the Great Mosque of Lhasa covers an area of 2,600 square meters, with a floor area of 1,300 square meters, with an outer gate, outer court, dormitory, minarets, church, bathroom and so on. The gate faces north and evokes an atmosphere of somber silence. The minaret is a four-story watchtower 13 meters tall and 13 meters in circumference, and it is an exquisite building made of stone and wood. The church, the most imposing building of all, stands on a platform that is one meter above the ground. The church covers a floor area of 285 square miters, with the gate facing east and 13 pillars inside supporting the building. The whole church is permeated with an atmosphere of elegance and silence. In the hall, the floor is covered with large carpet and on the wall of west side hangs a tapestry of the Mecca Kabala, while on the north side stands a pulpit for the Ahung to lecture. Now, the abbot of the Great Mosque of Lhasa is Ahung Heisam, who presides over the salat (congregational prayers) every Jom'a Day (Friday) and lectures on doctrine in Arabian first, then explaining it in detail in Tibetan.

Besides the Great Mosque of Lhasa, there is another one called the Small Mosque of Lhasa by contemporary people. This is said to have been built in the 1920's, and is situated 200 meters southeast of Barkor Street. Historical records show it was built for non-native Muslims, mainly business- men from Kashmir, Ladakh, Nepal and so on. Although it only has a floor area of 130 square meters, the mosque is characteristic for its Tibetan style of construction.

At present, Muslims who stay or reside at the city of Lhasa not only possess religious places where they freely practice religious activities, but also have two Muslim cemeteries, respectively located at Tortiko in the northern suburbs and at Gyichalhutin in the western suburbs, both built according to Islamic tradition and customs. The famous ceremony of "hands-eating rice festival" for Muslims, held regularly every August, is held at the Tortilo cemetery. Mus- lims live there in the open countryside, during which time the Koran, the holy scripture of Islam, will be discussed by the Ahung and other important rituals such as congregational prayers will be held at the same time. In addition, since 1984, some Muslims go on pilgrimage to Mecca.

Besides the two mosques in Lhasa, there are also two others respectively in Xigaze and Chenguan of Qamdo County.  How many adherents of Muslim live in the Tibetan Au-tonomous Region. In 1903 there were altogether over 200 Muslims from Ladakh or the western regions of the People's Republic of China, who were engaged mainly in business activities. Apart from the mosque, they also had a Muslim restaurant, managed by Muslims from the western regions of China. In 1936, the number bf Muslims from Ladakh alone' increased to between 200 and 300. Most of them wore Tibetan dress, but maintained their tradition of wearing a turban or veil. In terms of food, they liked to eat meat, zanba, and drink tea milk or butter milk. It can be learned that although those Muslims still kept their characteristic features, they had been Tibetanized: in terms of living customs. They had assimilated much from Tibetans and had many similarities; in terms of language.

In 1964, there are 1,195 Muslims in the Tibetan Autonomous Region, and in 1982, the number grew to , 788. In 1992, there are altogether 2,907 Muslims living in the region, around 2,000 in Lhasa alone, rising to today's figure of around 4,000.