Confronting the Unexpected

The Tibetan Muslims have played an active part in central Tibetan society since the early 17th century. This chapter traces the arrival and evolution of the various Tibetan Muslim groups within the Lhasa and central Tibet. It identifies the numerous mosques of Lhasa, the various sub-communities, and the nature of those communities. The Khache, while often glossed as “Kashmiri,” and despite being commonly defined as “foreign,” remained unmistakably Tibetan. In order to better understand this transformation from “outsider” to “native,” this chapter engages the various ways the Tibetan Muslim community has become an accepted part of Tibetan society. A key aspect of this is to trace the complex terminology employed by Tibetans, Chinese, Indians and other visitors to Tibet to identify the Tibetan Muslims.