Anti-Minjian sentiment
Anti-Minjian sentiment is feelings or expressions of prejudice, hatred, hostility, or discrimination against Minjian people.
Laeral
During the First Allied Provinces period following independence, widespread suspicion towards Minjian existed among Arrivée Laeralites, manifesting in Catholic-nationalist rhetoric, laws, and violence in numerous provinces. This regime was epitomized by the "Enforcement Laws," statutes based in colonial decree which barred manifestations of Minjian belief in public places, banned Minjian schools, and prevented Minjian from serving in public office. Most seriously, Enforcement Laws in most provinces mandated a register of the religious affiliation of all citizens, and conversion to Minjian was strictly regulated; as of 1868, only in two western provinces was religious conversion entirely unregulated by law.
By 1880, "Enforcement Associations" existed in all Laeralian provinces to foster the enactment and enforcement of the Enforcement Laws, often holding overlapping membership with both anti-Minjian terror groups such as the Chevaliers of the Veil, on the one hand, and Christian social-reformist organizations promoting the prohibition of alcohol, opium, and foot-binding. Enforcement Associations were also typically involved heavily in local and provincial politics, endorsing favored candidates and even running their own on several occasions under various partisan labels.
The suppression of Minjian practice extended to acts of violence against Minjian clergy and temples. The Chevaliers of the Veil were known for conducting masked marches and rallies to force the closure of Minjian temples in predominantly-Arrivée areas. For instance, the Temple of Winter Reeds in St. Clair, Aumont was put to the torch by Chevaliers in 1883.
In popular culture, pamphlets and works of literature purporting to expose sinister practices and "white slavery" among the Minjian clergy circulated widely during the late 19th century. Among the most popular of these was "Eighteen Months in a Pagan Temple; or, the Horrific Secrets of a Young Woman's Captivity Exposed," a book purporting to tell the sordid rituals, including orgies, ritual scarification, and infanticide, that the author, Marcelle Diderot, had witnessed while held captive in "white slavery" at a Minjian temple. Other books and pamphlets popular at the time including other captivity narratives, as well as documents claiming to be those of Minjian high officials outlining plans to subvert Laeralian society and institute a theocracy. Typical conspiratorial narratives around Minjian influence, as outlined by Dr. Chou Hung-lu in his 1973 study of the subject, tended to include plots to subvert democracy, kidnapping and enslavement of women and children, sordid rituals involving drugs and perverted sexual practices, and the ensnarement of the young and vulnerable through Minjian education and services.
Anti-Minjian sentiment among Arrivée and Rén Christians in Laeral coincided with the revival of the Minjian High Conclave by the Conclavist reform movement which faced violent backlash from anti-Minjian groups. The Zhenglu Massacre, in which a mob left eleven Minjian dead in the Peichen town of Zhenglu, was followed by the Peichen Secession Crisis of 1896. Ultimately, the revival of the Minjian High Conclave was allowed to proceed under with the approval of the Laeralian government, yet Peichen would not be admitted to the union as a province until the establishment of the Republic of Laeral in 1922.
Under the Republic of Laeral, the Social Democratic regime saw the Minjian faithful as an ally following the wartime alliance between the Minjian High Conclave and the Committee for Democracy and Progress during the Laeralian Revolution. The admission of four Minjian-majority provinces to Laeral in 1922, the deregulation of religious conversion, and protections of Minjian people and temples from mob violence were outcomes of this alliance, although other Minjian demands such as the establishment of a weekly Sunday work holiday, recognition of Minjian marriage, and free establishment of Minjian schools were rejected by the secular Gramontist regime.
High Fells
Mass immigration from Laeral: the Kwangsee Plot and ensuing rally at the border
Great Revival in High Fells: led to the emergence of the Figurist sect, aiming to merge Minjian and Christian practices
Fears of Minjian influence merged with fears of Republican Laeral
Slokais Islands
The Minjian faith arrived in what would become Slokais Islands in the 9th century with many settlers joining those who had already been converted. Throughout the medieval and colonial periods, the Minjian faithful were often the target of violence and alienation as many Minjians occupied positions within the middle and trading class.
Ambonar Expulsion
The Ambonar Kingdom made Christianity its official religion after King Sri Darma Mlijana or King Ferdinand of the East as he was known by his Costenan Empire allies. Minjians made up a sizeable middle and working class of Ambonar society, yet they soon became targeted by anti-Minjian rhetoric. King Sri Drama called on citizens in 1712 to not buy from Minjian traders stating "The spirits of the devil taint Minjian goods". This led to natural persecution and violence from citizens of the Ambonar. In a 1715 journal "Journey Through the Great East" by Francisco de Valer, the priest described "a great, almost un-Christian hatred for those of the Minjian faith. I observed the constant violence against fellow citizens of the Ambonar State". In 1717, after a Minjian shopkeeper killed a thief who robbed his store in Cirebon, a mob not only killed the offending shopkeeper but burned and looted the entire Minjian district of the city. Hearing of the violence in Cirebon, Minjian armed themselves in small protectionary militias, a decision that only elicited violence and murder against the Minjian across the Ambonar Kingdom. After two months of violence, Sri Drama ordered the expulsion of the remaining 70,000 from the Kingdom as he blamed the bloodshed on the Minjian. It's estimated between 5,000 and 10,000 Minjian were killed between 1717 and 1725 when Sri Drama died and was replaced by his son, Sri Dontak who ordered an end to the violence.