Islam
Islam is the world’s second largest religion with over 1.8 billion followers or about 25% of the global population. Muslims are the majority of population in 49 countries in Arabian Peninsula, Africa, Europe and Central Asia. Muslims ruled the southern part of Spain and Portugual from 711 to 1492. They were called the Moors. Beautiful Moorish architecture can still be seen in Spain.
The founder Muhamad was born in Mecca in Saudi Arabia in 570. He and his followers moved to Medina in 622. His forces grew powerful to conquer Mecca and united Arab regions into a single Muslim entity. Followers believe in the one and only God Allah and the Quran scripture. Prophet Mohamad is the last messenger of God representing teachings of Adam, Abraham, Moses, Jesus and other prophets.
Muslim merchants and scholars traveled the world bringing Islam religion with them. They were instrumental in ancient cultural exchange. For example, they spread paper making from China to the West in 751. They were important traders on the Silk Road. They adopted the use of noodles easy to carry for their travels. Without the use of chopsticks, pasta was made into more convenient shapes. In the meantime, different foods and spices were introduced to China.
Over the years, Islamic forces were established in Arabia, Africa, Middle East, Turkey, Spain, East Europe, India, Indonesia, and Malaysia among others. During the Tang Dynasty, the Persian Empire had frequent contacts with China.
Ever since the death of Muhammad in 632, Islam was split into two factions– the Sunnis and the Shiites. They are two major denominations of Islam. Succession conflicts broke out after his death between the two factions. Today, the conflicts have not been resolved after 1500 years. Saudi Arabia leads the majority Sunnis; Iran is the proponent of the minority Shiites.
Islam in China
Within 20 years following Muhammad’s death, four Sahabas (companions) came to China to preach Islam in Guangzhou, Quanzhou and Yangzhou. During the Tang Dynasty (618-907), Chang’an (today’s Xi’an) was the most cosmopolitan city in the world with thousands of foreign visitors and merchants. Traders from Arabia and Persia brought their religion with them. Their beliefs of peace, compassion and charity were compatible with Confucianism. In fact, Muslim soldiers help the Tang emperor to fight against the revolt of An-Shih Revolt (安史之乱). Muslims were allowed to marry local Han women. After generations of intermarriage, Muslims in China are not distinguishable from the Han population. They are not defined by race, but by religion. Muslims in China also observe rituals of daily prayers and weekly services in mosques. In Quanzhou of Fujian Province, there is a 1500 year old Mosque still standing, the oldest Islam relic in China.
Before Yuan Dynasty (1280-1368) was established in China, Genghis Khan conquored vast areas in Europe and Asia including Muslim countries. Everywhere they went, the Mongols brought craftsmen and artisans to work in the empire. Islam was spread far and wide in the process. The Yuan Dynasty did not last long. The Mongols were driven out to the northern plains. But they continued to raid the south periodically. Again in the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644), the first emperor Zhu Yuanzhang relied on his Muslim generals to fight the Mongols.
There are about 23 million Muslims in China scattered in all areas, but most concentrated in the northwest in Xinjiang, Gansu, Ningxia and Qinghai in the so-called Quran Belt. This minority group is called Hui Hui, or Hui Min (回民). They are largely assimilated in Han culture. In Xinjiang, they are called Uyghurs who are less assimilated in Han culture because of the relatively isolated location.
Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region
In 1914, Ningxia Province merged with Gansu Province. In 1958, the Ningnxia Autonomous Region was established west of the Yellow River Bend bounded by mountains and highlands, bordering on Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, Shaanxi and Gansu with the Great Wall as its northeast boundary, covering 25,600 square miles land area. The region developed rich farming with existing canals for irrigation.
Belt and Road Initiative (BRI)
This Region is the gateway of BRI connecting with East Europe and the Middle East. It’s a hub of Belt and Road partners. Today, the partners have registered over 1700 projects in marine manufacturing, infrastructure, agriculture and finance services including projects from Fujian and Guangdong ports to Southeast Asia, from Strait of Malacca to South Asia and to Persian Gulf region and Europe, accounting for 44.9 percent of total investment abroad.
Connection to the Arab World
Of special interest to the Arab world is the Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region (NHAR). Linked by the ancient Silk Road more than 2000 years ago, NHAR has become a window to Arab States and the Muslim world to help build the Silk Road Economic Belt and 21st Century Maritime Silk Road. This region located in northwest China, has land area of 66,400 sq. km, population of 6.6 million (2014) with Hui people at 35.56 percent of population. “Hui” indicates the religious belief in Islam. Muslims are the largest among 55 minority groups with 1.7 % of the population of China residing in every region.
Yinchuan
Ningxia’s capital, Yinchuan, is a vital center in Belt and Road development, a permanent host of China-Arab States Expo and core area of Ningxia inland foreign economic trade zone. There are 380 companies in Yinchuan in areas of information technology, biotechnology and application for intellectual property rights. Flights to Dubai, Bangkok, Seoul, Taipei, Kazakhstan make for more convenient travels abroad. Flights to Arab States are 5 hours shorter than Beijing, Shanghai and Guangdong. It is also the Sino-Arab translation hub city. More than 440 Chinese books have been translated into Arabic and shipped to Arab countries, comprising 70 percent of the translation market in the cultural industry between China and Arab nations. There is also interest in environmental protection activities. At the 2015 Expo, Arab delegates can have a first-hand look at China’s achievements in protecting wetlands and controlling desertification. Ningxia also has large areas of desert.
Although in an area with diverse ethnic, cultural and religious mix, people in the region live and work in peace and harmony. Yinchuan is in an ecologically favored region with blue sky, clean water and fertile land. It is growing 30666 hectares (1 hectare=2.74 acres) of good quality grapes producing 190,000 metric tons of wine with technology from Bordeaux and chateaus in France. It aspires to be the wine capital of the East
Trade between China and Arab countries reached US $251.2 billion in 2014, up 5.2 percent from 2013. China is the most important export market of Arab crude oil. The Arab world comprises 22 countries and territories of the Arab League with a combined population of 422 million.
By Ruby Tsao
forum4chinese 