Is China Erasing the Hui Muslim Identity?

welcome back friends for another video - didn't forget you!🥳 Making a video to articulate controversial stuff takes time to think through and I don't just want to just speak from a predictably 'Chinese viewpoint'. let me know what you think of the video! edit: to all muslim friends who reminded me to not have the Quran reading as background music - apologies! I wasn't aware of this and I just thought it sounds beautiful. I'll be mindful of that in future videos!

Chinese Muslims don't necessarily look Arabic or dress in the Arabic traditional style, and Chinese mosques don't necessarily look Arabic either. It is a great feature of Islam that it can be embraced by such a diverse group of people.

in Indonesia we have the Cheng Ho Mosque, which is a mosque with Chinese architecture, the mosque was built to honor a Chinese Muslim admiral named Cheng ho (Zheng He) who spread Islam in Southeast Asia.

The problem is that Islam is not just a religion of worship that we often see in the daily lives of Muslims. Islam is a methodological system of life both individually, family, community and State. Islam must be upheld in a comprehensive manner according to the capabilities of its adherents. Being able to mean here is being able to be patient in carrying out God's commands and being able to accept the risks. What is certain is that the risks are multilevel, and each level of risk gets a different reward from Allah.

It's not just Guangzhou, if you go to Xi'an, Ninxia etc. All those oldest mosques in China share similar elements of Chinese traditional architecture. Very few exceptions are old mosque in Quanzhou which is Persian style brought in by Persian merchants but was preserved as part of World Heritage Site.

When I was a Child, I lived in the Hui Autonomous Region(Chan He district, Luoyang City), and my neighbors were Muslims. They would put up Spring couplets like us, but theirs were green. There were many beef shops on the street, and I loved their food. Living there for 13 years, can you imagine the Chinese government's policy towards minorities？the district government is a Muslim building, has a Muslim church and Eid festival, and our district president is a Hui Muslim.😊😊😊

as a muslim from malaysia I’m very interested about the stories of Chinese muslims in china. ty for the video🤎

👏China needs more YouTubers like you who can see things from different perspective.

The Qur'an doesn't talk about getting rewarded for jihad and receiving 72 virgins.

Thankyou for sharing this. I am a Muslim who lives in Indonesia. I'm just aware about the presence, culture and religion of Hui ethnic in China. About the architecture of a Mosque, I am sure that there is also great diversity across the muslim communities in the world, and it has also changed from time to time. In Indonesia, there are also old mosques (built around 16th century) with JAVA-nese (and not "Middle-East" ) Architecture to "conform" to the main culture at the time where HINDU culture was still dominant. I have seen a number of Mosques in Yunnan (and also in Indonesia) which were built by Chinese Muslim communities with Chinese architecture, and I think they are interesting. I like them.

The best China blogger is back! Honesty, integrity and reliable information!

The first gentleman in the video said it wisely, he wore white hat as his Muslim identity but if he should took off his hat does that mean his not Muslim? He's still a Muslim at heart. It doesn't matter what exterior or accessories you wear as long as you're practicing & believing in Muslim values, you are a Muslim. Thank you for your hard work for this video. Hope all of us can learn from each other to understand each other better.

Like your style of presenting and balanced view. Thanks for your videos and really enjoy it.

Excellent video. I think most people don't know that the chinese mosques are being restructured, most people think they are just being demolished, so the video was very insightful

Thank you for providing a nuanced perspective into the Hui Muslim identity. Your video reminded of a Hui couple and their restaurant I visited in Kunming. It was a one of my most memorable experiences during that visit.

Thanks Siming, very informative. Look forward to more...

Hi, I am from Indonesia, a country with most Muslim population in the world. In Indonesia, the early mosques also incorporate the original culture, the Hindu and traditional style. Due to this strategy, the population could easily accept Islam as a new faith because it didn't clashed frontally with their original culture. Only when Islam had become the major religion, the more Middle Eastern style was incorporated. And now, several new mosques even use modern and avant-garde style, leaving the ubiquitous dome shape. Regarding the assimilation of religion, the history is a bit different in Indonesia, since Islam finally become the dominant religion. Even with the domination, Islam has evolve into a more "Indonesian" style, with its own unique culture and tradition. Only in the last decade there is a purification movement ignited by the new Islam awakening around the world.

Very nuanced and well structured! I also like when your cat gave it’s cameo 😂

I came across your vlog today Appreciated the piece about your identity journey since age 15. It takes courage and self confidence to bare your soul. Congratulations for finding peace at such a young age. Your identity will evolve with time and life experiences. I know you will do well

One of the best content, I’ve encountered here!