I knew a Hui girl in Beijing for quite a few years. She was originally from Shandong. We even worked together for a while.
She didn't eat pork, but as far as I could tell, that was the only fragment of Islam that she still carried with her. I once visited the historic mosque in 牛街 with her, and it was clear she had received no Islamic education of any kind and didn't know even basic facts about the religion. I am certain she would not have known that her community is Sunni. After reading your piece, however, I wonder if she may have had more contact with Islamic practice than I assumed.
I have visited places in Western China, like Ningxia and Qinghai, where there seem to be Hui communities that still follow their religion and are more obviously distinct from the Han. I wonder if it is because there are more of them living in close proximity, or because they are more geographically remote.
From my own experience, proximity is definitely important. When there's a critical mass of Hui people living together, the mosque, the halal butcher, the imam, the rituals around birth and death — these stop being things you have to consciously maintain and just become the default structure of daily life. You're embedded in it without having to choose it.
Lovely reflective piece, thank you!
I knew a Hui girl in Beijing for quite a few years. She was originally from Shandong. We even worked together for a while.
She didn't eat pork, but as far as I could tell, that was the only fragment of Islam that she still carried with her. I once visited the historic mosque in 牛街 with her, and it was clear she had received no Islamic education of any kind and didn't know even basic facts about the religion. I am certain she would not have known that her community is Sunni. After reading your piece, however, I wonder if she may have had more contact with Islamic practice than I assumed.
I have visited places in Western China, like Ningxia and Qinghai, where there seem to be Hui communities that still follow their religion and are more obviously distinct from the Han. I wonder if it is because there are more of them living in close proximity, or because they are more geographically remote.
Thanks for sharing.
From my own experience, proximity is definitely important. When there's a critical mass of Hui people living together, the mosque, the halal butcher, the imam, the rituals around birth and death — these stop being things you have to consciously maintain and just become the default structure of daily life. You're embedded in it without having to choose it.
what a beautiful piece, thank you for sharing this
Thank you!