Commemorating The Dead

Let us pray together and commemorate those who were slain in the September 11th attacks.

But let it be known, WE ARE AMERICANS, TOO! And we will not tolerate any more religious hatred from those too conservative to accept others outside their own perimetres.

My First Day Of My First Ramadan

It was 0630 when my alarm clock sounded. Accustomed to waking up around 0800, my body was tired and unresponsive, my mood groggy, and my eyes were half-open. Dear God, I felt as if I were in high school again. Today marked the first day of my first observance of Ramadan, the holy month in which the Qur’an was revealed to the Prophet Muhammad (pbuh). I have never before had the courage to attempt this since my conversion, always admiring from afar the people who undetake this tradition regularly. I stumbled down the stairs and prepared myself some breakfast. My grandmother, who has sleeping problems, was startled by my behaviour, but she knew what I was doing. She had lived under the same roof with this Muslim-convert for nearly a year and a half now. She had come to accept and respect his curious and foreign ways, but only on the basis that I was her grandson, not because she understood the meaning of my actions.

I fasted today, tightening the notches of my belt from sunrise to sunset, abstaining from any food throughout the entire day. Unlike most Muslims I admit I did consume water, but only because my health obliged me to. Nonetheless, I did get a feeling of what Ramadan is supposed to be. The holy month is a time of reflection, remembrance, and charity. As my belly ached for long hours, I thought of the people around the world who don’t have the things I have, things like a comfortable home, leisurely activites, indoor plumbing, fresh food, or even running water. I thought of all the hardships of my life, labouring day-by-day to reach my next paycheck. Never had I thought before of the people who labour day-by-day just to reach the next tomorrow. As I said my five prayers, I remembered them and prayed for them, yearning for my chance to help such people. Thank God for Ramadan. Never had I thought my own hunger could fuel my hunger for charity.

Ramadan kareem.

Why China Cannot Accept Islam

The People’s Republic of China has a total of fifty-five recognised ethnic groups, the largest being the Han.  All of these fifty-five are accepted and embraced in China, all except the predominatly Muslim ethnicities, who don’t quite seem to fit in.  The fact is that China cannot accept Islam.  Given that in China attention is centred on the majority, the demanding duties of Islam, and the nature of religion in China, it appears that Islam will be sitting in the back-seat of the country’s national identity for a long time to come.

When people think of China, regardless of where they come from, the thought of dark-haired, light-skinned, almond-shaped-eyed people usually comes to mind.  Who on earth would suspect a brown-skinned, bearded man with light-brown hair and hazel eyes wearing a turban or a kufi to be Chinese too?  How can a Chinese person be a Muslim?  The thought is simply unheard of.  And for good reason: though Islam’s history in China stretches back for centuries, it is still the psychology today, even amongst Chinese people, that it is a new, foreign religion meant more for people of Central Asia than for people of the Orient.  There are approximately twenty-million Muslims living in China.  However, despite this large amount of people, the number of Muslims only account for one- to two-percent of the total population.  With the rest of China being non-Muslim, attention is naturally centred on the majority.  And though statistics claim that Islam is supposedly one of the more “rapidly” growing religions of the country, it is certain that Islam will never become the dominant religion of China.  The average Chinese citizen (that is the Sino-Tibetan looking kind) is not accustomed to being in a mosque with the people within looking and speaking differently than himself.  A house of worship is a very important thing to the Chinese.  Not only do they travel to the house of worship to worship, they also wish to become a part of the community within it.  Returning to the notion that the majority of the nation’s citizens are not brown-skinned with lightly-coloured hair, the Chinese are hesistant to embrace the ideals of Islam.

Another obstacle preventing the greater growth of Islam is the demands of the religion.  Despite its alleged political standings, China is a capitalist country.  As the old cliché goes: time is money, and money is the blood that keeps the nation alive.  The average Chinese worker does not have the time or the luxury to stop in the midst of his work five times a day to kneel and pray in the direction of the Ka’aba.  Also, Islam demands that certain foods and beverages are not to be consumed, such as pork and alcohol.  Given that there are countless Chinese dishes that include pork, halal food (food that is acceptable to be consumed by Muslims) is difficult and rather cumbersome to find.  Alcohol is also a staple ingredient in the average Chinese social life.  There is not a single Chinese social gathering that I have encountered that does not involve a couple bottles of wine, some beers, and perhaps even harder alcholic beverages such as liquor, whiskey, or vodka.

The very nature of religion in China is unfitting for Islam.  China has historically been a polytheistic nation with traditional gods such as Yu Di (玉帝), the Jade Emperor, and Guan Yu (关于), the god of war, that are still revered to this day.   Buddhism, introduced to China from India, fit well with the nation’s religious society because Prince Siddhartha, the Buddha, and other figures such as bodhisattvas easily blended in, becoming deified with the traditional Chinese gods.  Prince Siddhartha was promoted from a revered teacher status to the position of literally a god.  The bodhisattva, originally male in Indian Theravada Buddhism, turned female and became known as Guan Yin (观音), the goddess of mercy, perhaps influenced by the traditional Chang’E (嫦娥), goddess of the moon.  Christianity, though a foreign, monotheistic faith, managed to squeeze a firm foothold in Chinese society by teaching the Trinity, emphasising three entities in one God, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.  However, Islam preaches only one god, and only one, as evident in the Shahada, the Muslim declaration of faith:  لا إله إلاَّ الله محمدا رسول الله, which means “I attest that there is no god but God, and Muhammad is His messenger”.  Also, it is worthy to note that Chinese often feel the need to have icons, statues, or shrines in the event of worship.  Unlike the Buddha or the Christ, Islam strictly forbids any image of God, as it is the Muslim belief that (1) we don’t even know what God looks like and (2) the construction of any image of God is deemed as idol worship (there is a huge difference between worshipping God and worshipping an icon that represents God).

Is there a future for Islam in China?  Yes, definitely.  Islam has enjoyed a place in China’s rich history for many many centuries and it will do so hopefully for many more years to come.  However, seeing as Islam is the underdog amongst China’s population, it seems that it will have to enjoy its place in the shadows as the spotlight is pointed elsewhere.

Alexis

Lifeguarding is certainly no easy task.  Apart from being physically and psychologically ready to save a life from the dangers of water, the job also demands more labourious tasks such as keeping logs pertaining to chlorine and pH levels, maintaining pool cleanliness, and proper usage and storage of pool equipment.  After undertaking three grueling months of this job this profession is certainly not one that I have enjoyed myself with and definitely not one that I would recommend to a friend to take up.  However, amidst the sweat, heat, and ungodly long work hours, there was the occasional meeting of extraordinary people.

On the surface, Alexis Pikrallidas was a just another patron I served and attended to at the Union Mills Community Pool.  She was a short, olive-skinned girl around the age of eight or nine who loved the water.  Her figure was a bit too skinny for a girl her age and all-in-all she was not as cute as many other young girls I have encountered in years past.  Usually accompanied by her father, Dmitry, this traditional Greek Orthodox family would enter the pool, swim for an hour or two (usually while chatting with me), and leave as serenely as they came in.

“That’s an interesting necklace”, said Alexis one day to me as I was chatting with her father.  ”Does it mean anything?”

I looked down at the silver pendant that hung from my neck.  Its weight was so light that I almost forgot that it was there.  Upon it was calligraphy embossed with diamonds.

“It says ‘Allah’”, I replied to her.  ”It means ‘God’ in Arabic.”

“Are you a Muslim?” she asked me toyingly.

“Yes I am,  Miss Alexis.”

“But you’re Chinese!  Chinese people can’t be Muslims!  Muslims are all from the Middle East.”

“Islam is a religion,” I explained to her, “and religion does not differentiate between races.  What difference is there between a Christian from France and a Christian from Italy?”

My question stumped her for a brief moment, but her curiousity insued and nothing prepared me for what she was to say next.

“I heard from my friend that Muslims hate Christians and hate America.  Is that true?”

Alexis’ last question not only hurt me slightly, but completely stunned me.  Children at such young ages are being subjegated to the far-right conservative media and are being taught that Islam and terrorism are synonymous.  Islam is a peaceful religion.  Nowhere in the Holy Qur’an is it writtten that the slaughtering of innocents is supported, but society still does not seem to adhere to that fact.  And nowhere is this more true than in the People’s Republic of China.

Islamic China is a recent subject in today’s media, but the religion’s presence within the country dates back for centuries.  Islam was introduced to China through Arab traders in 651, less than twenty years after the death of the Prophet Muhammad (pbuh).  For years, Chinese Muslims have heavily influenced Chinese society, such as the renowned naval explorer, Zheng He (郑和).  This famous admiral was sent on expeditions for the Emperor many years before the start of the Spanish and Portuguese.  It is also said that he discovered North America in 1421, seventy-one years before the sail of Christopher Columbus.  Muslims have lived mostly at peace with the Chinese until the events of September 11th.

In recent years, China’s largest ethnicity population, the Han, has been in a state of great fear.  Though the nation guarantees freedom of religion in its constitution, Muslims throughout the country are carefully monitored by the Chinese government, every mosque, church, and temple meticulously owned and watched by the state screening for alleged “terrorists”.  ”Random” searches are performed on the housholds of those who are known Muslims, even the ones working within the government.  There are no exceptions.  There is no trust.  China is terrorised by itself.

My mission is a simple one – to bring greater attention to Islam and its impact on modern China – but I cannot hope to achieve this alone.  With that thought, I welcome you reader to my new blog site.  Please read the following posts to come and critique them at your will and direct your friends and family to this site as well.  God willing, together we will be able to bring people from all corners and all diversities and help them understand that Islam is not the enemy.  Godspeed.