After our uneventful Thursday lessons, my friend said he wanted to visit the Niujie Mosque which we had failed to find earlier. We took a taxi this time which was a bad and good idea as we actually got the Mosque but there was insane traffic on the way.

The Mosque seems quite easy to miss if you weren’t looking for it, as it’s tucked away slightly from the main road and I didn’t notice until my friend pointed it out. It is very pretty though, you have to pay to enter unless you’re Muslim but that shouldn’t stop you, unless you’re wearing inappropriate clothing…The ‘guard’ (for lack of better word) gave us a leaflet about the Mosque too for us to read whilst some of our friends were taking a bit longer to look around.

Afterwards we went to the infamous ‘Lakers’ that our group of Study China participants had grown to love. It was a log-cabin restaurant serving pizza (which is pretty big…19 inches for a large!) but it’s not cheap, almost as expensive as Western prices but it was worth one visit. They had some…interesting books that you can read too – all in English but some very strange ones…

Foto didepan gedung KBRI Beijing

Hari ini, keluar rumah agak siangan dikit. Karena ada janji bakalan diundang untuk bertemu dengan Atase Imigrasi Kedutaan RI di Beijing, kebetulan salah satu dari kami berlima bekerja di dirjen imigrasi dan abangnya Deari, Chiko adalah asisten dari Bapak Atase tersebut. Setelah bertemu-sapa dengan Bapak Atase Imigrasi, kami pun diajak makan siang bersama. Ketemu juga dengan Bapak Atase Perdagangan. Klo soal makan, sapa juga yg nolak ^^. Makasih kepada Bapak Atase Imigrasi dan Perdagangan kedubes RI di Beijing karena telah mengundang kami makan siang, hehe. So, sekalian mampir … foto2lah kami berlima didepan kedutaan besar RI di Beijing.

KBRI Beijing

Setelah makan siang, kami pun pamit untuk melajutkan perjalanan sebagai backpacker. Tujuan kali ini adalah NiuJie Mosque. Niujie mosque terletak didaerah yang sangat terkenal di Beijing, Xuan Wu. Mesjid ini sangat unik, dan merupakan mesjid tertua di China. Sebenarnya kita bisa naik bus dan langsung berhenti tepat dihalte depan mesjid, tapi karena bus yg dicari tidak melewati kedutaan akhirnya kami memutuskan untuk naik subway kedaerah Xuan Wu. Setelah sampai di Xuan Wu, kami masih harus menaiki sebuah bus untuk sampai didekat mesjid.

Tepat dua jam sebelum magrib kami tiba didaerah Niujie Mosque. Hal apa yang dirasakan ketika pertama kali tiba didaerah itu? BINGUNG! itulah jawabannya … bingung karena tidak tau mana satu bangunan mesjid yang dimaksud. Dari pemberhentian bus, lokasi Niujie Mosque masih terlalu jauh, sehingga agak sedikit membingungkan bagi orang yang pertama kali mengunjungi daerah ini. Setelah bertanya sana-sini, akhirnya kami menemukan sosok bangunan pintu depan dari Niujie Mosque.

Menyempatkan diri untuk sholat ashar di Mesjid Tertua China ini adalah sebuah anugrah yang sangat besar dan mulia. Didalam mesjid terdapat beberapa bangunan yang digunakan untuk belajar AlQuran, ruang kantor dan makam imam beserta pendiri mesjid ini. Sekitar satu jam kami habiskan untuk melihat-lihat keadaan sekitar Niujie Mosque ini, perjalanan dilanjutkan menuju tempat belanja ^^. Kali ini tempat yang dituju adalah kawasan Silk Market.

Niujie Mosque

Silk market atau yang lebih sering disebut sebagai Silk Street merupakan pusat perbelanjaan sutera terbesar di Beijing. Anda dapat mengunjungi pusat perbelanjaan yang terletak di Chaoyangmen District dengan menggunakan taxi, MRT Line 1, stasiun Yong’anli (Exit A) atau dengan menggunakan bus yang mengarah ke Xiushui Dongjie.

Silk market bukan hanya menjual aneka pakaian sutera, tetapi berbagai pernak pernih, serta aksesoris perhiasan ada dipusat perbelanjaan ini. Mulai dari sepatu, ikat pinggang, tas tangan hingga travel bag ada dilantai 1. Naik ke lantai 2 dan 3, Anda dapat menjumpai berbagai pakaian dengan merk dan dari desainer terkenal. Segala sesuatu yang berbau sutera terdapat pada lantai 4, sedangkan lantai 5 tempat untuk menjual perhiasan dan aksesoris. Hati-hati ketika memilih barang yang ingin Anda beli, pastikan Anda menawarnya dengan baik dan semurah-murahnya ^_^.

Gerbang masuk Niujie Mosque

Bersambung … (Bagian terakhir)

Uthaya, Izan, Jasmine and Fadzillah no problems finding halal food restaurant in Beijing.BEIJING, July 21 -

Muslims who travel to Beijing, China should not worry about thinking of getting guaranteed delicious food and halal.

Before this, I often hear people complain and complain Muslims when the need arises to go to Beijing, whether on business or holiday work.

Basically, the average opinion that would be impossible to get a guaranteed food as halal food outlets and restaurants owned by Chinese people who are not Muslims.

So, automatically assumed and prejudices that arise will mix the contents of dishes not clean and the food served did not meet the criteria for ‘halal’ in accordance with Islamic law.

The reality is quite the opposite because throughout Beijing, is not difficult to get the dishes are guaranteed clean and fully prepared in accordance with religious requirements.

This is more evident especially in Niujie, Xuanwu district with about 10,000 residents are Muslim and Niujie Mosque location of the largest and oldest mosque in Beijing since the year 996.

I’m with Jasmine Koh, Nurul Fadzillah and Izan Ali did not face any problem in getting halal food since we arrived in Beijing on July 12 on the sponsorship publishing company One Nusantara Sdn.

Traditional Chinese cakes are halal is also available in Beijing.Tan See Hua, young men from Tangkak, Johor, who guides us until July 20 is always take us to the food and halal food restaurants owned by Muslims.

“Most operators, cooks and workers in halal restaurants in Beijing, China in particular are people who came from Muslim Xinjiang region.

“Since arriving in Beijing Institute of Technology (BIT) two years ago to complete a PhD study, I used to be with fellow Muslims from Malaysia and Pakistan to halal restaurants here,” he said.

Some tourists from Malaysia that I could find around Jinsong admit that the food in the hotel where they stay is lawful, but less appetizing.

“We came to Beijing not to eat chicken, fish and a fried egg cooked just like the Malays in Malaysia, but to enjoy the cooking style of China, which remains lawful,” they are clearly disappointed that a six-day tour group does not provide opportunities for them touch the local cuisine.

The matter is also recognized Izan, Jasmine and very tasteful Fadzillah enjoy a variety of local halal food for breakfast, lunch and dinner.

“Tourists who come to Beijing Malaysia need to remember that different styles here in our country. In fact, it is lost if we keep asking the same food as in Malaysia, while many Muslim restaurants serving Chinese cuisine available throughout Beijing, “said Fadzillah not the slightest doubt on the level of Muslim halal food in a restaurant you visit.

For Izan, she often heard the Malaysians who had been to Beijing complained that the food here is not suitable for Muslims and it is also bad.

“For 10 days I was in Beijing, I did not encounter any problems. In fact, I did not even miss would Malay cuisine as excited to enjoy the cooking styles of China halal, “he said participating in the project a handbook of special travel to Beijing for the Muslims of Malaysia.

Fadzillah added that China-style halal food is tasty, appetite, according to the throat, in contrast, non-greasy and healthy.

“We should try the local cuisine is halal because it is part of Islamic culture in China, which should be known and appreciated,” he said with enthusiasm as we enjoy lunch at a halal restaurant in Liulichang known for its traditional stores.

“The restaurant does not belong to the people of Xinjiang, but the Beijing area are Muslims. So, halal food and drink here is guaranteed, “See Hua also explains while showing the writing Arabic calligraphy at the entrance to a restaurant that can guide choose halal food shops.

Jasmine is studying at the University of Adelaide, Australia will have a chance to enjoy Chinese cuisine with Izan and Fadzillah because the atmosphere is often almost impossible to happen in Malaysia as the Chinese food restaurant is either not permissible or halal, could not meet the criteria.

“I am very excited to be able to share information on Chinese food with them in an atmosphere of goodwill and without any doubts on the level of lawful enjoyment of food, either lunch or traditional cakes,” she said, admitted appreciate the experience for nine days with us in Beijing.

For my own that do not normally use the wooden chopsticks to eat, suddenly I choose to use it since arriving in Beijing. It seemed so amazing that I can use them to be proud of.

It is the same tea. In Malaysia, I always drink ‘the tarik sweet’, but over 10 days in Beijing, I used to drink Chinese tea without sugar and milk.

So, sadly, if any person from Malaysia who travel to Beijing China in particular and generally choose to behave like monkeys did not want to contribute and try local cuisine guaranteed to clean.

As a result, the losers are the people themselves as ‘lost’ through his own great experience opportunities that may come only once in his life.

   My mom is a principal at a high school here in China. Because most of her students wish to attend American universities she must go to America and learn more about the process of applying to American universities and what the schools look for in applicants. While in America my host mom will also study the schools in order to adopt from them any methods that would improve her school back here in China. She will be visiting Harvard, MIT, along with several other colleges and high schools around the U.S. My mom is traveling with a group of educators; none of them speak English and so a translator is traveling with them.

   After taking my first official SAT on Saturday, I headed to the Muslim district here in Beijing with my friends Bob and Maddie. After eating at a delicious Muslim-style hot pot restaurant that a teacher had recommended to us, we happened upon the Niujie Mosque. We met a man from Iraq who was on vacation who sat down and taught us a bit about Islam. According to him, Muslims gather in worship every Friday, and the person who leads them in prayer is called the Imam. I already knew some things that he told us about Islam, such as that Muslims pray 5 times a day in the direction of Mecca and that they are not allowed to smoke, drink, and eat pork.

   After returning home on Saturday night, I played with my little brother. We hit a balloon back and forth to each other in order to warm up. Then it was time for more advanced fun; we hit the balloon up as many times as we could before it could touch the ground. Later we played with my brothers toy trains. He acted as one train while I took on the roles of a rival train, the passengers, the train inspector, and a blue man who wanted to eat the passengers. It was good bonding time.

   On Sunday morning my host dad and I made pancakes from the pancake mix that my dad had given one of his friends to bring to me. They tasted much better than the ones I had made previously . My little brother is now a huge fan of pancakes! After looking excitedly at his chocolate chip pancake he jumped up and down slightly and then asked his mom (my host sister) to pour syrup on it. After eating delicious pancakes for breakfast, my host family and I traveled to our hutong home where I spent my day doing homework and chatting with my extended host family.

   The government is tearing down most of Beijing’s hutongs in order to build modern buildings. I asked my host sister if the government planned to tear down the hutong that our house was located in and what her thoughts on it were. She told me that about 2 years ago the government had notified them that the hutong that our house was located in was to be teared down. She said that as long as the government sufficiently reimbursed them for their house she was fine with it and that when the government finally demolished our hutong house our extended family could gather at our home every Sunday. She said that she believed most families were fine with the government tearing down their hutong houses as long as the government gave them a proper new home to live in or properly reimbursed them. She said that many families were even excited to move out of their hutong houses because many didn’t have toilets and thus the people in them had to use an outside communal toilet. In addition many of the hutong houses didn’t have hot water.

   And that’s what I did this past weekend!

Zaijian!

Maya Odei ’12

Image via Wikipedia

Source_ The Staronline & IslamiCity :Muslims in China keep their faith

The Muslim community is thriving in China as the younger generation carry on the religion.

ISLAM has evolved into the second largest religion in China. Its rich heritage can be traced back to Muslim diplomats and merchants from Persia who spread the religion to the territories between 630AD and 751AD during the Tang Dynasty. In 651AD, Tang Emperor Li Shimin received an envoy sent by Caliph Uthman and this was followed by 16 more official visits by delegations from the Umayyad Caliphate in the next century.

Trading between Muslim and Chinese merchants became so regular that the Song Dynasty court appointed a Muslim as the director-general of shipping and invited 5,300 men from Uzbekistan’s Bukhara province to settle in China.

The religion continued to flourish during the Yuan and Ming dynasties with Muslim immigrants given key positions in the administration, until the Manchu-led Qing Dynasty suppressed Islam. Throughout the last 1,400 years, Chinese Muslims predominantly from 10 ethnic minority groups such as Hui, Uyghur, Kazakh, Dongxiang, Kyrgyz, Salar, Tajik, Uzbek, Bonan and Tatar retained their faith and belief as well as culture, forming one of Asia’s largest Muslim populations. Among the estimated 21 million Muslims in China, many live in the north-west provinces of Xinjiang, Gansu and Ningxia, but some have spread out to other parts of China including Yunnan, Henan, Beijing, Guangdong and Shanghai.

“Both my wife and I are Hui Chinese, and we have been Muslims like our ancestors,” said Beijing resident Shan Chongshan.

“We make sure our children practise this religion and helped them raise our two granddaughters the Muslim way. That’s very important in our family.”

Shan and his wife live in a Muslim settlement in the historical Niujie (Oxen Street) in the Chinese capital. When he was working as a locomotive operator in his youth, he missed a lot of visits to the mosque.

Muslims performing prayers before breaking fast at the Niujie Mosque in Beijing.

Now, the retiree has found peace and is free to perform his prayers five times a day at the Niujie Mosque, which is about five minutes’ walk from his apartment. He joins his friends every Eidul-Fitri (Hari Raya Puasa) and Eidul-Adha (Hari Raya Haji) at the mosque.

Han Yaohua, who is a bachelor, goes to the mosque every day without fail to pass his time. He would bring his home-cooked food there to break fast with other Muslims during Ramadan.

“I prepare my sahur meals the night before. I just cook some vegetable dishes that go with buns and dumplings, and heat them up at 3am for sahur before fasting for the day,” he said.

“During Chinese New Year, there are many temple fairs in China that visitors can look forward to but they are more of a cultural event. To me, Eidul-Fitri is more significant as it is my ethnic festival.”

Shan said that Eidul-Adha, better known as the festival of sacrifice, is a very important occasion in the Chinese Muslim calendar.

“As much as I would love to perform the haj in Mecca with my wife, the expenses are too high. But, I really hope that I can carry out the pilgrimage at least once in my lifetime,” he said.

The Hui Chinese are mostly direct descendants of Silk Road travellers, and their ancestors are the product of intermarriage between Central Asians, Arabs, Persians, Han Chinese (the dominant race in China) and Mongols.

Many of the Han Chinese who converted to Islam are also considered Hui people. The Hui speak fluent Chinese as their mother tongue, unlike Muslims from the other nine ethnic groups who are associated with their own non-Chinese languages.

China Islamic Association vice-president Ma Zhongjie said that despite their different ancestral and cultural backgrounds, Muslims from all the 10 ethnic groups observed similar Islamic dietary laws, teachings and dress codes such as white caps for men and head scarves for women.

There are more than nine million Muslims of Hui origin spread over China. Xinjiang is unique and steeped in the religion with about 8.4 million Muslims from the Uyghur, Kazakh and Kyrgyzminority groups.

Though the Muslim population only accounts for less than 2% of China’s total population, it continues to grow, and more Muslims from the north-west have moved to the south and east, and built mosques there. During the three most important Islamic festivals – Eidul-Fitri, Eidul-Adha and Mawlid (Prophet Muhammad’s birthday) – all Chinese Muslims will be given public holidays, Ma said.

He added that the number of Chinese Muslims going for the yearly pilgrimage in Mecca has been increasing over the past decade.

Last year, about 13,100 pilgrims from China visited Mecca. They chartered flights that departed from cities like Beijing, Urumqi, Lanzhou, Yinchuan and Kunming, since October. Historically, Chinese Muslims had been banned from performing the haj during the Qing Dynasty. Their religious status was restored after the fall of China’s last imperial dynasty.

During the turbulent times in China, very few pilgrims were allowed to travel but the government began to relax its policies towards Muslims in 1978.

Since organised pilgrimage was renewed in 1985, the number of pilgrims have grown to thousands in the last 20 years.

In 2007, the number exceeded 10,000 for the first time and reached 12,700 last year.

Ma said the year-on-year increase showed that not only Chinese Muslims had kept their religion steadfastly under the guidance of the association but they had also gained wealth to pay for the haj trip.

“There are more than 40,000 certified imams (religious teachers) who carry out their duties at more than 30,000 mosques in China. Most of them received Islamic education from the China Islamic Institute run by the association, and nine other colleges in Xinjiang, Lanzhou, Yinchuan, Kunming and Hebei,” he said.

The number of imams increase every year and they also conduct lessons at the mosques. After they have completed their lessons in a few years, the students will become imams at other mosques.

However, Ma said they faced major challenges in encouraging the younger generation to embrace the religion.

The fact that many Muslim parents did not receive proper Islamic education or visit the mosque regularly made it even more difficult for their children to do so.

There is no religious class in school because in China the education system is separated from religious teaching.

Furthermore, family education often is not kept up, so children gradually lose touch with their religion and many end up not fasting and performing prayers, he added.

Undergraduate Muhammad Hasan said he had no choice but to give fasting a miss during Ramadan as the atmosphere at his university was not conducive for Muslims to do so.

“Basically, about 40% to 50% of the Muslim students would not fast. But at home, I would certainly not miss the fasting month and would fast together with my parents, grandparents and everyone in my family,” said the 24-year-old Hui Chinese from Ningxia.

He said the strong conviction in the faith “still flows in his blood and that of the entire community in his hometown”, which is densely populated by Muslims.

“What we can do away from home is to reinforce our faith by deepening our religious knowledge, studying the Quran and taking up religious lessons at the mosque,” he said.

Ma said that not only do religious leaders have to provide Muslims the right guidance but they should also promote ethnic integration between Muslims and non-Muslims in the country.

The China Islamic Association, and other provincial and local Islamic associations, have the duty to nurture imams who will spread the knowledge and promote Islamic education at mosques.

“By doing so, the younger generation will become good people who can contribute to the development of the country,” he concluded.

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Throughout 1400 years, Muslims in China have gone through many ups and downs, until they reached the state of “harmony” with non-Muslims Chinese.

Muslims in China began as traders and soldiers in the 7th century, therefore instilling in the early Muslim settlers a sense of belonging and legitimacy; they were not a burden on the country, but valuable contributors.

It was only in the 13th century, however, after the Mongols conquered China, that these Muslims who were classified as “foreign guests” were allowed to live wherever they chose and were granted full citizenship.

Image via Wikipedia

This started the development of a fully indigenous Chinese Muslim culture. The Mongols, a minority themselves, encouraged Muslim immigration to China and forcibly relocated millions of Muslim immigrants, employing them as government officials and dispersing them throughout China. In the Ming Dynasty, the Hui became the standard title for Chinese Muslims, who then flourished.

Centuries later, during the Manchurian (Qing) Dynasty, specifically in 1780, communal violence between the Han and Hui began and continued for 150 years. It began with the Manchurian’s discriminatory policies toward Muslims, forbidding them from building mosques or slaughtering animals, paradoxically at a time when the Hui had become an integral part of Chinese culture.

Image via Wikipedia

One of the worst bloodbaths took place between 1862 and 1878 in the province of Gansu, where the population of 15 million was slaughtered down to one million, two-thirds of which were Hui.

The Manchurian Dynasty was overthrown in 1912, although violence against the Hui continued until 1930. But then, less than 20 years later, Communist Party Chairman Mao Zedong established the People’s Republic of China, a Marxist state that was antagonistic to all religions.

Image via Wikipedia

The Hui, with other religious minorities, were prosecuted and killed and had their places of worship destroyed. It was only after Mao’s death that things started to settle down.

Realizing the economic potential of the Hui, the government sought to make amends and offered them special accommodations.

Image via Wikipedia

Imam Ali Noor El-Huda, Chairman of the Islamic Association in Beijing and imam of the gorgeous 1,000-year-old Niujie Mosque, told me that “the government is no longer repressing faith and allows everyone to practice their religion. It emphasizes respect to everyone. And although in our history there was fighting with the Han, it is mostly peaceful now. And for the most part, there is no ideological conflict between Muslims; we believe in one God and one Book. The differences are only in language, food, and tradition.”

Image via Wikipedia

Although Chinese Muslims are currently disfranchised from political involvement (the Chinese Communist Party only admits atheists, as I was told by some students during my trip), the political stability of modern China is hopefully a good omen for the future of the Hui.

Today

Thirty-four years after the Cultural Revolution, Muslims — and indeed followers of other religions too — are in a much better position. Islamic associations, schools, and colleges are being created, mosques are being built, and there is a small but visible Islamic revival.

After years of repression, Chinese Muslims are flourishing, organizing interethnic activities among themselves and international activities with Muslims abroad.

China’s one-child policy applies to the Hui, even though minority groups are allowed to have two or even three children, simply because the Hui’s numbers are so substantial. The majority of the other Chinese Muslim minority groups, however, are allowed to have two children, and Chinese Muslim numbers are increasing.

Image via Wikipedia

“There is also a very small number of converts,” says the imam of the Xiguian Mosque after a heartfelt Du`a’ under the shade of a 500-year-old tree, the only original thing left in the mosque complex, which was destroyed during the Cultural Revolution.

“But what is more interesting is that many people who would not admit to being Muslims before out of fear of harming their livelihoods, like doctors, are now openly saying they are Muslims.”

Image via Wikipedia

Depending on the city you are in, the practice of Islam is different. In rural areas such as Little Makkah, where Muslims make up almost 60 percent of the population, Islam is evident in the number of mosques, halal restaurants, and women in headscarves.

It is wonderful and yet so strange to walk and hear a dozen Assalamu Alaikums (Greeting in Islam that means: peace be to you) or to hear the Adhan. In cosmopolitan cities like Beijing, however, as in every country of the world, globalization and consumerism affect spirituality.

Abdul–Rahman Haroun, imam of the 300-year-old Nan Dou Mosque, one of Beijing’s 72 mosques, elaborated, “Here in the big cities, Muslims have to conform to the dress code. Women do not wear headscarves because they are inconvenient and would be incomprehensible. In the Southwestern parts of China, it is different.”

Deea’ El-Din, imam of the 85-year-old mosque in Shanghai, smiled when I told him that I am from Egypt and said that the years he spent at Al-Azhar University in Cairo were some of the best in his life.

Image via Wikipedia

“Unfortunately, the environment here is not conducive to being religious, and most mosque-goers are older men and women.” He excused himself to call the Adhan for Maghrib and led us in Prayer; there were only half a dozen Chinese worshippers.

The Hui Experience

Muslim minorities around the world have much to learn from the experience of the Hui in China, even though many Muslim minorities today in the West have a millennium-long history of contributing to their countries.

By delving deep into the heart of Islamic beliefs and becoming just as knowledgeable of Chinese beliefs, the Hui scholars found common ground with faiths and traditions that on the surface seemed very different to Islam — but they found the human values that bind us.

The Islamic scholars of today have to do the same with Western traditions, which are much more similar to Islam than Chinese traditions: They share the same Abrahamic values and beliefs, and the two civilizations have histories that were often intertwined.

There are 10 Muslim minority groups in China, but never in the history of the world has there been such an ethnically diverse group of Muslims in non-Muslim countries as there are in the world today. From the example of China, we learn the importance of crosscultural communication.

The Hui experience also demonstrates that it is very possible that Muslims can live in harmony with very different civilizations and at the same time create a viable and unique indigenous culture.

The fusion of things Chinese and Islamic is unparalleled, whether it is in thought or cultural expression.

By expressing their spirituality through architecture, litrary works, calligraphy, and more, the Hui demonstrate to all Muslim minority groups that creating an authentic and genuine culture that is both Muslim and indigenous is not only possible, but beautiful.

My fondest memory of the entire trip is reading the Qur’an in a Chinese mosque, only to find an old Chinese woman dressed all in white sitting next to me smiling hugely, and pointing at the Qur’an. I looked at her askance, and she started pointing at the letters and at me.

I started reading from Surah Ya-Sin, and she read with me. And for the next 15 minutes, we read together.

Islam is truly a universal religion.

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The Niujie Mosque also known as Cow Street Mosque (Chinese: 牛街清真寺; pinyin: niújiē qīngzhēnsì; literally “Cow Street Mosque”) is the oldest mosque in Beijing, China. It was first built in 996 and was reconstructed as well as enlarged under the Qing Emperor Kangxi (1622-1722).

The Niujie Mosque

The Mosque is located in Beijing’s Xuanwu District, the spiritual centre for the 10,000 Muslims living in the vicinity and it is the biggest and oldest one in Beijing. Niujie in Xuanwu District, where the mosque is located, is the largest area inhabited by Muslims in Beijing.

The Niujie Mosque covers an area of approximately 6000 square meters. The mosque is a mixture of Islamic and Chinese cultures. From the outside, its architecture shows traditional Chinese influence while the inside has mostly Islamic decorations. The mosque, built out of timber, is home to some important cultural relics and tablets such as the upright tablet of an emperor’s decree proclaimed in 1694 during the Qing Dynasty.

History

The Niujie Mosque, the largest of all the mosques in Beijing, was first built in 996 during the Liao Dynasty (916-1125). The local Muslim community was forbidden from constructing the mosque in a style other than traditional Chinese architecture, with the exception that the use of Arabic calligraphy was allowed. It was rebuilt in 1442 in the Ming Dynasty and expanded in 1696 under the Qing Dynasty. It is now one of the major mosques in north China.

The mosque has undergone three renovations since the founding of the People’s Republic of China in 1949, respectively in 1955, 1979 and 1996.

Gallery

Main Hall

Tombs in the Niujie Mosque From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The 2008 Olympics is almost upon us. The Government of China has made special provisions for people of all the major religions including Islam, Christianity, Hinduism, Buddhism and Judaism for prayer services. There is going to be a 100 square meter hall for Muslim athletes where they will be able to pray. Free copies of the Holy Quran will also be available for Muslims at this location. For Muslim visitors finding a Mosque or even halal food should not be a problem since there are many mosques and halal restaurant in Beijing. Here is a quote from imam Yin Guofang.

“Our main job will be to provide a place for athletes to read the Koran and pray when they cannot go to a mosque because of their schedule,” Yin Guofang of Beijing’s Niujie Mosque and one of the 15 imams in the village said.

He said the Games, a little more than a fortnight away, are not only about competition, “but also a window to let the world see the freedom of all religions in China.”