The Hui
Oh sing to the LORD a new song; sing to the LORD, all the earth! Sing to the LORD, bless his name; tell of his salvation from day to day. Declare his glory among the nations, his marvelous works among all the peoples! For great is the LORD, and greatly to be praised; he is to be feared above all gods.
Psalm 96:1-4
The Basics:
The Hui, made up of about 14 million people, are the largest and most widespread of China’s Muslim nationalities. They also comprise the third largest minority group in China. Remarkably, Hui live in 2,310 of China’s 2,369 counties and municipalities. Small pockets also live in Taiwan, Myanmar, Thailand, Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan and Mongolia. Only .01% of them know Christ!
Their Beliefs:
To be Hui is to be Muslim – it is the core of who they are. Even if they don’t fully understand it, or even follow it the same as some other countries do, it has been hidden deep inside of them from the time they were very young. For the Hui, Islam is more than just a set of religious beliefs – it is a total way of life.
Their Culture:
The Hui are some of the most hospitable people you will ever meet. Some of this comes from just being Chinese, and the rest of it comes from just being Hui. Either way – you never want to visit the Hui on a full stomach! Many of the Hui own restaurants. You can find them in cities all over China and they serve some of the best food you will ever eat. As you walk down the street, you can often recognize the men by their prayer caps and the women by their head scarves. Hui with other Hui are like family. Even if they are strangers, you would never know.
Their Language:
Mandarin Chinese is the heart language of the Hui in both spoken and written. But the spiritual language of the Hui is a mixture of Arabic and Persian.
Their History:
The Hui are descendants of Muslim traders, soldiers and officials who came to China between the 7th and 14th centuries. They settled and intermarried with Arab Muslims and Han Chinese.
The Situation:
Although there are around 14 million Hui scattered throughout China, very few (including the Chinese church) are intentionally planting their lives among the Hui to tell them about Christ. It is estimated that every five minutes one Hui person dies. Currently, more Hui people are dying daily than are hearing the gospel. The Hui are in desperate need of more laborers to boldly proclaim the gospel and reap the harvest that God has prepared.
Hui People
%
Muslim
- Christian .01%
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In this year’s Ramadan 30 Days of Prayer, we are focusing on four Chinese Muslim population segments. Download the 2024 Ramadan prayer guide here. This post provides more information about the Hui of Ningxia and lists specific prayer requests. Current...
Psalm 67 – A Prayer
Psalm 67 - For the Hui May God be gracious to us and bless us; may he make his face shine upon us so that your way may be known on earth, your salvation among all nations. The Hui Lord, may the know you. Let the peoples praise you, God; let all the muslim peoples of...
Ramadan 2021 – Dependent on Prayer
We are absolutely dependent on God to accomplish His mission among the Hui. Without the power of the Holy Spirit, there is no need for us to live among the Hui or spend time traveling among them on a short-term trip. Our money, time, influence, skills and charisma do...
My daily life revolves around the mosque
My friends and I are leaving the mosque. We just finished our afternoon prayer time. Most of us have worshipped together at this mosque our entire lives. I remember when this mosque was surrounded by fields and now it sits in the center of a large city. At my age, my daily life revolves around the mosque. I try to go five times a day when I am healthy. I spend most of my time with family or talking and playing games with these other guys. All of the families connected to the mosque are like one big family.
I was born a Muslim, and therefore I must stay a Muslim
I grew up in the city. As a result, I am very accustomed to Han people and their ways. In fact, many of my friends are Han. Although my husband is Hui, his mother is Han. I do not wear a headcovering and I honestly do not think much about my religion. Of course, I do not eat pork, and I enjoy celebrating our Muslim holidays. I have heard about Jesus and about what Christians belief. If I were to believe this, even though my family is not very devout, they would disown me. I was born a Muslim, and therefore I must stay a Muslim.
No Two are Exactly the Same
Individuality calls for unique approaches to every Hui person. The same presentation of the gospel may be extremely effective for one person while relatively off-putting for another. Although my friend was a staunch Muslim, she was extremely open to the worldview presented in the Bible, because my Christian friends and I engaged her unique perspective with the gospel. My friend is a good reminder that contextualization extends even to the individual.
“Prayer for the Hui” – A Devotional
Sometimes, when you hear a new song, there’s one single line that just gets stuck in your head. For me, “Prayer for the Hui” has one of those lines. Of course, there are clearly God-glorifying, gospel-centered words throughout the song, laying before God our prayer that He would work throughout the world bringing people into His Kingdom. But there was this one line that resonated with me in a profound way and had a huge impact on my thoughts and prayers, because it was so applicable to my own life and my own struggles with sharing the gospel with those I know personally.
MBBs – An Opportunity for Growth
It just so happens (isn’t it interesting how often we encounter such things in Kingdom work) that a small group of MBBs had recently started meeting in our town for mutual encouragement, study and growth.
Day 30 – The money I make goes toward paying off debt
Culturally, it is expected that I have to provide a new house and a new car for my wife. I purchased these things to fulfill these expectations. Now, we are in an immense amount of debt. Almost all of the money I make each month goes towards paying off these debts. It has put much strain on our new marriage. Although it seems from the outside that we have nice things, we are struggling to make it financially.
Pray for the Hui
- Pray for laborers called by God to reach the Hui – laborers from other countries as well as Chinese Christians currently living among the Hui.
Thank God for ongoing gospel proclamation efforts among the Hui. Pray that effective strategies can be identified and implemented to make Christ’s love known to the Hui.
Pray for God to tear down the barriers that keep the Hui from hearing the Good News of Jesus’ forgiveness and love.
- Pray that Hui believers will gather together and form churches that will multiply.
- Pray for followers of Jesus to boldly proclaim the gospel to the Hui, believing that God is at work among them.