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.
Islam is very important to me. I spend a lot of time at the mosque every day. I pray five times a day at the mosque. I sometimes even spend extra time praying. A few years back I went on the hajj. I returned from that experience more devoted to Allah than ever before. Ramadan is sacred. I get up at 3 am every morning to fix breakfast and eat during Ramadan. Then I go pray at the mosque and return home to sleep a few more hours. It is hard fasting for about 16 hours when Ramadan is in the summer. But I do it, and I challenge my family to faithfully fast.
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 am a thirty-year-old Hui man. I was born in a poor, small village. My parents pushed me to do well in school when I was younger. Because of my hard work and good grades, I was able to go to Beijing for University. This was a great privilege for me, since many Hui people where I am from do not have these kinds of opportunities. After I graduated I remained in Beijing to work for a few years. Although I liked the worldview I gained from this experience, the big city was a little too much for me.
My name is Mr. Ma. I am a work unit leader in a large government-owned factory. Life has been very troubling this past year. There have been many changes. Even though I am Hui, I am expected to be a member of the Communist Party. In the past, this detail was often overlooked. Now it is enforced. The trouble is, I don’t agree with the Party. They say that there is no god, but I believe in Allah. They say that my primary allegiance should be to the government, but Islam teaches that my primary allegiance is to Allah.
