I can feel the stares. I can hear their voices. They do not like that I am here. Many do not like that I am Hui. It is evident in the way that they have asked us to remove Arabic writing from our store fronts and how they have made us redesign our places of worship so that they look less Arabic. People who were once dear to me are also beginning to look at me differently.
I am a young Hui girl attending a university in the south of China. There are not many Muslims where I am studying. It is hard for me to find places to eat that are Halal. Honestly, at this stage in my life, I am questioning the beliefs I have grown up with. I know all about Islam, but it seems to me that it is just a bunch of rules to follow.
I live in America. My husband works for a US company. I have been in the States for almost 2 years now, but I haven’t made many friends. It is harder than I thought it would be. My husband and I go to the mosque often. We are the only ones from China who attend our mosque.
I walk through this cemetery every day as I go to the mosque. It sits between my house and the mosque. I have many family buried here, including my grandparents, parents, and some brothers and sisters. It is a daily reminder I don’t have much longer to live. I worry about what may be next. Where will I go? I burn incense sometimes on the graves of family members and respected former imams hoping that they can help me when I die. I faithfully pray 5 times a day and try and follow all the rules. I hope I have done more good than bad so I can go to heaven.
I am a young Hui woman living in the city, and this is my son. I grew up in the village, but my husband and I have moved to the city to work and give our son better opportunities. When we moved, we borrowed money from our friends and family to open up a noodle shop. Most days business is just so so. We work from early in the morning until late at night, trying to earn enough money to pay our rent and meet our needs. We are not only responsible for meeting the needs of our immediate family, but we also financially care for my parents and my husbands parents, who are in poor health and remain in the village we grew up in.