Source: Yiwu sourcing agent Author: Helan Date: 2008-03-25
Yiwu residents don’t have much experience of dealing with people who have religious belief; both sides are trying to adjust their relationship. How to coordinate the relationship between expanding Muslim community and Han community is a very important task of Ma Chunzhen. Imam Ma said that, in general, Muslim people get on quite well with local people of Han nationality.
A real reason closely connecting those foreign Muslim with Yiwu, a town in southeast China , is the intermarriage. Tohami , an Egyptian trader married with Yu Xiaoying for almost 3 years and they had a one-year-old daughter . Their living room and also their office are decorated with typical Chinese style: a huge office desk, a pot of bamboo and a huge globe about half a person high. On the tea table, there are tea sets for Chinese guests; a set of glassware also placed there for drinking black tea with a great amount of sugar, that’s an Arabic habit. When he explains why he married a non-Muslim woman, Tohami became stammered for his urgent feeling. “Why I married a Chinese woman？ Oh, I married her not only for she could help me in business, but I love her.”In a country with traditional Islamic custom, such as Egypt, a marriage with a heathen needs great courage .
Yu Xiaoying sat quietly near by, looking after their daughter. After one year of their wedding, she converted to Islam and now she wears long robe and headscarf in an Egyptian way. She spends a lot of time explaining to her parents that belief is a custom, she wears headscarf and becomes a Muslim voluntarily, not just for her husband. Every Friday, Yu Xiaoying goes to chapel in the female pray hall in Yiwu Great Mosque. There she could meet many female Muslim. They have no more differences with female of Han nationality except eating habit. Interestingly, female Muslim working in Iraqi company will cover their chins with headscarves, this is Iraqi custom; female Muslim working in Saudi Arabic companies will cover their shoulders with headscarves, this is Saudi Arabic custom. But whatever, working and living in Yiwu made them rediscover their religion.
But Tohami still worried about her daughter for she didn’t get the Chinese nationality. “Although my career is right in China, there’s no security without permanent residency.” He said that it would be great if the immigrant policy in China opened wider. However, Yu Xiaoying hoped that her daughter could receive education in Egypt. “The interpersonal relationship in Islam society is relatively simple and pure, and it’s a good idea to let our kids grow up there.” Anyway, the fame of Yiwu is far beyond Beijing among Arabic businessmen. Rashid said that he loved China more than France, for the environment here made he feel relaxed, nobody may look at him like a stranger for his appearance or belief.
Now, the increasing permanent Muslim residents appealed more Muslim population in China to work in Yiwu. The accumulating Arabic population has already changed Yiwu gradually. The melting multi-nations made the small town in China looked like an international city: the people from Fujian make kungfu tea in the street while the neighboring Turks sip coffee and smoke Turkish water pipe. All taxi drivers know where the mosques are located, and they may even ask
you,” It’s not Friday today, why are you going to the mosque？”
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