Julie Ma (pseudonym) is a graduate of Sydney Missionary and Bible College (SMBC) and a member of the Angelina Noble Centre for women in cross-cultural missions research. She left her home in Australia over a decade ago to serve Hui Chinese Muslims alongside her Chinese husband. After all these years overseas, she is still not tired of beef noodles.
You can reach Julie at [email protected].
To those who have traveled long distances to visit tombs of long-dead holy men and their sons, the news of God sending his son to us sounds good. To those who revere a great man who gave his life to save 70,000 people, the man who died as a ransom for the world sounds, well . . . divine.
Starting with the Old School (Gedimu), this series introduces the main schools of Hui religious thought and practice, Hui diet, dress, customs, and festivals. Ideas for Christians seeking to better know and love their Hui neighbors in the name of Jesus are also included.
What we Christians really want to know is: how can we share the gospel with such a diverse group? If saying the same, short phrase gets you free food in one place and the cold shoulder in another, how can we even dream of a Hui church?
The 19th century CIM pioneers teach us about patience, the need to focus on one people group, and the role of suffering. Later innovators like Harris teach us the value of contextualizing our language and lifestyle.
The Hui responded to China’s opening up in different ways. Some became secularized, others used their freedom to become more religious. Some embraced globalization while others kept their hearts and minds close to home.
With the loss of their religious meetings, their halal food, and their freedom to run small businesses, some felt there was nothing left of their Hui identity. But others took another approach.
Newfound solidarity: China became a republic, Hui warlords enforced a new Islamic reform movement, and an innovative minzu policy gave the Hui official status as a minority nationality.
The history of the Hui enters a time of ethnoreligious tension which spilled over into violence.
Why do Hui and other predominantly Muslim minzu (民族, people groups) practice endogamy? If it is to prevent religious syncretism, it doesn’t appear to have worked.
We may be surprised to learn how much the Hui’s geographical spread, their expressions of Islam, and their awkward relations with the Han all stem from the Mongol-ruled Yuan Dynasty era policies.
All of Hui history, beginning with the arrival of Muslim traders, has implications for gospel ministry among them; each stage has shaped the Hui people’s foundational worldview.
Who are the Hui Muslims of China? Where did they come from, what are they like, and how are they being reached with the gospel of Jesus Christ?