Silaturrahim is an
Arabic word meaning bonding or close ties. Silaturrahim
Tour is therefore not just an ordinary tour where one
takes in the sights and scenes of the country, but it also helps
to promote cultural and educational interaction. In this
way a closer bond is established.
Pioneer of Silaturrahim Tour
 Brother
Jaafar Mah, a Chinese Muslim living in Singapore whose ancestors
were Muslims from China conceived the idea of Silaturrahim
Tour in 1994. As there are many Malay Muslims
in Singapore who are still unaware of the fact that Islam existed
in China as early as the 8th century, a trip to China would
be an eye-opener. In fact there exist in China many historical
and cultural sites and relics of Islamic interest as well as
madrasahs and mosques which were built hundreds of years ago.
The oldest mosque is the one in Kwantung, known as the Luminous
Tower Mosque -- the first mosque in the world to be built
outside Medina.
As Brother Jaafar has always maintained
close contact with the Muslim community in China, he has made
arrangements with the relevant Muslim authorities and tour agents
there to facilitate the Silaturrahim Tour and
to ensure that those who go on the tour will get genuine Halal
food.
In 1995, the first Silaturrahim
Tour was launched for members of the Muslim Converts
Association of Singapore (Darul Arqam) and Brother Jaafar led
this pioneer group. Since then such tours have been organised
regularly throughout the year for the convenience of Muslims
who wish to visit China.
 As
the tours gradually became popular among the Muslims in Singapore,
commercial tour agencies began to ride on the idea as they realise
that there is a potential market for China Muslim tours. But
our Silaturrahim Tour is non-profit based
as they are organised as a community service project. Proceeds
from the tours are channeled to sponsor poor and needy
children to have an opportunity to pursue an education , to
set up child-care centers cum kindergartens and to help
build sanitary facilities in poor rural areas. We hope that
Muslims from all over the world will help in our charity effort
by participating in our Silaturrahim Tour.
History - Early Muslim Ties with China
 Islam was introduced to China as early as the 7thcentury (during
the Tang Dynasty) when merchants from Arabia and Persia came to China to trade via the
Silk Road. In AD.651, the third Caliph Uthman Ibn Affan, sent an envoy to call on the
reigning Tang Emperor Gao Zong, and since then Islam began to be found in many parts of
China.
In the midst of trade and cultural exchanges across the
Asia-Europe continent for the next few centuries, streams of Muslim immigrants from
central Asia settled permanently in China. They had contacts with local Chinese Muslim
converts. They carried on their faith, built mosques and cemeteries and gradually created
a unique social unit of their own.
However all these exchanges gradually diminished during the
Ming and Qing(Manchu) Dynasties and they came to a stop with the establishment of the
Communist government. It was only in the 1980’s under the leadership of Deng Xiaopeng
that China slowly open up to tourists from all over the world.
Muslims in the present day era
 Today
China has ten Muslim nationalities, numbering more than 30 million
Muslims. They are the Hui, Uighur, Kazakh, Dongxiang, Khalkhas,
Salar, Tajik, Uzbek, Baoan and Tartar. These nationalities have
their own written and spoken languages and cultures and their
unique ethnic traditions.
When the Republic
of China was formed in 1911 the Muslims were recognised as a
Race in China. Now the Communist Government calls all Muslims
as the HUI race. The national constitution testified to the
freedom of faith.
Beijing has about 200,000
Muslims, Xian -- 60,000, Shanghai – 100,000 and Hohhot,
the capital of Inner Mongolia, a modest 30,000.
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