TOWARDS UNDERSTANDING THE NEEDS OF THE CHINESE MUSLIMS
A testimony of the work I witnessed being carried out by Sister Mariah Mah on my visit to China from 6th-28th December 2008
The significance of the work of Sister Mariah cannot be given justice to in just a few pages. Her endless effort and contribution towards the plight of the Chinese Muslims cannot be expressed in words. However, I endeavour to give you a glimpse of her contributions by giving an account of the brief time I spent with her.
I was fortunate enough to have the liberty of travelling alongside Mariah on her Qurban tour to visit Kunming, Zhaotong, Lijiang and Shangrila. After the tour we spent the next eleven days travelling to Lanzhou, Linxia and Ningxia. We began by our visit to the poor villages in Kunming and then in Zhaotong. In each case, the entire village that came out to welcome us greeted us. Lined up in the cold weather each face bore evidence of poverty and need.
But the excitement and emotion driven by the joy of being visited by international friends overtook them. They expressed this by informing us that our visit was welcomed above the need for donations. They were humble and hospitable beyond recognition.
Other than having our lunches and dinners at the mosques we were able to witness our Qurbani’s taking place. I can recall about 50 sheep being taken before my eyes and slaughtered one by one. The reciting of the Qurban takbeer by our Chinese brothers still echoes in my ears.
To see the qurban meat being cut up and cooked and served was amazing. Added with the knowledge that these people seldom see meat on their tables. I played with the poor children of the village and felt the sense of belonging to the much forgotten Muslim community.
Shangri-La is one of the most beautiful locations I have ever seen. The scenery was breathtaking. The high altitude and lack of resources means that life is full of simplicity. The houses have roofs with stones on them to keep the tiles down, there is corn drying everywhere, pipes are made of logs cut horizontally to carry the water from the streams etc. We went to visit the preschool where we greeted by the simultaneous ‘salaam’ of the children on the balcony. We went to the mosque and saw how our donations have helped to build cleaner toilet facilities.
Lanzhou was one of the most heartbreaking locations. We were greeted on arrival by the principal of the ‘Chongde Muslim Women and Children’s Education Centre’ who is deeply concerned by the fear of her centre being closed due to lack of funding. She took us to see the classrooms to witness how crucial the work of the centre is for the community.
Migrant workers from the Dongxian Tribe of neighbouring hilly and arid counties which have scarce water resources came to Lanzhou City to look for work as they could hardly eke out a living in their own harsh environment. They are known as FRINGE PEOPLE as they do not belong to the mainstream of the local population. They are denied housing and education facilities. Many live in slums or make shift sheds. We visited their homes, which were basically tiny dingy, poorly ventilated cubicles alongside a railway track in use. I watched toddlers crossing the tracks alone or going through rubbish heaps. A cubicle would house an entire family and contain little else than a rickety wooden bed . It has a small stove, which is used to keep the room from the cold freezing winter which is zero degrees. One example is of grandparents, parents, and four children in one room. Eight to a room is the norm. One family had to take shelter with neighbours as their room had been burnt down. One of them had fallen pieces of ceiling on the bed.
The women and children from these families who are too poor to attend school( Fringe people have to pay fees to be admitted to schools) are given a free education in Sister Aisha Mah’s Education Center set up in 2004. The objective is to combat illiteracy and to restore Islamic teachings for these FRINGE MUSLIMS who are mostly uneducated. The classes we went to had elderly women reciting the Quran. Before they came to her school they had been illiterate. The children are also taught the Chinese language, Arithmetic , Iqra’ and basic Islamic knowledge. They are taught how to read and write Chinese so that they can read the translation of the Quran.
As a qualified teacher who has taught in Islamic schools in London and across the Middle East including Egypt. I can guarantee that the work that was produced at this school was of a high standard.
So it’s understandable that Sister Aisha the Principal is in dire need of financial support to keep the school running. Mariah decided that she should come with us to Ningxia to seek support from the Charity committee that is in Charge of the registered Muslim Orphanage, established in 2006 by Sister Mariah. . Thanks to Mariah, Sister Aisha is now a member of the committee, which is made up of government representatives.
AS we were about to leave our hotel in Lanzhou to travel to Linxia, we were halted in the lobby by a couple that had brought along a 5 year old orphan named ‘Wahab’. As mentioned the community are so poor, they cannot even feed their own family. So Wahab was being moved from home to home and had come to point of being homeless. Mariah took him along with us to Linxia. It was entirely through her influence that the principal of Yasin preschool took Wahab in immediately. That preschool will serve as his home in the meantime. Ten other orphans were also found to be homeless
Currently, it costs US$1000 a year to keep Wahab there, and hopefully Mariah will try and seek sponsorship. Again, as a school teacher who has worked in all types of educational institutions I can guarantee that Yasin preschool in Linxia Province is the best preschool in the world known to me. The facilities are state of the art for China and the children ranging from age 4-6 years have memorised surahs from the Quran during their term there.
I could go on, but will stop there and urge you to take the opportunity of donating or travelling to China through Mariah. The following is an outline of the current projects I witnessed while I was out there:
1. Lanzhou: Funds needed to maintain A Literacy cum Education Center for Muslim women and Children.
2. Ningxia: Orphanage: Recently the earthquake has damaged the source of water supply and funds are needed to build another well.
3. Orphans need sponsorship for their livelihood–$50 per month per child.
4. Ningxia: An Islamic Primary school is planned.
5. Ningxia: A wooden structure mosque was completely damaged and men had to pray on the open ground;Funds are needed to rebuild this.
6. Linxia: Yasin preschool is planning to build a primary school .
7. Zhaotong: Need funds for a madrasah where girls are currently housed in the basement of the building which is poor ventilated and damp. Some girls have contracted Tuberculosis as a result and had to be sent home,
8. Zhaotong: Funding needed for An ISLAMIC Awareness Education Program to enable university students to be enlightened on the rudiments of Islam.
9. Zhaotong: Mosque damaged by earthquake. Needs to be rebuilt
10. Poor students and also undergrads cant pay fees These students need sponsorship.
I’m sure I have not covered everything here. Please contact Sister Mariah if you are interested in any of the above.
Finally, a huge Jazakallah Khair to Sister Mariah for arranging for me to visit these places and for raising my awareness to the needs of the Chinese Muslims.
Walaikumasalaam,
Tasnim Ali (Graduate Science teacher), London UK
tasnim30@hotmail.co.uk
