Muslims Across China Observe Ramadan

20 mln Muslims across China begin to observe Ramadan, the Islamic holy month.

Beijing, 2 Ramadan 143/29 May 2017 (MINA) – Muslims across China began observing the Islamic holy month of Ramadan Saturday, Bernama reported, citing China’s Xinhua news agency.

In Yinchuan, capital of northwest China’s Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region, Ma Youming, took suhur, the pre-dawn meal, with about 100 others at a mosque and then attended morning prayers.

After a short rest, Ma, 27, began work delivering food by electric bike for an online catering company.

“We fast for self reflection so that we spend each day in a meaningful way,” he said.

Ma is one of the 2.4 million ethnic Hui living in Ningxia.

During the Islamic holy month, Muslims are not permitted to eat or drink between sunrise and sunset. Ramadan is widely observed by many of China’s ethnic minorities, including Hui, Uygur, Kazakh, Uzbek, Tajik and Kyrgyz.

Ha Shaolin, head of the Islamic Association of south China’s Hainan Province, took his pre-dawn meal together with relatives Saturday.

“Ramadan is not just about fasting,” he said. “More importantly, Muslims should remember to love others and be grateful during the holy month.”

For Ha, an ethnic Hui, Ramadan is a time for his extended family to gather. His wife and relatives prepared suhur for more than 30 family members Saturday.

The island province has nearly 16,000 Muslims, most of whom live in southern city of Sanya.

Young people often use the month of Ramadan to get rid of a bad habit or learn a new skill, said Yang Yi, a Hui youth living in Sanya.

China is home to around about 20 million Muslims, including some foreign residents.

This is the seventh year Abu Abbadi, a 58-year-old Palestinian, has observed Ramadan in Quanzhou, east China’s Fujian Province.

Abbadi came to China in 2001 and has worked in Guangzhou, Shanghai and Nanjing prior to Quanzhou, where he is employed as an engineer for an auto company.

“I feel this city has a friendly and harmonious religious atmosphere,” said Abbadi. (T/RS5/RS1)

Mi’raj Islamic News Agency (MINA)