YoungChineseMuslimsarereclaimingtheirtraditionalroleasculturalandcommercialgo-betweensonthenewSilkRoadBylearningabouttheirfaith,ChineseMuslimyouthcansignificantlycontributetothedevelopmentoftheircountryandbecomeanessentialpartoftheBeltandRoadInitiative.ItiseasierforthemtorelatetootherMuslimsandArabpeople,astheyspeakacommonlanguageandsharethesamereligion.DingWenjian,ImamatBeijing鈥檚NiujieMosqueThirty-year-oldHongJun,aChineseMuslimfromYinchuan,capitalcityofwestChina鈥檚NingxiaHuiAutonomousRegion,couldnothaveimaginedthathisreligiousheritageandArabiclanguageskillswouldleadhimtotravelacrosstheArabworldandeventoestablishhisowncompany.鈥淚alwayssawstudyingArabicasameansofcommunication,awaytobuildrelationships,butneverasaprofession,鈥漢esaid.HongbelongstotheHuiethnicminority,China鈥檚largestIslamicminoritygroupwithapopulationof10.5million,accordingtoChina鈥檚populationcensusin2012,whichisequivalenttoTunisia鈥檚population.HuiarefoundthroughoutChina,andaresaidtobethedescendantsoflocalpeopleandPersianandArabtraderswhousedtotravelalongtheancientSilkRoadbetweenChinaandtheWest,tradingandtransportinggoodslikesilk,gemsandspices,butalsomanuscripts,artworksandideas.AstheBeltandRoadInitiativeisbecomingatangiblereality,reinforcingancienttraderoutesbetweenChinaandEurope,youngHuipeoplearereclaimingtheirtraditionalroleasculturalandcommercial鈥渕iddlemen鈥漛etweenChinaandtheIslamicworld,andlikeHong,areincreasinglycalledupontoplayakeyroleintradeandculturalexchanges.UnlockingpotentialItisprimarilytheprospectsoffindingabetterjobthatledHongtostartlearningArabicin2006.HesoonrealizedhisIslamicheritagecouldserveasaspringboardtofurtherdevelophiscareerabroad.HislinguisticskillsandhisspiritofadventurefirstledhimtoEgypt,wherehestudiedforayearatAl-AzharUniversityinCairo,andthenontoJordanandtheUnitedArabEmirates,beforefindingworkasanassistantmanagerforaChineseoilcompanybasedinRamallah,Iraq.AlthoughworkingconditionsinIraqweredifficult,thesewereoffsetbyhigherwages-onaveragefourtimeshigherthanforthesamejobinChina.Oncethere,HongrealizedthatsimilaritiesinreligiousandculturalpracticesbetweenHuiandfellowMuslimsinIraqhelpedhimblendinwithhislocalcolleagues.Theircommonfaithalsobroughtbenefitstohiscompany.HisknowledgeofMuslimtraditions,taboosandcustomswasusefulinensuringsmoothrelationswithgovernmentauthorities-asignificantadvantageinacountrywhereforeigncompaniesmustoperateinanoftenunstable,sometimeevenchaotic,regulatoryenvironment.AfterreturningtoChinain2013,Hongfoundedhisownconsultingbusiness-ZhonglianTuohaiForeignAffairsConsultingServiceCo.Ltd.-whichmainlyfocusesonbridgingthegapbetweenNorthAfricanandMiddleEasterncompaniesandChinesetechnicians.Withafootineachculture,Hongstrivestofulfilltheroleofculturalgo-betweenalongthenewSilkRoad,allowingChineseprofessionalstodeveloptheirskillsandearnhigherwagesabroad,whilesupportingthedevelopmentoftradeandculturalexchanges.Overthepastthreeyears,hiscompanyhassuccessfullysentseveralChinesetechniciansonworkassignmentstoAlgeria,QatarandSaudiArabia.EventhoughhefacesstrongcompetitionfromIndianandBangladeshiworkers,HongisconfidentthatChinesetalentscancarveoutanicheforthemselvesinArabmarkets.鈥淐hinesetechniciansofferbetterqualityworkatareasonableprice,andtheyknowhowtoworkefficiently,sotheyareinhighdemand,particularlyinArabcountries,鈥漢etoldChinAfrica.BuildingtrustOneoftheindustrieswherethisculturalcomparativeadvantagehasbeenmosteffectiveisthehalalfoodindustry.MaBinisthedirectorofNingxiaHalalFoodCertificationandInternationalTradeCenter,anorganizationbasedinYinchuaninvolvedinfoodproductcertification.Sinceitsestablishmentin2008,thecenterhasaccreditedmorethan100companies,allowingthemtodisplaythehalalsymbolandindicatingtheirproductsaresuitableforconsumptionforMuslimpeople.鈥淭hehalalfoodindustryhasgoodprospectsfordevelopment,thanksinparttotheHuipeople,whoarebothoursourceofexpertiseandourmainconsumerbase,鈥漵aysMa.
FRANCOISDUBEImamDingWenjian(frontright)singingthecalltoprayeratBeijing鈥檚NiujieMosque
AccordingtoMa,oneofthemajorproblemsstillhinderingexportsoflocalproductsisthatforeignconsumersaresimplyunawarethatMuslimshavebeenlivinginChinaforcenturies,andthereforearereluctanttobuyChineseproductslabeledas鈥渉alal.鈥滿asaysmembersoftheHuiminoritycanplayaroleinresolvingthislackoftrustbyspreadingawarenessaboutChina鈥檚thrivingIslamiccommunity.Asproof,hepointsoutthatlocalcompanieshavebeguntouseagentsandintermediaries-moreoftenthannotHui-tosecureaccesstolucrativemarketsintheMiddleEast.鈥淭hefactthattheyknowthecultureandlanguage,andthattheyarethemselvesconsumersofhalalfoodproducts,reassuresourcustomersaboutthereliabilityofourcertificate,鈥漢etoldChinAfrica.BondingthroughfaithAsoneoftheyoungestimams(Muslimpriestorleader)inBeijing,DingWenjian-whospeaksfluentArabic-fullyunderstandsandsupportsthedesireofChineseyouthtocombinereligionandprofessionaldevelopment.OriginallyfromtheDachangHuiAutonomousCountyinHebeiProvince,DinggraduatedfromChinaIslamicInstituteinBeijingin2004beforejoiningBeijing鈥檚NiujieMosque-oneoftheoldestmosquesinChina.Today,hesingsthedailycallstoprayeranddevotesasignificantportionofhistimetoeducateHuiyouthonthebasicteachingsofIslam,emphasizingthepositiverolefaithcanplayfortheirindividualgrowth,aswellasforChina鈥檚development.鈥淏ylearningabouttheirfaith,ChineseMuslimyouthcansignificantlysupportthedevelopmentoftheircountryandbecomeanessentialpartoftheBeltandRoadInitiative.ItiseasierforthemtorelatetootherMuslimsandArabpeople,astheyspeakacommonlanguageandsharethesamereligion,鈥漷he40-year-oldimamtoldChinAfricajustafterFridayprayers.鈥淭hisisespeciallyusefulinmakingconnections,becauseitbuildstrustbetweenpeople,andthusfacilitatestrade.鈥滵inginsistsonthefactthatreligioncanunlockuntappedpotentialfortradeandculturalexchanges,bringingsignificantbenefitswhichextendbeyondtheChineseIslamiccommunity.鈥淎majorityoftheseyoungHuipeoplearenotservingtheirreligiondirectly,buttheyallendupmakinghugecontributionstothedevelopmentofsociety,鈥漢esaid.Accordingtohim,bybecomingeffectivemediatorsbetweenChinaandtheIslamicworld,youngHuipeoplearepromotingapositiveandconstructiveimageoftheirreligionwithinChinesesociety,whichtendstoincreasetoleranceandsocialharmony.Ultimately,Dingsaid,鈥渢hisbenefitssocietyasawhole.鈥滳ACommentsto