Despite my personal conflicted opinions on religion, religious structures fascinate me. I've been very fortunate to see many different religious structures through my travels but most of them have been of the temple, church or cathedral variety. I've visited very few synagogues and mosques. So upon realizing there is a mosque in Beijing dating back to the 10th century, I was more than eager to go see it for myself.
The Nujie Mosque (also known as the Cow Street Mosque) is located in the Xuanwu district of Beijing, in the southern portion of Beijing. From the exterior, the mosque could pass just another old Chinese temple. But upon on closer inspection, you can see Muslim influences on the decor, including Arabic writing on the beams. Inside the prayer hall is a completely different story. From what I could see (I am not allowed in since I'm not Muslim), the interiors are elaborately decorated in a much more Islamic manner with gold Arabic writing covering the arches.
For those of you who are wondering, Islam has been present in China since the 7th century. Nowadays, there is an estimated 20 million Muslims in China, most of which are concentrated in western China. The largest Muslim minority group in China are the Hui people, who are often easily recognized by their characteristic white hats and beards.
The area surrounding the mosque is also primarily inhabited by Chinese Muslims. There are many Muslim shops and restaurants nearby.
To enter the mosque, unless you are Muslim, you must pay a 10 RMB entrance fee. However for some reason or another (maybe because it was already 4:30 PM), the man who sold me the ticket only charged me 5 RMB. He told me why but because his regional accent was very thick and he spoke quickly, I didn't catch the reason.
The mosque itself isn't very large. It's enclosed from the rest of the city by stone walls, making it a very serene environment. Inside the courtyard, several old men sat in front the prayer hall passing time and chatting. They were very kind and asked me where I was from and I explained in return that I am from the United States but currently studying at BNU.
Since I arrived around 4:30 in the afternoon, I was luckily enough to witness the 4:45 (sunset?) call to prayer (salat). In the past, I have known and lived with Muslims, so I am familiar with their ritual prayer but I never before witnessed an actual call to prayer at a mosque.
Around 4:45, a bell rang announcing it was time to pray. All the older men that had previously been sitting the courtyard took off their shoes, and scurried into the prayer hall while the Imam sang out from the courtyard for people to come pray. After he finished the song, the Imam walked to the front of the prayer hall, he led the men into prayer (the women pray in a separate hall).
Personally, I do not believe in religion, so naturally I do not pray. Despite this, I found observing the men pray very calming and honorable. It's definitely admirable that five times a day, these men are able to put aside whatever other thoughts they may have and focus solely on the act of prayer. I'm not sure if I have the concentration to do that.
In the United States and also in Europe, Isalm has been a big point of contention, especially within the last ten years. In the United States at least, I'm ashamed to say that many people are fearful of Islam and Muslims for no real reason at all. Even trying to build a mosque in the United States seems
near impossible. Someday hopefully this will change.
Old men in the courtyard passing time
Imam singing out the call to prayer
Side note: Religion in China is still a very complicated issue. At BNU,
we're often to reminded that it's best to only practice religion in areas designated to practice religion, e.g. a church or a mosque.
