When Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) exhorted Muslims to seek knowledge “as far as China,” he meant that knowledge was so important that Muslims ought to go to the ends of the earth in search of it. China is a vast country and in China there are now many Muslims. Many of them live along the rout of what was once the Silk Road. Far from the Silk Road, in the city of Hong Kong, for instance, there is a Muslim community of around two hundred thousand people. Roughly half of these are domestic workers from Indonesia and the other half are either native Chinese Muslims or Hong Kong residents from India, Pakistan, Malaysia, Africa and the Middle East. There have been Muslims in Hong Kong for hundreds of years, but the story of Hong Kong's Muslim community really begins with British rule in the middle of the nineteenth century. To defend this outpost of Empire, the British brought with them Indian Muslim soldiers, and these in turn were followed by Muslim merchants serving their needs. In time, Chinese Muslims added to their number when they came to Hong Kong from mainland China. Thus a distinct Muslim community began to grow up and the British provided them with land for mosques and cemeteries. Hong Kong's Muslim community is now diverse and large and there are now two Muslim cemeteries and four principal mosques, the largest of which is Kowloon Mosque and Islamic Centre, as well as smaller mosques and prayer halls. Situated in a corner of Kowloon Park, Kowloon Mosque was first built in 1896 to cater for the Muslim soldiers stationed at the nearby Whitfield Barracks. The original site is now a police station. The new Mosque and Islamic Centre was built in 1984 and is, in itself, now one of the landmarks of Hong Kong. Being covered almost entirely in white marble, Kowloon Mosque is a very distinct building. Surrounded by many offices and buildings in a modern style, the mosque stands out also for the rich style of its architecture. It is a gem of Islam in the secular city. With a capacity to hold around two thousand worshippers, on Fridays that number swells to over three thousand. The mosque has three prayer halls (the largest holding one thousand people), a community hall, a medical clinic and a library. These give some clue as to the nature of the mosque itself. It has four minarets, each eleven metres high, and a dome which is five metres in diametre and nine metres in height. The overall effect is beautiful. Having a mosque in such a place offers many challenges, but also many opportunities and Kowloon Mosque has much to teach Muslims throughout the world. Hong Kong is now a part of China, the British having left in 1999, but it is still a cosmopolitan and multi-cultural city, where people of many faiths have learned to live side by side. China is now much more tolerant of religious belief, but there are still a great number of people with no religious faith at all. In such a delicate situation, then, the Muslim community has, of necessity, had to learn to adapt and get on well with its neighbours. In addition, the people of Hong Kong can at first appear rather reserved, so it takes an extra effort to introduce them to Islam and to Muslim customs. At Kowloon Mosque, though, this is considered essential. It is not an optional extra. Whereas as in some other Muslim-majority countries the religious leaders may meet at the official level, it isn't normal for mosques to have much contact with other religious groups. In Hong Kong, it is essential to do so, not only to preserve good neighbourliness, but also to have a chance of learning about others and, in turn, telling others about Islam. So it is that Kowloon Mosque, for example, holds frequent dialogues with Christians, Sikhs, Hindus and people of all faiths and of none, and hosts visits to other places of worship. Similarly, the Mosque is no stranger to visiting groups from schools and other organisations. In many parts of the Arab world or on the Indian sub-Continent, much of this would be unthinkable. It is not that it is impossible there, but it just wouldn't enter people's minds to engage with others in such a way. Similarly, the organisational layout of Kowloon Mosque tells us much about the nature of the mosque community itself. It is not just a place for religious worship, but has a medical clinic and a community hall. Just like the original mosque of Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) in Madinah, the mosque is the focal centre of the community's life. Muslims read in the holy Quran in SuratFatir: “Gardens of Eden! They enter them wearing armlets of gold and pearl, and their Raiment therein is silk, and they say: Praise be to Allah Who hath put grief away From us. Lo! Our Lord is Forgiving, Bountiful. Who, of His Grace, hath installed us In the mansion of eternity, where toil toucheth us not nor can weariness affect us.” Holy Quran 35:33-35 It is easy for us sometimes to sit back and dwell on the beauties, which are to come for those who live a good life. There are many in this world, though, who have a very false image of Islam and think ill of Muslims. Perhaps experience has taught them to do so. Muslims outside the traditional Muslim world have had to adapt to their surroundings and to present a good image of Islam to their neighbours in order to survive. Maybe we should learn from them and begin to present a better image of Islam to the world.
The author of eight books about Islam, British Muslim writer, IdrisTawfiq, divides his time between Egypt and the UK as a speaker, writer and broadcaster. You can visit his website at www.idristawfiq.com
