Presents a tapestry of words and pictures that portray one of the oldest and most distinctive Islamic communities in the world: the Muslims of Peking. This book explores the life and culture of the Muslims of China's capital city who, over the centuries, have developed such a harmonious synthesis of two great civilizations.
While it is not widely known, Islam first arrived in China in the 7th century CE and rapidly became an integral part of Chinas social fabric. By 996 CE, Muslims had established a presence in Beijing (which we call Peking because of its classical resonance), and so began a process of blending so far-reaching that today, casual observers of northern China, whether Chinese, Muslim or Western, might be completely unaware of their existence.
