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 Muslims
first came into China from 618-906 A.D. when
Muslim Arabs and Persian merchants settled in
the seaports. However, between 1368-1644, the
Chinese wanted to rid China of foreigners. In
order to avoid persecution, Muslims adopted
Chinese culture and language. Eventually, their
appearance became indistinguishable from that
of native Chinese. As a result, these Muslims
became the present-day Hui minority.
The Hui people are the third largest ethnic
minority of the 56 officially recognized minorities and are scattered throughout China. As one
of China's recognized minorities, the Hui enjoy
many privileges not enjoyed by the Han people.
They receive government subsidies for more expensive
beef and lamb for their Muslim diet, and they
are allowed more than one child. The government
has supervised the reconstruction of mosques
and has given permission for Islamic literature
to be published and sold.
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