by Angel Chen 陳恩潔The low but continual singsong of prayer echoed through the tranquil spring air, draping the area with a mysterious atmosphere. Glinting under the March sunlight, the delicate bronze sculpture of a moon and star atop the huge cupola left any observer an impression of solemnity. This is the Taipei grand mosque, and a group of Muslims gather here every Friday at noon to accomplish their obligation of attending a Jumah gathering.
A brief history of Muslims in Taiwan Though easily ignored, there are in fact about 60,000 Muslims in present Taiwanese society, making up 0.3% of the whole population. The earliest footprints left by Islamic religion can be traced back to the time when a group of Hui people came to Taiwan with Koxinga (鄭成功) in 1661. Some unoffocial mosques were built back then. However, instead of prospering, Islamic culture gradually declined and was almost eradicated during the period of Japanese colonialism. It was not until the retreat of the KMT from China did there come another influx of Hui Muslims—the famous general Bai Konxi was a leading figure of this batch of immigrants. Today, Taiwanese born Muslims are decreasing as they gradually assimilate into the mainstream culture. But we also have great numbers of Muslim migrant workers from Southeast Asia and other foreign countries. A Muslim’s story in Taiwan Min Htin Lay was among this group of foreign Muslims in Taiwan. After an appointment arranged by the director of the mosque, I was fortunate to interview this young Imam. With a polite manner, he courteously welcomed me into his room at the back side of the mosque. Sitting among stacks of books written in Arabic—including Quran, Hadith, and other Islamic teaching materials—he gently began telling his story. Born in a Muslim family in Myanmar, he attended an Islamic private high school. Upon listening to an Islamic teacher that visited his village, he yearned to learn Arabic and decided to pursue a college degree in Syria after graduation. During his stay in Syria, he was introduced to a Taiwanese Muslim girl by his boss’s Taiwanese wife. After one year of mail communication he married her when she visited Syria, and the couple moved to Taiwan soon after that. Having lived in Taiwan for seven years and established a family of four here, Min Htin Lay considers Taiwan a lovely place but with certain difficulties. The inconveniences one might face as a Muslim in Taiwan Speaking of his life in Taiwan, Min Htin Lay pointed out three major inconveniences for Muslims to practice their beliefs in everyday life—food, the toilets, and places to pray. According to Islamic dietary law originated from the Quran, Hadith, and Sunnah*, some foods are explicitly forbidden, including blood, pork, and any food dedicated to gods other than Allah. These foods are called the non-halal food, and Muslims would usually only eat foods that are under the “Halal* Certificate.” Since pork plays a highly important role in the Taiwanese diet, it is very hard for Muslims to find things to eat. Min Htin Lay mentioned a solution for this: he always arranges for his daughters to eat vegetarian food at school in order to avoid lard and other pork products. The second inconvenience faced by Muslims in Taiwan is the toilets. Known as a religion that highly esteems hygiene, the Islamic faith has particular rules for going to the toilet. One important rule requires the use of water to clean oneself. According to another interviewee, Debby Permana Yusuf, recent scientific experiments have proven that water best assures our level of cleanliness. However, since Taiwanese public restrooms usually only provide toilet paper instead of bidets*, Muslims find it difficult to use toilets in public places. “A solution to this,” Debby explained, “is to prepare a bottle of water and bring it everywhere you go.” “There are prayer rooms everywhere back in my hometown or in Syria, but not here in Taiwan.” The praying ritual conducted by Muslims five times a day is called Salah. As one of the five pillars in the Islamic faith, it is a highly important religious obligation. But prayer rooms can rarely be found in Taiwan. Many Muslims thus postpone their prayers and do them all at once after returning home from work. In addition to these, Muslims in Taiwan also face problems with education. Since Taiwanese public schools do not include Islamic ethical teaching in curriculums, young Muslims do not have access to proper religious education, Min Htin Lay indicates. He also disapproves of the trend among Muslim women of not wearing Hijabs even though it was more difficult to make friends with “weird” face coverings. Taiwanese society has long neglected the Islamic culture, but it represents an important people group in Taiwan. It is important that we pay more attention to the unique community and soften the tense inter-cultural relationship in the future. *Quran, Hadith, and Sunnah: Islamic holy books *Halal: Means permissible or lawful in Arabic *Bidet: A shower faucet provided in the toilet compartments in Muslim regions a
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The Taida Student Journal has been active since 1995 with an ever-changing roster of student journalists at NTU. Click the above link to read about the authors Archives
May 2024
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