Challenges as Muslim Chinese.

Assalamualaikum &hai,

The first problem is that, the number of converts to Islam among the Chinese, although increasing, is hardly a satisfying number. Secondly, those who do convert are often subjugated to all sorts of prejudice among the majority Malay Muslims (not all of them of course), especially when they tend to remain hold to their chinese culture. Many Malays Muslim religious officers would not hesitate to push the Chinese to change their Chinese name and adopt a more Arab or Malay sounding name. In most cases, the Chinese gets a new extension name at the back of his new name, "bin Abdullah". For example, from Tan Lon Yeng, it becomes Musa Tan bin Abdullah.

Thirdly, the majority Malay population often sees (although more pertinent in the past than nowadays) the converted Chinese as somehow rather now a part of the Malay society, rather than a Muslim society. Chinese culture are deemed mostly un-Islamic and the new Muslim now should be more Malay to show that he's a good Muslim. This belief is so ingrained in some parts of the Malay world, that whenever a Chinese converts into Islam, he is said to have "converted into a Malay". This misconception, ultimately draws negative views from the non-Muslim Chinese regarding Islam, and many reject Islam, simply because they love their Chinese identity too much.

In reality, Islam does not rob someone of their cultural identity and replaces it totally with a foreign and new one. Islam as a complete way of life, allows and permits the cultural clothings, foods, dances etc. of any particular group of race as long as it does not contradict its teachings. Therefore, Islam does not erase the Malay cultural dress of Baju Melayu and Baju Kebaya, the various Malay dishes and other cultural activites. What should be observed is that these cultural identities does not contradict with the tenets of the religion.

The Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) respected the protocols of other groups of nations, as long as it does not contradict Islam itself. From a hadith as narated by Anas bin Malik (God be pleased with him), it is stated that:

"When the Prophet pbuh wanted to write a letter to Rom, and it was told to him that they (the Romans) do not read letters without a seal (stamp), he (the Prophet) made a seal from silver. (Anas said): I can still see the whiteness of the seal on the hands of the Prophet, written Muhammad Rasulullah (Muhammad Prophet of God) " (narrated from Bukhari and Muslim)

This hadith shows that the norms or practice of a particular group of people was celebrated by the Prophet, as was stated, as long as it does not contradict Islam.The Prophet did not reject it outright or detest the practice, whereas if the Prophet did not even follow the practice, he would have lost nothing, instead the Roman recipient would be the losers.