August 15 (Day 13):

Very early start for the journey to the city of Lingxia. This city is also known as the Mecca of Muslims in China. Lingxia is autonomous and about 200 km from the city of Lanzhou. Lanzhou has 3.7 million people and has 29 Universities.

It is said that Muslims during the 16th century in China revolted against the Chin Dynasty. In return the Emperor extradited them to the mountains in the Ganzhou province. Over the last four centuries, the barren lands are changed into a thriving civilization primarily populated by Muslims. 

The City of Lingxia formally came into being about 2000 years ago and more than 280,000 Muslims live in this city today making it 95% of the entire population. The city has more than 90 mosques. Most of the mosques has Islamic schools within its campuses.

Lingxia is accessible only by road. Neither any flights nor any trains operate to this remote city. The drive to Lingxia is very scenic and runs through sometimes rugged and most of the times lush green steep mountains. Muslim population pockets begin just about 50 kms before the city of Lingxia. Each city has few Mosques and Madrassas and these communities seem to be sown into each other.

The flag of Lingxia has one Crescent and three stars in its belly. It is said that the biggest star symbolizes the One Creator (Allah) and the three little stars symbolizes Prophet Muhammad, the Deen of Islam and the Holy Book of Quran.

This is one of the most important places for Muslims to visit in China. To see a vibrant Muslim community, in the middle of inaccessible mountains, preserving and promoting Islam since four centuries is a source of immense inspiration. 

On the way to the city of Lingxia, we visited couple of Mosques and also stopped to visit a Muslim family.

Muslim Family : We randomly stopped on the mile marker 119 on the highway leading to the city of Lingxia. It turned out to be a heavenly home of a Muslim family, Mr & Mrs Harakah Mah. This experience was inarguably the most touching moment of our entire tour. Br. Harakah & his wife Sr. Fatima welcomed with such openness that it made us feel that we know each other for time immemorial. In addition, they opened our entire home to us and showed everything around and immediately served us fresh corn and apples from their garden. 

We wanted to interview Br. Harakah about Islam and Muslims in his village. Jokingly when we asked if he is scared of strange visitors he replied, "not at all ... I know you very well ... You are all Muslims and you are my brothers and sisters and we are all one family."

He was very interested about the state of affairs of Muslims and Islam in America. Although he lives in a remote village in far out China but that did not prevent him to keep himself abreast of the most current issues. He asked us sharp and precise questions that we found ourselves stumbling to answer properly. 

This visit was not planned in our itinerary nor we had alerted him in any way. It was amazing to see big smiles on their faces welcoming an army of twenty strangers from across the world suddenly descending on them. Neither of us had an appointment with each other unlike the tradition in the West, even when we visit our own families & relatives. The way he graciously hosted us simply touched our hearts. This was one of the best demonstration of true Islamic spirit and unadulterated Islamic teachings re: guest & host relationship.  He insisted that we should visit next year again so that he could invite the entire village to meet us! 

After spending a good half hour with them, we began our walk back to the bus parked outside his house. It was a bright sunny afternoon but the parting moments turned out to damp the day ... Br. Harakah stood by our bus door, thanked each one of us as we were boarding and then suddenly started sobbing like a little child whose candy is snatched away. There was not a single person in our group who did not participate in our silent collective lamentation. 

Prior to stopping at Br. Harakah's house, all of us were cheering our hearts out in the bus. But this visit left such a sobering effect that all of us seemed mournful. This somber mood prevailed all the way until we reached Lingxia. This was our quiet tribute to our respected teachers Mr & Mrs. Harakah. 

This visit taught us that no classroom could possibly teach us. In fact he said, that "I do not understand your English language but I do understand the language of your hearts and eyes." Without understanding a word of each other and living across oceans and civilizations, this brief meeting left such a profound impact on us that it will remain vivid in our memories forever. In today's post- modern civilization when we meet a villager and experience such unsolicited heartfelt hospitality and warmth, we may have to question the very meaning of civilization as we understand today. 

May we be blessed to learn from Mr. & Mrs. Harakah and may we be blessed to understand, appreciate and practice such selfless and sincere brotherhood/sisterhood. 

Girls Madrassa : More than four hundred students attend this school. Memorization of Quran and reading and writing Arabic is taught at this school. Traditional oral teaching techniques are employed in most places, although some of the modern Madrassas have incorporated the tools like Computers, etc. 

Boys Madrassa : This four storey boys school is quite modern. The building is rather new and well organized. The first two floors are classrooms and the third floor has a library and a computer lab. the fourth floor has students dormitories. One hundred twenty students benefit from this institution.

Shuigia Mosque (Family Beside River): A mid size Mosque with a vibrant School. More than 400 children study at this school. We were very lucky to see the school in operation today and were delighted to meet the teachers and students in this Mosque. It was fascinating to see hundreds of children in the classes studying Arabic and memorizing Quran. 

Lao Hua Si Mosque (Old Mosque/Masjid Qadeem): A huge and old Masjid catering to a large Muslim populous of this area. This is one of the oldest Mosques in the City of Lingxia which has 90 mosques. The entire community welcomed us and gathered around us to enquire about Muslims and Islam in America. 

Emotional Outburst : We wanted to stop every single mosque on the way but it was obviously not practical. The last two stops were very delightful and inspirational. Because we could not visit each community the young men and women in our group expressed their emotions via the bus-windows. They rolled the glass windows, stuck their heads out and cried their hearts out with Salaams to the Muslims walking & biking along the way & others who were sitting in front of their homes, etc. 

Another surprise gift were some Islamic Nasheeds in the bus by Srs. Hina Farooqi and Ann El-Moslimany. 

Shopping: Almost all the shops in this city are owned by Muslims. Unlike in traditional shopping area, either none or very rarely any bargaining takes place in the Muslim owned shops. One can buy many traditional items in this area, such as clothing, ceremonial/traditional swords, daggers, silk-wear, etc.

Not many of us were excited about the four hour drive to the Mecca of Muslims in China, the City of Lingxia. And after our visit, all of us were thanking Allah for the opportunity to visit this beautiful city and for a unique experience. The drive back offered us some quiet moments to reflect.