China’s Hajj Diplomacy

From Middle East Online China’s Hajj Diplomacy These days, relations between China and Saudi Arabia are growing stronger — originally established by “Hajj diplomacy,” a few years after the communists took power in China, notes Alain Gresh. Middle East Online Abdul Karim Yaqoub is the young executive director of the Saudi Chinese Business Council, and [...]

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Chinese pilgrims return home from Mecca

From the Xinhua news agency. Chinese pilgrims return home from Mecca YINCHUAN, Dec. 5 (Xinhua) — A plane carrying 323 Chinese pilgrims landed safely at Hedong Airport of Yinchuan, northwest China’s Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region, Saturday afternoon. They are the first batch of Chinese Muslims to return home after completing their pilgrimage to Mecca this [...]

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China to allow 2,700 Muslims to visit Mecca: report

via AFP. The numbers do not add up since a couple of years ago the Chinese government allowed 10,000 pilgrims to perform hajj but this news story is saying that only 30,000 Muslims from China have performed hajj in the last 20 years. I am guessing that this is a mmisprint and they actually mean [...]

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Map of Haji Zheng He’s Famous Voyages

Haji Zheng He is considered to be the greatest Chinese Admirals of all time. Zheng He happened to be a Muslim who even performed Hajj, hence the name Haji. Above is the map of famous voyages. A number of Chinese Muslims settled in what is now Malaysia and Indonesia as a result of these voyages [...]

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More Than 10,000 Chinese Hajis in 2007

Its a bit late but here is an interesting stat. Last year more than 10,000 Chinese Muslims went for Hajj. Here are the details from Xinhua. Chinese Muslim pilgrims wait in line for boarding as they depart for Mecca in Yinchuan, capital of Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region, Nov. 19, 2007. Muslims from China’s only Hui [...]

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