In Their Words: Converting from Islam

This is an excerpt from an interview with a Dungan woman in Talas. Dungans are a group with historical roots in what is now western China. They are traditionally Muslim, and this woman is no exception. I asked her what she thought about people who converted from Islam to another religion.

I don’t know. I can’t judge them of course. I can only speak concerning myself, that I wouldn’t—not for anything—be able to change my religion. I understand that all religions have to try to convert people, but you have to love your own. I think that way personally and so does my family. I mean, I’m a Dungan…I don’t emphasize that I’m a Dungan, but my people…they’ve been believers since olden times. We don’t have any of those…well…one married a Russian and her parents almost killed her. Now she lives…they’ve given up on her entirely. Her parents recently passed
away. She lives with her husband.

Notice this didn’t really answer the question. Marrying a Russian was enough to mean leaving the faith. Actually, before this point in the interview, she had said that the real issue was the faith of the parents. Even if the boy didn’t consider himself Muslim, if his parent’s were Muslim the brides parents might agree to the marriage. I asked if that woman still considered herself a Muslim, or if she had left the religion.

She left. Even in the village where she grew up, where her parents were, she understood that they would never accept her, even if they are her parents. She didn’t even come to her parent’s funeral. At the same time…they wouldn’t have allowed her to come if she had traveled to the funeral. They would have figured she was a Christian and just not allowed her to come to the funeral. As I understand it, she’s already entirely gone over to the Russian faith; she goes to church with her
husband. I don’t condemn her, but the fact that she already goes somewhere else, worships somewhere else...that mean’s she’s accepted a different religion. She
holds to that. I found out that all her children are baptized in that church. Her husband, as I understand it, even though he’s Russian isn’t really religious.

This is the first part of a series of posts on conversion. I’m currently translating an interview with a Russian girl who converted to Islam. I’ll put that up hopefully by next week.