Last week, the Chinese Islamic College held its opening ceremony for the 2024-2025 academic year in the college's hall. The event was chaired by Yang Faming, President of the Chinese Islamic Association and President of the Chinese Islamic College, who delivered the opening speech. The ceremony also featured participation from Mo Kefa, Vice President of the Chinese Islamic Association and Executive Vice President of the Chinese Islamic College, and Secretary General Ma Zhongbing.
In his speech, President Yang Faming warmly welcomed the new students, urging them to keep their great motherland in mind, continue their studies with enthusiasm and the striving spirit of youth, and seek to meet the expectations and dreams of the country.
He emphasized the importance of rising to the level of the new era, integrating patriotism, and having the ambition to serve the country in the great cause of building a strong nation and reviving its youth. He called for the development of professional skills and talents to achieve the dual goal of mastering both Islamic sciences and traditional Chinese culture excellently, aiming for integration to graduate high-level generations armed with Islamic knowledge and love for the homeland, thus adding a Chinese touch to Islam in China without compromising the correct religious teachings.
During the ceremony, representatives of both new and returning students at the Chinese Islamic College delivered speeches, emphasizing the need to keep in mind the “great dream of the country,” work diligently, and study hard to rise to the level of the era and serve their motherland in the future.
On the sidelines of the event, students who achieved outstanding results were honored, and scholarships were distributed to the top students. President Yang Faming also awarded a certificate of appreciation on behalf of Han Wenqi, President of the Qinghai Hui Salar Relief Association, in recognition of his outstanding efforts.
During the ceremony, the “Green Scholarship” was announced, with a total value of 485,000 yuan (approximately $70,000). This scholarship will be used to support 46 master's and doctoral students at the Chinese Islamic College, including 41 master's students with a monthly allowance of 1,000 yuan and 5 doctoral students with a monthly allowance of 1,500 yuan.
The opening ceremony was attended by all teachers and students of the Chinese Islamic College. Formerly known as the “Institute of Islamic Sciences,” the Chinese Islamic College is the official Islamic educational institution in China, with 10 branches in 10 regions and provinces across the country, all bearing the same name.
The college was established in 1955 after merging Islamic institutes and schools in Beijing into a single institution named “Huimin Islamic College” (Huimin means Muslim people). It was later renamed the “Institute of Islamic Sciences” and retained this name until 2022 when the Chinese Islamic Association renamed it the “Chinese Islamic College.”
Since its founding, the college has welcomed hundreds of students from various provinces in China, though it ceased operations and closed its doors during the Cultural Revolution (1966-1976), then reopened again in 1982.
Since resuming its operations in 1982, the college has successively held training and university courses, graduating hundreds of imams who have taken up roles in various mosques across China. Starting in 1996, the duration of undergraduate study was shortened from 5 to 4 years.
The Chinese Islamic College has now established an educational system from bachelor's to master's to doctoral levels, and a high-level Islamic training system. It has become an educational, research, and training base for Chinese Islamic education, continuously nurturing high-level economic talents for the Chinese Muslim community.
The Chinese Islamic College is located in the Niujie area, home to a large Muslim population in Beijing. The college originally covered an area of approximately 10,000 square meters. After reconstruction and expansion, the building area reached 22,000 square meters. The main buildings of the college include teaching buildings, student residences, a conference hall, a library, and a prayer hall attached to the teaching building.
The college library now houses over 60,000 books in Chinese, Arabic, Persian, English, Urdu, and other languages, including some old and valuable manuscripts of the Quran in Arabic.
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