Speaking Urdu in Xinjiang: A Cultural Encounter

Footprints: SPEAKING URDU IN XINJIANG

Sunny (Rahiman Ma) in the front joins in a Mongolian folk dance during a visit to the Xianghe community in Urumqi. —Photo by the writer “ASSALAM-o-Alaikum Wa Rahmatullah-i-Wa Barakatuh.” This is how our tour guide greets us soon after landing at Urumqi Airport. She introduces herself as ‘Sunny’, and then tells us that her given name is Rahiman Ma. “You are Muslim?” I ask. “Alhamdolillah yes,” she smiles and nods. Urumqi, the capital and largest city in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Reg...

By [email protected] (Shazia Hasan)