drhiphop:zuky:From China Daily (via):Nearly 600 years ago, 20 Chinese sailors swam ashore an island
drhiphop:zuky:From China Daily (via):Nearly 600 years ago, 20 Chinese sailors swam ashore an island off Kenya’s east coast, having escaped from a shipwreck.They went on to marry local women and convert to Islam.Now a 19-year-old girl who claims to be one of their descendants has come to China to study, having been given a scholarship by the Chinese Government.Mwamaka Sharifu, from Lamu island in Kenya, will begin her studies in September [2005].She says she is a descendant of sailors travelling with Chinese explorer Zheng He (1371-1435) in the Ming Dynasty. […]“I feel proud and happy to be part of it,” she said. “I am looking forward to studying in China.”Sharifu said she admires Zheng’s courage and adventurous spirit. “I was born as brave as my ancestors,” she said. “It is rare for girls in my Muslim village to go so far to study, to such a big and different country.”“My mum and dad were worried about me. But I told them I will be fine in my home country.”She should be more worried about being Muslim in China…There are some 25 million Muslims in China. Historically, the Silk Road running through China has been an arterial passage for the dissemination of Islam. In fact, the great Ming dynasty admiral Zheng He, from whose crew Mwamaka Sharifu is descended, was himself Muslim, which is partly why the Chinese emperor selected him as an ambassador. -- source link