Chasing the Chinese Dream

Over the past 20 years, the government has gradually allowed its own Muslim minority to rebuild institutions that were devastated by state-sponsored attacks on Islam during the Cultural Revolution. Islamic schools have opened, and scholars of Islam are being encouraged to go abroad to pursue their studies. Unlike Christians, China's estimated 20 million Muslims are considered an ethnic minority, a status that confers certain protections and privileges.

"In America, for people with my religion there can be a lot of problems," said Adamou Salissou, 25, from Niger. "The image they have of Muslims is that they are terrorists. Chinese don't have a problem with religion. They think, 'It's your religion and it's okay.' "

With funds from a Chinese government scholarship, Salissou is pursuing a master's degree in biochemistry and molecular biology at Xiamen University in Fujian province, where a community of Arab traders thrived in the 7th and 8th centuries. Salissou's brother Nour Mahamane, 23, joined him this fall and is studying for a master's degree in petrochemistry in Shanghai.

Mosques in areas such as Yiwu, where foreigners are concentrated, have been given more freedom than some others, which are under strict state control. Officials at the mosque here estimate that more than 20,000 Muslim immigrants, about 1,000 of them from Iraq, have settled in the area over the past five years.

"The main feeling is that they are free here," said Ma Chunzhen, the imam. "People are buying apartments and cars. They want to live here for good."

When he first arrived in Yiwu from Beijing in 2001, Ma said, there were just over 100 people in his congregation. Services were held in a rented space in a hotel room. These days, up to 8,000 people attend the Friday prayer service in the shiny new mosque that was converted from a silk factory's warehouse with money from foreigners who had settled in the city.

One prong of China's efforts to strengthen ties with the developing world is scholarships, a program that began in 1949 when the People's Republic was founded but that has been ramped up aggressively in recent years. In 1996, China offered about 4,200 scholarships. Last year, the number was 8,500.

Among the recipients are children of the elites in countries where China hopes to forge friendships. Salissou's father, for instance, works in Niger's presidential protocol office; Niger is rich in uranium, which China needs for its nuclear plants.

Benjamim Amade, 21, who is pursuing a bachelor's degree in public administration at Xiamen University, heard about the scholarships through his uncle, an ambassador for Mozambique, where China buys timber it needs for construction.

The students' interest in China is fueled by the rags-to-riches stories of self-made entrepreneurs.

Moatasem Anwar's is typical. The youngest of 12 children, Anwar grew up in Iraq's Kurdish-populated north during Saddam Hussein's rule. His family made a meager living selling socks at a bazaar in Irbil.

After the U.S.-led invasion, one of his older brothers had the idea of trying to start a business by importing goods from China to Iraq. Anwar came to China in October 2003 to help out. When he arrived at the packed airport with its strange smells and sights, his immediate reaction was, "I think one week -- quickly I go back."