[2026 Ramadan] Day 2 Prepare the Highway to Sinim! The holy light of the gentiles that will fulfill the last missions history, Hui!

The Hui people are the largest Muslim ethnic group within China, formed about 1,400 years ago when Islamic diplomats, merchants, and soldiers from Arabia and Persia crossed into China along the Silk Road.

Through intermarriage with the Han people and the adoption of Han children, they settled in China. Over time, their physical features came to resemble those of the Han, and they also adopted the Chinese language.

The population of the Hui people is about 11 million, and among them 96% believe in Islam. The evangelization rate is only 0.01%, and they are an unreached people group in which only one person out of 10,000 believes in Jesus Christ.

The ethnic concept of the Hui themselves is perceived to be Muslim, even expressing Islam in China as the "Hui religion".The Hui have strong religious community identity based on Islam, so in each provincial city they gather in small numbers to live, operating China’s halal restaurants called “Qingzhen restaurants (清真食堂)” and continuing their livelihood. Because the Hui’s appearance and language are almost exactly the same as the Chinese Han people, they are regarded as outsiders who do not belong either in Arabia and Persia or within China, and therefore they try to find their identity within Islam.

After the <Revised Regulations on Religious Affairs> in China which took effect in 2018, the Chinese government emphasized the 'Sinification of religion' and started enforcing strong control and pressure upon the Hui community. During this period, more than 1,300 mosques have been closed in the Xinjiang Hui Autonomous Region, and control has been strengthened by converting Islamic mosques into Chinese-style architecture or demolishing Islamic schools. In addition, the Chinese government’s regulations are increasingly strict, including restrictions on wearing hijabs and Islamic caps in daily life.

In Hui communities where the belief is that one cannot be Hui without practicing Islam, the Chinese government’s control has brought great despair. In response, some Hui have sought to preserve their identity by secretly playing the sounds of prayer over speakers and worshiping Allah, despite threats and oppression from the government, in order to maintain their Islamic faith. Recently, as the Chinese government has intensified interference and repression of Islam—such as indiscriminate arrests of Hui leaders—there have been instances of gatherings in front of Islamic temples in some areas.

The Ramadan period in 2026 carries significant meaning within the Hui community as a time to reaffirm Islamic identity and strengthen communal bonds. For devout Hui, it becomes the only opportunity to cleanse the guilt of not having been able to properly worship due to strict government surveillance and to reinforce their faith in Islam through the five daily prayers. For Hui with less intense religious devotion, observing Ramadan according to traditions and habits learned since childhood provides a chance to recall the Islamic identity that may have been temporarily forgotten.

However, God has not called the Hui people as an Islamic nation, but called solely as God’s children to receive the authority to inherit heaven! During this time, the gospel has been testified among the Hui through the evangelism of Han Chinese house churches, foreign missionaries, and dreams and visions. God is faithfully at work so that they may rise as “the light of the nations that turns the Gentiles back to the Lord.”

Recently, there has been the blessing of Hui Christians from mainland China going on short-term missions to Muslim countries in Asia Minor. Last summer, a Hui pastor ministering in mainland China sent a female member of his church as a young missionary to an Asia Minor country. Seeing her joyfully serving abroad and being transformed, he confessed, “If possible next year, I would like our church to form a short-term mission team and send them.” Hallelujah!

Amid persecution by the Chinese government, the gospel of the cross of life is desperately needed for the Hui, who, groaning in suffering for salvation, still hold on to Islam. Since 2018, when foreign workers were forcibly expelled, there is currently not a single minister left who can directly evangelize to the Hui.

Nevertheless, especially during Ramadan, when we pray and worship for the revival of the Hui, I believe that a new door for missions will open in Hui lands, and churches carrying the gospel to minister to Muslims—the light to the nations—will rise as disciples of Christ! As a result, the Hui will stand on the front lines of spiritual warfare more than any other people, enduring hardship with joy, and, together with the Chinese church, rise as 100,000 missionaries of a million-strong army to take part in Muslim missions!

<Today's Prayer Requests>

1.The Hui are a people so similar to the Chinese that they remain largely unknown and marginalized in the world. May the Korean church and the global church recognize the Hui, whose identity as Muslims is being shaken and who are spiritually thirsty under the policies of the Chinese government, and raise and send mission teams to boldly proclaim the gospel of the cross in Hui lands!

2.Through the Ramadan period in 2026, may the Hui diaspora reject false Islam, repent, and receive the Savior Jesus Christ, rising as servants of the Lord who will turn the nations to Him through freedom in Christ!

3. Grant Hui Christians, who are persecuted both by the Chinese government and their own communities, the refining and spiritual authority to overcome suffering. May they rise as a people devoted to the Lord through the tithes of the Chinese church’s missions, serving as a nation for missions to the nations!