Traditional Muslim weddings with a twist

The choice of an Islamic marriage has become a preferred choice for many Muslims in urban China.
Yagang Zhe, 25, is a Muslim who works at a computer company in Beijing. Liu Yang, his wife of the newlyweds, who is also a Muslim 25 years, an accountant in an office setting.
Although the couple were raised in secular homes, celebrated their marriage in the Islamic style, because he believes that is fashionable and a way to please their parents.
Shortly after a friend gave details of a wedding planning company in Beijing Muslims called quickly to make arrangements. They paid 8,000 yuan (1,265 dollars) to reserve marriage and 700 yuan to hire Muslim wedding gowns.

The wedding took place on a Saturday morning in March, in a dining Hongbinlou, a famous restaurant serving halal food since 1853. Most of the guests sitting at tables were Muslims.
When the couple entered the room, two ring bearer, a 6 year old boy and a girl 4 years old, your baby design in red and in full Islamic wedding dresses received praise and admiration that was followed in particularly elegant wedding dress and hijab.
"I rarely wear a hat. Only for very special occasions," said Zhe. The ring bearer was the couple's own initiative, to bring a little romance and Westernized modernity.
Following the opinion of a wedding planner, the couple invited two magnets to perform the ceremony and sign their names as husband and wife in a marriage contract, some of the teachings of Islam for a true marriage, but a complete unknown, they need both.
"Now we are interested. Our parents rather than just the wedding and never said anything about it," said Zhe.
They had little contact with the magnets early in life. The couple gave each Imam was waiting for the service and money until the alcohol can bring to the table.
After the marriage contract was signed, has Jiulan Zhe, the aunt of the groom on stage as secular witness, read aloud the marriage certificate, she recorded her last June
It was the first Muslim Zhe traditional marriage, and visited many guests. "These ceremonies send strong visual memories of our faith," he said.
His son, Li Xu, 23, was best man at the wedding, and wore a dark suit. Li said the experience made him want a marriage like that.
His parents were skeptical at first was at his girlfriend, Li Han, Zhang Jing, another Muslim student.
"My parents took me some time to agree with my choice. I know I will be happy if I will celebrate my marriage in the Muslim tradition," said Li.
He has other plans in mind, too. Since his girlfriend Gaobeidian, Hebei Province, Li said they are considering two ceremonies, one Muslim in Beijing and took a fancy church wedding in Hebei.
"We are open to interesting opportunities for all. It is too early to plan seriously," said Li
Nenzhi Ma, 47, Muslim immigrants from Dengfeng in Henan Province, is a Hongbinlou dishwasher, where the marriage took place. She said the restaurant is a popular place for Muslims, weddings, especially on weekends.
Mixed marriages, in general, a Muslim husband and his wife Han Chinese are the Beijing Conference and my hometown, he said.
My 19 year old son is a student at the University of Zhengzhou, capital of Henan province. Ma said it is on him to decide who he wants to marry.
"But she was instrumental in accepting Muslim practices," said Ma, adding that in his village, many women after marrying her husband Han Chinese Muslim, has a bathing ceremony in a mosque and a Muslim name to be administered by an Imam.
Wang Yong, 35, the wedding planner, said percent Muslim, 50 of their target customers are Muslim. Decisions and proposals vary in the traditional Muslim marriage.
Among those contemplating a Muslim marriage, for some simple holiday party with friends and relatives, as marriage Zhe. Some held twice, giving the same attention, both in the Muslim style first, followed by Western clothing and procedures. Some show interest in white wedding dress exotic and treatment of the Muslim tradition as a formality, Wang said
"We want to satisfy all tastes and preferences," Wang said in his study has a dressing room, dozens of Muslim wedding dresses in festive colors and a stylish design. The cabinet can be rented for parties or for wedding photos taken. The wedding music in Arabic, Muslim marriage document, which will be officiated by a magnet and decor are also available.
Muslims in urban areas now have several choices of marriage, and not all of them to keep Islam. Part of the recovery of the wedding customs of Confucian past in the leaves to make sure that the first heaven and the earth, then parents of both parties, and finally, between the bride and groom, Wang said.
Faced with increasing competition, which promotes the skills and ability to conduct Muslim marriages, Wang is confident that their service is mainly for his insider knowledge about Islam and the business of wedding planning.
"Some take the strict sense that the presence of a magnet and read verses of the Quran is enough," said Wang "But sometimes, when the magnet is not yet complete, and a bottle of champagne was opened, which was a failure respect. "
No alcohol during the marriage of Wang, a policy that supports but is not always followed in Muslim marriages served.
Another Muslim wedding in March that Wang was orchestrated alcohol served after a brief ceremony presided over by a magnet. My boyfriend Yonghui, and his wife, Zhao Qian, also in a suit and a white wedding dresses altered.
The audience laughed when the groom knelt on my knees and struck again. Later, while singing a love song popular in China, karaoke effects, with the bride of Zhao.
Ma welcomed the bride on the red carpet during the wedding March play. He gathered a handful of roses to friends and relatives who were close and covered with rose petals and declared his love for his wife and kissed her.
"We want the elders of the family, by Muslim rites and also invited non-Muslims, please, in accordance with the procedure," Ma said
Diversity in place
Ma Ping, a Muslim scholar of the Academy of Social Sciences of the Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region, said that the practices of many Muslim marriages show the growing diversity of the Muslim community in China and a culture that is not assimilated, but influenced by the ethnic and religious differences.
"Non-Muslim marriages in the possession of a unique form in China. It combines the ideas of the youth of the wedding plans hybrid, which tradition and mainstream fashion, unless objections of parents and elders," said Ma .
In Ningxia, a region of northwest China, with a strong Islamic culture, Ma is a significant difference in wedding ceremonies in the capital and its suburbs Yinchuan.
In suburban and rural areas are more traditions are strictly observed. Any attempt to change can be met with strong resistance from former members of the family, the mother said.