Solving Non—Muslims and Muslims Disagreement of Eating at the Muslim Canteen in Harbin Engineering University

Li+Xi-ran++WANG+Jian-kun

【Abstract】Recently Muslims and non-Muslims people have some conflicts at the Muslim canteen at the Harbin Engineering University. Too many non-Muslim people have meals at the Muslim canteen， which causes the dissatisfaction of many Muslims and the workers at the Muslim canteen. The paper analyzes the reasons of this conflict various solutions to it whose significance is to promote the harmony between the Muslims and non-Muslims at Harbin Engineering University.

【Key words】cultural differences； Muslim canteen； national harmony

【摘要】近日在哈爾滨工程大学清真餐厅中穆斯林与非穆斯林人发生了一些冲突，即过多非穆斯林人在清真食堂就餐，引发众多穆斯林及清真食堂工作人员的不满。本文通过分析此冲突发生的原因，就各类原因分别给出不同的解决办法，以促进哈尔滨工程大学穆斯林与非穆斯林人群和睦友好相处。

【关键词】文化差异 清真食堂 民族和谐

Recently， there has been a conflict between Muslims and non-Muslims in whether the latter should go to the Muslim canteen at Harbin Engineering University. Actually there are many complicated reasons such as non-Muslims' occupying limited resources， different cultures and the poor management of the canteen. However， the majority of both Muslims and non-Muslims agree that any Harbin Engineering University student that desires to eat at the Muslim canteen on campus should feel to do so if the conflict is clarified， cultural customs are respected and the management of the canteen can be improved on campus， which can promote the harmony between the two people groups and solve the practical problem among students.

Conflict is clarified

Recently， there has been a conflict between Muslims and non-Muslims. Crowds of non-Muslims flood into Muslim canteen to have meals right after the recess bell rings， which is seen by some Muslims in eyes and also hated in heart. Actually， more than one canteens that are open for non-Muslims is available and whose scales are bigger on campus.

However， according to many non-Muslims， they would rather stand in a long line at the small Muslim canteen for more delicious foods but lower price than stare at the foods at that so-called bigger canteen but feel no mood to have a bite. Besides， with less confidence in the food safety these years， students trust the “halal logo” very much， which has been proved before ：

In Islam， ... the halal logo or label communities and convinces Muslim consumers that food product is produced and prepared according to the Islamic requirement. On the other hand， the non-Muslim consumers understand that food items carrying the logo are prepared in the most hygienic way and clean to be consumed. Furthermore， it has also been proven that non-Muslim consumers do respond positively to halal food certification. （Mathew， Abdullah， Ismail 263）

While non-Muslims are enjoying their wonderful meal times， Muslims are not very happy with that. “Wed better catch up in case they eat up all that belong to us！” words like that can be heard on the way to Muslim canteen. Obviously， that “they” refers to non-Muslims who always spend their meal time at Muslim canteen. Nevertheless， what they complain may be the true reality. What happens at Muslim canteen is like what happens in the primeval forests where the “strongest” animals get the lions share. At Muslim canteen， the “strongest animal” means the first ones who arrive there while later ones can only be left with cold foods， sometimes even none at all. No wonder some workers at Muslim canteen worry much about their boys and girls and let Muslims go first of the queue to insure they can have a good meal when too many non-Muslims are standing in the line. But the small complaint seems to grow stronger to be a big conflict. One time a worker even ask a non-Muslim student that “Why dont you come here？ Why not go to your own canteen？” in a sour tone and also glaring eyes. It seems that severe disagreement has arisen between Muslims and non-Muslims.

Therefore， its high time for the two people groups shook their hands and made up with each other. The misunderstandings should not remain between the two people groups any more. Everyone would love to see the harmony on campus instead of that sort of uncomfortable experience. Moreover， if the conflict is clarified， the indeed practical problem—eating， can be solved successfully. So the key for the moment is to eliminate the conflict.

Cultural customs are respected

One reason that Muslims are angry with non-Muslims is that their dietary rules are despised. As we all know， people who embrace Islam should “adhere strictly to the Islamic dietary rules”（“Halal food in China”）. Except that Muslims must eat halal food in which beef and “lamb is the predominant ingredient” （“Halal food in China” ）， they must not use dishes that are “polluted” by pork or lard according to the Hadith which is a “spiritual guide used by Muslims” （“Hadith”）. That accounts for that many Muslims are not happy with non-Muslims eating at their canteen； they are worried about mixing the dishes carelessly.

Moreover， a small group of Muslims have bias towards non-Muslims at Harbin Engineering University. Muslims dislike and even hatred toward non-Muslims has an origin which is described in “Islams Hatred of the Non-Muslim.” as the following：

Al-Wala wal-Bara [which means “loyalty and disavowal”] doctrine originated in the pre-Islamic Arab tribal system from which it was passed on to the umma （Islamic community）. The constructs of love and loyalty were extended to the family and the hamula （clan） while suspicion and hatred was directed toward those outside the clan， the “other” who did not embrace Muhammads teachings. （Bukay 12）

Some Muslims have been brought up to believe that other religions who do not have faith in Allah who is Islamic God which will be “seized wherever found and slain with a slaughter.”（Bukay 14） Although most Muslims who are educated to universities would not take words like this seriously， a few of them still behave in an unfriendly way towards non-Muslims. Once at Muslim canteen， there were three non-Muslims chatting happily in the queue for lunch. One Muslim shouted at them suddenly that “You shouldnt have stood here. So just shut your mouths！” From the phrase “shouldnt have”， it can be clearly inferred that in his opinion， non-Muslims have no rights to eat at Muslim canteen. Fortunately， those extreme people are in the minority， there is indeed bias towards non-Muslims though.

People of different cultures are able to get along well with each other with sincere respect. Some measures must be taken right now. First， to propaganda Muslims culture towards non-Muslims is a good way to strengthen the understanding between each other. Demonstrating the Muslim culture through media is a simple and common way to spread culture. Culture-related introduction attached beautiful pictures can be shown on the TV screen at the canteen to catch the eyes of non-Muslims when they line up waiting for the food. There is one advantage of pictures over simple words on the leaflets： we can easily remember them.

One research that professors in Capital Normal University did indicates that pictures are easy for people to remember rather than words. （Liu， Zhou， Shi 10） In addition， group activities that organize students to search deep Islamic culture background can be started up. Visiting mosques which is a symbol of Muslim can be a good choice. A mosque is “important to the Muslim community as a place to meet and study.” （Mughal 166） Getting together with Muslims and talking to them is the most fast way to get familiar with Muslim culture. Furthermore respecting the Muslims “dietary rules” by separating the dishes because a Muslim should render their appreciations and gratitude to Him as indicated in the following verse of the Holy Quran （Ambali， Bakar 5）. Much literature has described their eating habits—“The whole food chain is covered by the halal concept which is applied to the form， origin and processing of edible goods. Utensils， equipment and machinery must be cleansed according to Islamic law and untainted by contact with haram materials” （Henderson 161）. At the bottom of the heart of Muslims， using the non-Muslims dishes is regarded as betraying their beliefs. So if possible， whenever non-Muslims have strong desire to eat at Muslim canteen， it is better for them to bring their own dishes. Had these measures been taken， the respect would be developed spontaneously in non-Muslims hearts.

The management of the canteen can be improved

Improving the management of the canteen has also profound significance on solving the problem.

First， the limited resources like the food and seats at the canteen can be a big problem， especially in the “rush hour” when all the students finish their classes. Seeing more and more non-Muslims crowded at the small canteen， Muslims who come later must be very upset and pissed off about the left inadequate food. Therefore， the canteen can enlarge its scale. Now that so many students love the Muslims food， they produce more to satisfy their needs and add the seats for the growing number of the non-Muslims. Despite it is a great project， it is worth to have a try.

Meantime， the service at Muslim canteen is far from a high level. First， the attitude that the Muslim workers towards non-Muslims is barely satisfactory， which can be seen from their facial expressions like supercilious look and complaint words like “You should go to your own canteen.”. These embarrassing experience can bring about more resent between the two groups of people. But fortunately these workers account for just a small proportion. After the Muslim culture is spread over the campus， they can understand each other completely. It is believed that the workers attitude can be more gentle and the non-Muslims are able to empathize with the Muslim workers. Thus， no more conflicts can lie between the two groups of people. In addition， there are too few workers at Muslim canteen which to a large extent lower the efficiency. Although all the workers keep busy， there is still always a long queue at the canteen. It is not difficult to employ more workers to take on so many heavy work of the canteen.Thus a comfortable and satisfying environment at the Muslim canteen can be created for all the people. The administration should step up the input to the Muslim canteen for the vital importance of its state. （Li， Wang， Liu 2014） Only by keeping improving the catering system can the Muslim canteen make further progress and increasing profits.

Both for the students of Muslims and non-Muslims and the Muslim canteen itself， improvement on the management is beneficial and necessary. Students fulfills themselves in the amicable and careful treatment from the workers and and the delicious food of the canteen. And the canteen， in return， can promote itself for offering better service. It needs the managers to operate the canteen towards organized direction and meet demands for the students（Kang， Dong， Yue， Zhu 71）. Besides， the more students go to the Muslim canteen， it can make more profits which are used for further improvement. All in all， the Muslim canteen now needs a big reformation to enhance competitiveness as well as promote the harmony between the two groups of people.

Conclusion

Many reasons can lead to the conflict between Muslims and non-Muslims in whether the latter should go to the Muslim canteen. However， we should not leave the conflict doing harm to the harmony among students from different groups. Instead， there are many solutions to save the situation.If we explain the conflicts clearly， show respect for each others cultural habits and strengthen the management of the canteen， most Muslims and non-Muslims would reach the agreement that any student in Harbin Engineering University should be entitled to go to the Muslim canteen whenever they want to. Thus the bias between the two people groups can be eliminated and the practical problem among students—eating is solved.

References：

[1]Ambali Abdul Raufu，Bakar Ahmad Naqiyuddin.“People's Awareness on Halal Foods and Products： Potential Issues for Policy-makers.” ScienceDirect 121.Procedia - Social and Behavioral Sciences（2014）：3-25.[2]Bukay David.“Islams Hatred of the Non-Muslim.” Middle East Quarterly SUMMER 2013：11-20.

[3]“Hadith.” Oxford Advanced Learner's English-Chinese Dictionary.8th ed.2014.

[4]“Halal Food in China.” muslim2china.com.25th October 2016.http：//www.muslim2china.com/halal-food-china/.

[5]Henderson Joan C.“Halal food，certification and halal tourism： Insight from Malaysia and Singapore.” Tourism Management Perspectives July 2016：160-164.

[6]Kang Hua，Dong Zhuoqun，Yue Xi，Zhu Yan.“How to manage Muslim caterting of Interior Colleges and Universities.” University Logistics Research January 2016：69-71.

[7]Liu Rong，Zhou Qiongdan，Shi Ning “Why is it easier for us to remember the images？” Course Education Research（2012）：10.

[8]Li Weizhao，Wang Zhiqiang，Liu Peng.“A brief analysis of Muslim catering in colleges and universities.” University Logistics Research 2014：63-64.

[9]Mathew Vloreen Nity，Abdullah Ardiana Mazwa Raudah binti Amir，Ismail Siti Nurazizah binti Mohamad.“Acceptance on Halal Food among Non-Muslim Consumers.” ScienceDirect 121.Procedia - Social and Behavioral Sciences（2014）： 262-271.

[10]Mughal，Muhammad Aurang Zeb.“An Anthropological Perspective on the Mosque in Pakistan.”Asian Anthropology 2015：166-181.

【基金項目】黑龙江省教育科学规划重点课题“翻转课堂模式在英语专业教学中的应用与实践”（GJB1316018）的部分成果。

作者简介：

李曦冉（1996-），女，黑龙江哈尔滨人，哈尔滨工程大学外语系本科生，主要研究方向为功能语言学及语篇分析。

王健坤（1964-），女，黑龙江哈尔滨人，哈尔滨工程大学外语系副教授，硕士学位，主要研究方向为功能语言学及语篇分析。