Du Shuzhen

Du was born in 1924 in Kaifeng, Henan, China. She was given the Islamic name Aminah (埃米乃). Her father, a Hui Muslim, became an imam after his antique shop was looted during the Second Sino-Japanese War, while her mother died before Du was a teenager.[1] Following the death of her mother, Du moved in with her aunt.[2] At age eight, Du entered the local women's mosque, where she studied Islam for some six years.[1] In accordance with her father's wishes, at age fifteen, Du got married to a fellow Chinese Muslim scholar. Dissatisfied with her marriage, she nonetheless followed her husband to Shanxi. However, he died of illness after two years; refusing to remarry, Du returned to Kaifeng, whereupon she continued studying at the mosque in the hopes of becoming an imam herself.[1] Her decision was not well received by her family.[3]

Back in Kaifeng, Du completed her Islamic studies in Persian under the supervision of a female imam. With the help of her uncle and a family friend, both of whom were imams based in Shanghai and Henan respectively, she also learnt to read the Quran in Arabic.[1] In 1949, Du became an imam at the Shifu Mosque in Zhengzhou.[4] Du subsequently worked at other women's mosques across China, including in Kaifeng, Xingyang, and Xi'an.[4] During the Cultural Revolution, Du sought refuge at the East Mosque in her hometown.[1] In 1981, she was appointed as a senior Islamic teacher at the Beida Street women's mosque in Zhengzhou. Two years later, she was promoted to lifelong imam at the mosque.[1] Du carried out her first Hajj in 1992,[1] becoming the first woman in Henan to do so.[2] She undertook the pilgrimage another three times, in 1994, 1999, and 2005.[5] Du was very active as an Islamic grassroots leader in China and was a member of several organisations, including the Henan Provincial Islamic Association, the Zhengzhou City Islamic Association, and the Chinese Islamic Association.[6]