Trade with Muslims from the Middle East brought Islam to China, and Muslims in China have had a powerful influence in many sectors of Chinese society. Aliya Ma Lynn in Muslims in China explores the beginnings of Islam in China, the assimilation of Muslims into Chinese culture, the hardships they had to endure, the struggle of Muslims to keep their faith while dealing with pressure to conform, and how the advent of Islam altered the history of China. The Islamic identity is outlined to demonstrate how complete and separate it is from other identities and how Muslims in China have fought to keep this identity alive.