New generation of imams preaching peace and harmony

Recently graduated religious leaders are working to generate and reinforce positive images of Islam to help Muslims identify and avoid extremism. Cui Jia reports.

People often find it hard to reconcile Ma Jiacheng's youth with his status as the imam, or religious leader, of the biggest mosque in North China. They expect to meet a grave, elderly man, not a smiling 26-year-old who left college only last year.

Ma is one of a number of recently appointed young imams taking a new approach to religious teaching. They combine their understanding of Islam with new ideas in the hope of generating and reinforcing positive images of China's Muslims.