Beijing: An official website of China government had on Thursday banned civil servants, students and teachers in its mainly Muslim Xinjiang region from fasting during Ramadan and ordered restaurants to stay open.
Notify that most Muslims are required to fast from dawn to dusk during the month but China’s ruling Communist Party is officially atheist and for years has restricted the practice in Xinjiang, home to the mostly Muslim Uighur minority.
A notice which had been posted on the website of the state Food and Drug Administration in Xinjiang`s Jinghe county last week states: “Food service workplaces will operate normal hours during Ramadan.”
According to local government website report of a meeting this week, Officials were told: “During Ramadan do not engage in fasting, vigils or other religious activities.”
Uighur rights groups say China`s restrictions on Islam in Xinjiang have added to ethnic tensions in the region, where clashes have killed hundreds in recent years.
China says it faces a terrorist threat in Xinjiang, with officials blaming “religious extremism” for growing violence.
Spokesperson for the exiled World Uyghur Congress, Dilxat Rexit said, “China`s goal in prohibiting fasting is to forcibly move Uighurs away from their Muslim culture during Ramadan.”
“Policies that prohibit religious fasting are a provocation and will only lead to instability and conflict.”
The education bureau of Tarbaghatay city which had been known as Tacheng in Chinese had ordered this month to schools to communicate to students that “during Ramadan, ethnic minority students do not fast, do not enter mosques… and do not attend religious activities”.
According to the notice on Government website, one village in Yili, near the border with Kazakhstan, said mosques must check the identification cards of anyone who comes to pray during Ramadan.
Bureau Report
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