Provinces of China
By Steven Jiang, CNN
Story highlights
- Xinjiang province passes law to ban wearing burqa in public
- A spate of violent incidents has rocked Xinjiang, long inhabited by the largely Muslim Uyghurs
- Arrival of waves of Han Chinese over the past decades has fueled ethnic tensions
Beijing (CNN) Legislators in China’s far-western Xinjiang province have passed a law to prohibit residents from wearing burqas in public, state mediareported, in a continued campaign against what authorities view as religious extremism.
The new ban in Urumqi was approved by local legislators last month, and given the greenlight by the regional legislature at the weekend.
The ordinance name suggests it targets outer garments covering someone’s full body including the face, which is called a burqa in some Islamic traditions.
A spate of recent violent incidents has rocked Xinjiang, a resource-rich region long inhabited by the Turkic-speaking, largely Muslim Uyghurs.
The arrival of waves of Han Chinese, the country’s predominant ethnic group, over the past decades has fueled ethnic tensions.
Chinese officials have blamed the recent attacks on Uyghur separatists — whom they also label “religious extremists” — seeking to establish an independent state.
Last August, another city in Xinjiang banned people wearing Islamic-style clothing and large beards from riding public buses during a provincial sporting event, according to state media.
News reports at the time said Karamay city authorities targeted veils, large beards, as well as three types of Islamic dresses — including those with the star and crescent symbol. Dozens of bus stations in the city were said to be manned by security personnel to conduct checks and report violators to the police.
READ: Chinese city bans beards, veils on buses
While the measures in Karamay didn’t openly single out Uyghurs, exiled Uyghur rights groups have condemned them, calling the ban a “green light” for racism and discrimination.
Those restrictions came shortly after after authorities in Xinjiang banned students and civil servants from fasting during Ramadan, the Muslim holy month.
Amnesty International has said Uyghurs face widespread discrimination in employment, housing and educational opportunities, as well as curtailed religious freedom and political marginalization.
Other critics, including exiled Uyghur activists, have attributed the rise of violence in Xinjiang to Beijing’s increasingly repressive rule there — a claim the government vehemently denies.
Categories: Asia, China, Hijab, Human Rights, Human values
Well done. If they have nothing to hide, then they should not be afraid to show their faces.
About two weeks ago a foreign English teacher was killed in the United Arab Emirates by a burqa wearing entity. The perpetrator is yet to be apprehended.
There is nothing religious about wearing such an outfit. If anything it degrades womanhood.
A senior Saudi cleric recently issued a fatwa declaring the wearing of burqa or hijab as not being a religious requirement.
Are you real?
Religion and religious practices are not responsible for such bad and cruel acts.
Infact, those killer and bad people have not the right knowledge of religion and those mis guided people are fulfilling their own desires by using religion.
Every relgion is from God almighty and its teaching is love and peace and it is another story that people forgot or change its teaching for their own desires.
I do not understand that people like freedom of speech but can not give freedom of religion .
They should better ban Christian cults heavily funded and controlled by West to topple communist regime.
This senseless action will only escalate the situation.
If the french can do Inhuman thing…..then….
The Chinese authorities are not foolish. They know that “Christian cults” are not responsible for the bomb blasts at Tianaman square and part of the western province occupied by the Uighurs.
Yes they are not foolish that’s why ……
1. They believe Christian beliefs are man made intended to fool and get the control. and as a matter of facts it is precisely true.
2 . They have taken complete control and monitoring of Christian missionary activities in the country which was being master minded by Wester countries where this Paulism cult is already dead.
3. They have started well planned strategy to disregard and disown western culture influenced trends including pagans festival aka Christmas
By the way for your info Beijing also strongly believes that this fresh wave of extremism in Xinjiang is a CIA proxy, there had not been any religious extremism in that province before.