Source: The Guardian
By Lily Kuo
Authorities in Xinjiang have launched a campaign against the “spread of halal”, claiming the growing number of halal products is encouraging religious extremism in the heavily monitored Chinese region.
Party officials in Urumqi, the capital of Xinjiang, which is home to about 12 million people from Muslim minorities, on Monday called on government officers to strengthen the “ideological struggle” and fight “halalification” or the “pan-halal tendency,” a post on the Urumqi People’s ProcuratorateWechat account said.
The term refers to extending halal labelling – food that adheres to Islamic law – to non-food items to appeal to Muslim consumers. Officials and state media say the growing number of products labelled halal allows Islamic rituals to penetrate secular life in China.
Categories: Asia, China, Islamic Food, The Muslim Times
The Chinese authorities are sort of ‘asking for it’. If they would let the Muslims feel ‘comfortable at home’ they would not bother to seek independence, but as it is, what other choice do they have? I see a bleak future for the unity of China …