BEIJING
— Local governments in a Muslim desert region in western China have imposed
strict limits on religious practices during the traditional Muslim fasting
month of Ramadan,
which began last week, according to the Web sites of four of those governments.
The
rules include prohibiting women from wearing veils and men from growing beards,
as well as barring government officials from observing Ramadan. One town,
Yingmaili, requires that local officials check up on mosques at least twice a
week during Ramadan.
The
local governments administer areas in the western part of Xinjiang, a vast
autonomous region that is home to the Uighurs,
a Muslim Turkic people who often chafe under rule by the ethnic Han Chinese. In
August, a wave of attacks swept through Xinjiang, the largest surge of violence
in the region in years. Some local officials blamed the instability on
separatist groups, and the central government sent security forces to the area.
The
limits on religious practices put in place by local governments appear to be
part of the broader security crackdown. The areas affected by the new rules are
near Kuqa, a town struck by multiple bombings on Aug. 10.
It was
unclear whether the rules would be relaxed after Ramadan, a holiday that some
Islamic extremists have used elsewhere as a symbolic backdrop for attacks on
their perceived enemies. It was also unclear how the Chinese authorities
intended to enforce the rules, which appeared to run the risk of antagonizing
devout Muslims who present no obvious security threat.
The Web
site of the town of Yingmaili lists nine rules put in place to “maintain
stability during Ramadan.”
They
include barring teachers and students from observing Ramadan, prohibiting
retired government officials from entering mosques and requiring men to shave
off beards and women to doff veils. Mosques cannot let people from outside of
town stay overnight and restaurants must maintain normal hours of business.
Many restaurants close in daytime hours during Ramadan because of the
sunrise-to-sunset fasting.
In
nearby Xinhe County, the government has decreed that Communist Party members,
civil servants and retired officials must not observe Ramadan, enter mosques or
take part in any religious activities during the month. Worshipers cannot make
pilgrimages to tombs, so as to “to avoid any group event that might harm social
stability,” according to the Xinhe government’s Web site.
In
addition, children and students cannot be forced to attend religious
activities, and women cannot be forced to wear veils.
County
rules also emphasize the need to maintain a strict watch over migrant workers
and visitors from outside. Companies and families who have workers or visitors
from outside the county are required to register the outsiders with the nearest
police station and have the outsiders sign an agreement “on maintaining social
stability.”
Some of
those rules are similar to ones implemented in Beijing right before the Olympic
Games began in early August.
Shayar
County, which includes the town of Yingmaili, said on its Web site that
migrants must register with the police, and that any missionary work by
outsiders is banned. Even outside Ramadan, China is wary of missionaries doing
any kind of work in the country.
The city
of Artux is also preventing its teachers and students from observing Ramadan.
As a result, schools have to keep serving food and water, city authorities
said. As with the other governments, the overall goal is “to maintain social
stability during Ramadan.”
In some
parts of the world, militants see Ramadan as a good time to carry out attacks
because they believe achieving martyrdom during the holy fasting month is an
especially sacred act.
In Iraq,
religious extremists carried out waves of bombings during Ramadan in recent
years. But the Chinese government has not presented any evidence showing that
separatists in Xinjiang might do the same this year.