Life 'As Usual' for Muslims in China

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Last updated at: (Beijing Time) Thursday, December 06, 2001

Life 'As Usual' for Muslims in China

An official with Northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region said that local Muslims in China have been able to practice their religion as usual, quelling the concerns that human rights violations are on the rise in the region as a result of global anti-terrorism reactions. Despite the savage terrorist attacks in some countries, Muslims in Xinjiang are going on with their normal religious life.

"The social, economic and cultural life of Muslims in Xinjiang has not been affected by the terrorist attacks (on the US in September and their aftermath),'' said Vice-Director of the Xinjiang Ethnic and Religious Affairs Commission Rashid Niyaz. "Muslims in Xinjiang are going on with their normal religious life.''

No Restrictions over Religious Rites

There have been reports by overseas media in the past months saying that China has tightened up its controls over this largest habitat of Muslims in the country by limiting religious activities under the pretext of cracking down on terrorist elements. Some have reported that intentional obstacles have been placed in the way of Xinjiang Muslims' observation of religious rites during the ongoing Ramadan, the month of fasting.

"Local authorities have not put restrictions on fasting,'' said Niyaz. "On the contrary, every year prior to the Ramadan, local authorities conduct thorough checks of mosques, taking particularly note of fire-prevention, so as to guarantee that religious rites can be carried out without mishap.''

No Excuse to Interfere in Social Affairs

However, Niyaz also stressed that religious activities must not be used as an excuse to interfere in other social affairs.

"We firmly oppose the practice of using religious rites during fasting as a front to engage in sabotage activities,'' said Niyaz.

No Excuse to Slackening the Opening

China shares a short border with Afghanistan in Xinjiang. The border has been closed since the US military action against Afghanistan started in October, and the Chinese Government has cautioned foreigners against going near the border area for security reasons.

Despite that, Niyaz said that the US military action in Afghanistan will never be used as an excuse to slow down the opening of Xinjiang.

"There have been no restrictions of any kind imposed on foreign tourists,'' said Niyaz. "The life of foreign experts and scholars now in Xinjiang has not been affected.''

No Bar for Pilgrimage to Islamic Holy City

Nor will the tension become a reason to bar Chinese Muslims from their yearly pilgrimage to the Islamic holy city of Mecca next spring.

Haji Amr Zhang with the Beijing-based China Islamic Association said that following the practice of recent years, the association will arrange pilgrimage trips to Mecca for some 2,000 Chinese Muslims next spring. About half of them will be from Xinjiang, according to Zhang.

Most of the 20 million Muslims in China live in Xinjiang Uygur and the Ningxia Hui autonomous regions in Northwest China, with about 700,000 in Henan Province in Central China.

Ancestors of Muslims can be traced back to the envoys trading among the Tang Empire, Persia and Arabia in the sixth century AD.

There used to be some conflicts between the Hui and Han people in past history, when the Qing government implemented a policy of racial discrimination. But these conflicts are in the past, as Han nationalism was extinguished and now economic development is bringing people together.

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