13 replies to this topic

[platinum786]

Chinese authorities in the northwestern province of Xinjiang have banned Muslim officials and students from fasting during the month of Ramadan, prompting an exiled rights group to warn of new violence.

Guidance posted on numerous government websites called on Communist Party leaders to restrict Muslim religious activities during the holy month, including fasting and visiting mosques.
Xinjiang is home to about nine million Uighurs, largely a Muslim ethnic minority, many of whom accuse China's leaders of religious and political persecution.

The region has been rocked by repeated outbreaks of ethnic violence, but China denies claims of repression and relies on tens of thousands of Uighur officials to help it govern the province.

A statement from Zonglang township in Xinjiang's Kashgar district said that "the county committee has issued comprehensive policies on maintaining social stability during the Ramadan period.
"It is forbidden for Communist Party cadres, civil officials (including those who have retired) and students to participate in Ramadan religious activities."

The statement, posted on the Xinjiang government website, urged party leaders to bring "gifts" of food to local village leaders to ensure that they were eating during Ramadan.

Similar orders on curbing Ramadan activities were posted on other local government websites, with the educational bureau of Wensu county urging schools to ensure that students do not enter mosques during Ramadan.

'Administrative methods'
During Ramadan, Muslims fast from dawn to dusk and strive to be more closer to God, pious and charitable.An exiled rights group, the World Uyghur Congress, warned the policy would force "the Uighur people to resist [Chinese rule] even further."

"By banning fasting during Ramadan, China is using administrative methods to force the Uighur people to eat in an effort to break the fasting," said group spokesman Dilshat Rexit in a statement.
Xinjiang saw its worst ethnic violence in recent times in July, 2009, when Uighurs attacked members of the nation's dominant Han ethnic group in the city of Urumqi, sparking clashes in which 200 people from both sides died, according to the government.

http://www.aljazeera...3456325751.html

[platinum786]

So Chinese people, is this true?

If so, why are you banning people from freely practising their religion?

[waz]

That's the first time I have heard anything like this. Looking at the  the Hui Muslims, who are the largest Muslim group in China, they have never been stopped and are actually prospering. Could this be related to meetings during Ramdan in Xinjiang and the whole thing has been blown out of proportion? How can you actually stop people from fasting?  

Found this related to the above

Although many Chinese Muslims lead a comparatively secular life, most of those outside Xinjiang, most notably members of the Hui minority, observe Ramadan fasting.

http://www.ft.com/cm...l#axzz22PQipWxo

[waz]

Looks like it was complete rubbish and my doubts were confirmed.

Here's a refutation of allegation made:-

http://www.gov.cn/mi...ent_1554508.htm

Chinese political advisors from Tibet, Xinjiang counterattack U.S. rights report

Chinese political advisors from Tibet and Xinjiang said Friday that cultural and religious freedom is fully respected and protected according to law in the two ethnic regions, fighting back against an annual U.S. human rights report.

"The report is utterly groundless. I strongly advise those who wrote the report visit Tibet personally before drawing a conclusion," said Lhagba Puncog, secretary-general of the Beijing-based China Tibetology Research Center.

As a scholar from the Tibetan ethnic group, Lhagba Puncog goes back to Tibet for research for two months every year.

"I witness the increasing improvement in the living standards of Tibetan people, and they fully enjoy freedom of religious beliefs," he told Xinhua on the sidelines of the annual session of the country's top political advisory body, or the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) National Committee.

Local government statistics showed that Tibet's gross domestic product (GDP) reached 43.7 billion yuan in 2009, up 170 percent from that in 2000 and posting an annual growth of 12.3 percent over the past nine years.

Currently, Tibet has more than 1,700 religious venues and 46,000 monks and nuns, whose religious beliefs are well protected by law.

Berkri Mamut, a CPPCC member and director of Shanshan County Islamic Association in Xinjiang, Muslims can practice their religion normally.

"They can freely attend religious service in mosques or practice fasting during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan," he said.

"Every year, the government will help make arrangements for about 12,000 Muslims nationwide who go to the holy city Mecca for hajj, of which almost 5,000 are form Xinjiang," he said.

"It is ridiculous to say there is 'cultural and religious repression' in Xinjiang," he added.

Yiliduosi Aihetamofu, a CPPCC member and a physician of Tatar ethnic group from the No. 1 Hospital affiliated to the Xinjiang Medical University, said what he has seen in Xinjiang is the fast economic development and improvement of people's lives.

"We Tatar people has a population of less than 5,000, but our cultural traditions have been preserved well," he said.
Editor: Amber Yao


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http://english.gov.c....nt_1422566.htm

I Quote:-

In Xinjiang, on the Ramadan and Kurban festivals, all Muslim communities may enjoy statutory holidays, while those of Russian background may observe their own statutory holidays such as Christmas and Easter.

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Ramadhan gives boost to halal industry in China

XINING, CHINA

Tuesday, July 24, 2012
MORE than 20 million Chinese Muslims from Friday onwards began observing the one-month Ramadhan fast across China.

In the 600-year-old Dongguan Mosque, located in Xining, provincial capital of northwest China's Qinghai province, tens of thousands of Muslims entered and gathered there to attend prayers.

"The month of Ramadhan is the greatest and most revered month for Muslims, and the prayer on the first day is also extremely important," said Ma Yongliang, who runs a logistics company in Xining city. Han Jing, 17, said she would get up at 3am every morning during Ramadhan to prepare food for her family.

Han said she would stay with other women at home, while the men would go to the mosque during the month. By observing the fast, she believes that's a way to get closer to Allah.

During Ramadhan, Muslims are refrained from eating, drinking, smoking and sex from sunrise to sunset. Ma insists to pray five times every day, and follows the business rules of integrity and trustworthiness according to Islam. "We have been abiding with the sermons of the Quran for centuries. Although our lives have undergone rapid changes, we still hold strong faith," Ma said.

Thanks to the support of the Chinese government, ethnic groups in the impoverished western areas have developed their dominant industries in recent years, slowly eradicating poverty.

In Ningxia Hui autonomous region, one of the main Muslim-populated regions, the predominantly Muslim Hui ethnic group developed the Halal food industry. In 2011, the Halal food industry in Ningxia generated an output value of 10.3 billion yuan (around $2 billion), up 13 per cent from a year ago. And the total output value of the Halal food industry in this region is expected to reach 20 billion yuan by 2015.

In a branch plant of Qinghai Yijia Buhala Nation Fashion China Co Ltd, located in Hui-Tu autonomous county of Datong in Qinghai province, the homegrown Muslim traditional cap and clothing have been exported around the world.

"I can not only take care of children and elderly people in my family, but also do some work at home which I get paid for," said Han Yan, a worker of the plant, adding that the work never affected her worship. "Female Muslims could hardly earn money in the past, but the work is conducive to raise the status of a female in a family," said Han Decheng, president of the company.

Moreover, in the Hui autonomous county of Hualong, more than 67,000 practitioners went out and opened over 10,000 restaurants selling traditional Hui food, such as hand-pulled noodles.

But for most Chinese Muslims, their biggest dream is to go to Mekah, Saudi Arabia, their holiest city. "Some elders in my family have been there, and I should realise my dream as well," said Ma.

In 1997, the first chartered plane for Chinese pilgrims flew from Beijing to Jeddah, an important gateway to Mekah. Direct chartered flights later linked Beijing, Lanzhou, Urumqi, Yinchuan, and Kunming to Madinah, the second holiest city, which is north of Mekah. According to statistics, more than 13,800 Chinese pilgrims went to Mekah in 2011. Xinhua

Source: ###########/forums/world-affairs/199702-china-did-not-ban-fasting-so-indians-stop-hopping-western-propaganda.html#ixzz22PhbABKe

[safdar]

thanks for the new Waz. Aljazeera is a an American sounding board for propaganda now and again. This news is specifically for Al-qaida to out source terror to china now.

[platinum786]

the first article you posted is from 2010.

[platinum786]

Can one of our chinese members check the news here...

http://www.xinjiang.gov.cn/

[waz]

platinum786, on 02 August 2012 - 12:18 PM, said:

the first article you posted is from 2010.

Sorry, yes it is.

But these reports arise from time to time and there needs to be solid evidence of the above. I can't see the Chinese doing any such thing, with a view to the tension it would cause.

[platinum786]

Maybe, but it is reported widespread and hasn't been refuted. even some chinese papers are reporting it...

http://www.scmp.com/...ss=china&s=news77

Quote

Muslims in Xinjiang banned from fasting


Agence France-Presse in Beijing
Aug 02, 2012




The authorities in Xinjiang have banned Muslim officials and students from fasting during Ramadan, prompting an exiled rights group to warn of new violence.
Guidance posted on numerous government websites called on Communist Party leaders to restrict Muslim religious activities during the holy month, including fasting and visiting mosques.


Xinjiang is home to about 9 million Uygurs, a largely Muslim ethnic minority, many of whom accuse the country's leaders of religious and political persecution.
The region has been rocked by repeated outbreaks of ethnic violence, but Beijing denies claims of repression and relies on tens of thousands of Uygurs to help it govern Xinjiang.
A statement from Zonglang, in Kashgar district, said "the county committee has issued comprehensive policies on maintaining social stability during the Ramadan period.
"It is forbidden for Communist Party cadres, civil officials [including those who have retired] and students to participate in Ramadan religious activities."
The statement urged party leaders to bring "gifts" of food to village leaders to ensure that they were eating during Ramadan.
Similar orders on curbing Ramadan activities were posted on other local government websites, with the educational bureau of Wensu county urging schools to ensure that students do not enter mosques.
During Ramadan, Muslims fast from dawn to dusk and strive to be more pious and charitable.
An exiled rights group, the World Uygur Congress, warned the policy would force "the Uygur people to resist [Chinese rule] even further."
"By banning fasting during Ramadan, China is using administrative methods to force the Uygur people to eat in an effort to break the fasting," it said.

fact of the matter is, they have banned government employees and students from fasting, how they intend to enforce that is a seperate issue.

[waz]

Then in all honesty this mater should be taken up with China by Pakistan and other allied Muslim states such as Saudi Arabia. Injustice should be highlighted regardless of friendship.

Let's see what the Chinese response is.

[safdar]

Chinese Muslims celebrate Ramadan

07-21-2012 06:44 BJT  

http://english.cntv....21/106267.shtml

XINING, July 20 (Xinhua) -- More than 20 million Chinese Muslims on Friday celebrated the first day of the one-month Ramadan festival across China.
In the 600-year-old Dongguan Mosque, located in Xining, provincial capital of northwest China's Qinghai province, tens of thousands of Muslims entered and gathered there to attend the morning prayer on Friday.

"The month of Ramadan is the greatest and most revered month for Muslims, and the prayer on the first day is also extremely important," said Ma Yongliang, who runs a logistics company in Xining city.

Han Jing, 17, said she would get up at 3 a.m. every morning during Ramadan to prepare food for her family. Han said she would stay with other women at home, while the men would go to the mosque during the month. Even though they will suffer from fast, she believes that's a way to get closer to Allah. During Ramadan, the ninth month of a year in the Muslim calendar, the Muslims refrain from eating, drinking, smoking and sex from sunrise to sunset. But children, the elderly and the weak do not have to observe the fast. Ma insists to pray five times every day, and follows the business rules of integrity and trustworthiness according to Islam. "We have been abiding with the sermons of the Koran for centuries. Although our lives have undergone rapid changes, we still hold strong faith," Ma said. Thanks to the support of the Chinese government, the ethnic groups in the impoverished western areas have developed their dominant industries in recent years, slowly eradicating poverty.

In Ningxia Hui autonomous region, one of the main Muslim-populated regions, the predominantly Muslim Hui ethnic group developed the Halal food industry.

In 2011, the Halal food industry in Ningxia generated an output value of 10.3 billion yuan (1.6 billion U.S. dollars), up 13 percent from a year ago. And the total output value of the Halal food industry in this region is expected to reach 20 billion yuan by 2015.
In a branch plant of Qinghai Yijia Buhala Nation Fashion China Co., Ltd., located in Hui-Tu autonomous county of Datong in Qinghai province, the homegrown Muslim traditional cap and clothing have been exported around the world.

"I can not only take care of children and elderly people in my family, but also do some work at home which I get paid for," said Han Yan, a worker of the plant, adding that the work never affected her worship.

"Female Muslims could hardly earn money in the past, but the work is conducive to raise the status of a female in a family," said Han Decheng, president of the company.

Moreover, in the Hui autonomous county of Hualong, more than 67,000 practitioners went out and opened over 10,000 restaurants selling traditional Hui food, such as hand-pulled noodles.

But for most Muslims, their biggest dream is to go to Mecca, Saudi Arabia, their holiest city. "Some elders in my family have been there, and I should realize my dream as well," said Ma. In 1997, the first chartered plane for Chinese pilgrims flew from Beijing to Jeddah, an important gateway to Mecca. Direct chartered flights later linked Beijing, Lanzhou, Urumqi, Yinchuan, and Kunming to Medina, the second holiest city, which is north of Mecca.
According to statistics, more than 13,800 Chinese pilgrims went to Mecca in 2011.

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you have to understand that World Uygur Congress is not exactly representing the Uygur people mostly Turkmenistan which where they are based and heavly funded by the west just like the Baloch and BLO by israelis. real victims are mostly unrepresented just like Kashmiris.  

[haroons222]

This news piece is all over the social media.It usually originates on al-jazeera, then finds its way on salafi islamic sites, and then to the western muslim youth FB pages etc. I kept seeing this on my newsfeed, the firstr source that came up was Al-Jazeera!

Interestingly, the top right of the page had a picture of Assad,then the uighur ramadan issue, then there was news about Yemen and finally Burma.
The problem is that Gulf nations and their media politicizes these issues so much that you cannot be sure whats fact and whats propaganda. Finally they seem to have woken up to the plight of Burmese, but I dont see the same intensity and criticism as we see on Syria.

[sobank]

So far, propoganda crap is all political and not religious. Anywhere you see that it will help US, check the news to the root. Most of the time it turns out to be what it is i.e. crap.

[Caesar]

There are so many lies and BS these days from Western media including Al-Jazeera. Now I don't if this has already happened but Al Jazeera wanted to start an Urdu Service. This should not be allowed because they will just spread more garbage.