China Fines 100 Muslim Uyghurs For Observing Ramadan: Report

Some were fined, others were sent for compulsory re-education classes, the World Uyghur Congress has alleged.

In an attempt to intensify the crackdown on what it deems religious extremism, China has reportedly banned people from fasting during the month of Ramadan. The Chinese government has also imposed fines and sanctions on ethnic minority Muslims in the northwestern region of Xinjiang, Radio Free Asia (RFA) reported.

At least 100 ethnic minority Muslims have been fined for breaking the ruling Chinese Communist Party’s restrictions around the observance of Ramzan, an exile group has said.

Dilxat Raxit, the spokesman of the World Uyghur Congress, which represents the mostly Muslim Uyghur ethnic group in exile, told RFA:

Some of them were fined, while others were sent to compulsory re-education classes aimed at opposing religious extremism. They are now being forcibly brainwashed, while others were fined 500 yuan.

Xinjiang is home to the indigenous minority Uyghur community, which has reportedly faced discrimination at the hands of China.

Raxit alleged that government officials were pressurised to break their fast in order to prove their loyalty.

The authorities will send people to take [Uyghur Muslims] out to lunch, for example, in the countryside, the officials go into the fields and eat and work alongside the people there... it’s basically a political campaign [against religious practice]. 

Dolkun Isa Row

Earlier this year, India’s move to grant a visa to World Uyghur Congress (WUC) leader Dolkun Isa to attend a democracy conference in Dharamshala sparked tensions between India and China.

China considers WUC leaders as supporters of terrorism in the Xinjiang and had stated that Dolkun was a “terrorist” on Interpol’s Red Corner, PTI reported.

Beijing reportedly conveyed its ire through its Foreign Ministry and media outlets, accusing India of supporting terrorism in China. Subsequently, the visa was revoked.

Also Read: Visa for Uyghur Dissident Leader An Avoidable Fiasco

Xinjiang Bans ‘Long Beards’, Veils in Public

In April, China prohibited "abnormally" long beards, and the wearing of veils in public places in Xinjiang. It described the move as part of “a campaign against Islamist extremism”.

Also Read: Burqa, ‘Abnormally’ Long Beards, Banned in China’s Xinjiang

A number of Muslim names were banned on the pretext that they could “exaggerate religious fervour.” It was announced that children with these names would be denied access to education and government benefits, RFA reported.

Beijing has accused separatists among the Muslim Uighur ethnic minority there of stirring up tensions with the ethnic Han Chinese majority and plotting attacks elsewhere in China, Reuters reported.

Also Read: Islam, Quran, Mecca: China Bans Dozens of Muslim Names for Babies

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