It has been reported that China has banned Ramadan for some members of the Uighur Muslim minority.
Human rights activist Sophie Richardson says, “For years now, the Chinese government has put very strict prohibitions on fasting, particularly for people who are government employees. They are not allowed to practice their faith. They are told that you know, to be religious or to be a Muslim is to have a psychiatric disorder.”
School students are also prohibited therefrom fasting. Chinese authorities see fasting as a “sign of extremism.” Reportedly since 2016, the government has bolstered the “Strike hard against violent extremism” campaign.
“We have documented the authorities detaining up to a million Turkic Muslims, mostly Uighurs for weeks and months at a time. They are forced to spend most of their days doing things like studying Xi Jinping Thought and Chinese Communist Party dogma, singing CCP patriotic songs and particularly studying Mandarin. I think it is very clear that the Chinese government has decided that an Islamic identity or a Muslim identity is a serious threat and it has to be eradicated.” Continued Sophie.
China’s detention of Muslims seeks to politically “reeducate” the Uighur minority. Surveillance of Muslims in Xinjiang province is also prevalent.
