Chinese authorities in the region of Xinjiang have banned Muslim students and civil servants from taking part in all “religious activities” during the holy month of Ramadan.
A series of notices have been issued by schools and government departments that have strictly forbidden Muslim faithfuls from taking part in fasting,and some have even been banned from performing their daily prayers in mosques.
Notices said the bans were designed to prevent the use of schools and government offices to “promote religion”, while local political organisations have been reminded of the ruling party’s officially atheist stance.
But the decision to ban Ramadan is particularly controversial for Xinjiang, coming amid an extensive security crackdown on the minority Uighur Muslim population.
Uighur has been blamed for a string of recent terror attacks on civilian crowds and government institutions, but the group denies involvement and activists have accused Beijing of exaggerating the threat as an excuse to impose restrictions.
A statement to the schools read ,"No teacher can participate in religious activities, instill religious thoughts in students or coerce students into religious activities".
It went on: “Students shall not participate in religious activities; they shall not study scripts or read poems at script and choir classes; they shall not wear any religious emblems; and no parent or others can force students to have religious beliefs or partake in religious activities.”
The government has run a series of articles through state controlled news channels saying fasting is detrimental to the physical well-being of young students, who should eat regularly
The ruling party says religion and education should be kept separate and students should not be subject to religious influences. That rule is rarely enforced for children of Han Chinese, who, if they have a religion, are mostly Buddhist, Daoist or Christian.
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