Bans on \u201cabnormal\u201d beards and even the name \u201cMuhammad\u201d<\/p>\n
May 4th 2017 | BEIJING<\/p>\n
CHINESE officials describe the far western province of Xinjiang as a \u201ccore area\u201d in the vast swathe of territory covered by the country\u2019s grandiose \u201cBelt and Road Initiative\u201d to boost economic ties with Central Asia and regions beyond. They hope that wealth generated by the scheme will help to make Xinjiang more stable\u2014for years it has been plagued by separatist violence which China says is being fed by global jihadism. But the authorities are not waiting. In recent months they have intensified their efforts to stifle the Islamic identity of Xinjiang\u2019s ethnic Uighurs, fearful that any public display of their religious belief could morph into militancy.<\/p>\n
Xinjiang\u2019s 10m Uighurs (nearly half of its population) have long been used to heavy-handed curbs: a ban on unauthorised pilgrimages to Mecca, orders to students not to fast during Ramadan, tough restrictions on Islamic garb (women with face-covering veils are sometimes not allowed on buses), no entry to many mosques for people under 18, and so on.<\/p>\n
But since he took over last August as Xinjiang\u2019s Communist Party chief, Chen Quanguo has launched even harsher measures\u2014pleased, apparently, by his crushing of dissent in Tibet where he previously served as leader. As in Tibet, many Xinjiang residents have been told to hand their passports to police and seek permission to travel abroad. In one part of Xinjiang all vehicles have been ordered to install satellite tracking-devices. There have been several shows of what officials call \u201cthunderous power\u201d, involving thousands of paramilitary troops parading through streets.<\/p>\n
Last month, new rules came into effect that banned \u201cabnormal\u201d beards (such as the one worn by the man pictured in front of the main mosque in Kashgar in south-western Xinjiang). They also called on transport workers to report women wearing face veils or full-body coverings to the police, and prohibited \u201cnaming of children to exaggerate religious fervour\u201d. A leaked list of banned names includes Muhammad, Mecca and Saddam. Parents may not be able to obtain vital household-registration papers for children with unapproved names, meaning they could be denied free schooling and health care.<\/p>\n
Residents have also been asked to spy on each other. In Urumqi, the region\u2019s capital, locals can report security threats via a new mobile app. People living in Altay in northern Xinjiang have been promised rewards of up to 5m yuan ($720,000) for tip-offs that help capture militants\u2014over 200 times the local income per person.<\/p>\n
Across Xinjiang residents have been asked to inform the authorities of any religious activities, including weddings and circumcisions. The government is also testing its own people\u2019s loyalty. In March an official in Hotan in southern Xinjiang was demoted for \u201ctimidity\u201d in \u201cfighting against religious extremism\u201d because he chose not to smoke in front of a group of mullahs.<\/p>\n
Mr Chen is widely rumoured to be a contender for a seat in the ruling Politburo in a reshuffle due late this year. Displays of toughness may help to ingratiate him with China\u2019s president, Xi Jinping, who has called for \u201ca great wall of iron\u201d to safeguard Xinjiang. Spending on security in Xinjiang was nearly 20% higher in 2016 than the year before. Adverts for security-related jobs there increased more than threefold last year, reckon James Leibold of La Trobe University and Adrian Zenz of the European School of Culture and Theology at Korntal, Germany.<\/p>\n
Uighurs have been blamed for several recent attacks in Xinjiang. In one of them in February, in the southern prefecture of Hotan, three knife-wielding men killed five people and injured several others before being shot dead by police (local reports suggested the violence occurred after a Uighur family was punished for holding a prayer session at home). Officials may be congratulating themselves on the success of their tactics; reported large-scale attacks by Uighurs inside and outside Xinjiang have abated in the past 18 months. Yet as in Tibet, intrusive surveillance and curbs on cultural expression have fuelled people\u2019s desperation. \u201cA community is like a fruit,\u201d says a Uighur driver from Kashgar. \u201cSquash it too hard and it will burst.\u201d<\/p>\n
This article appeared in the China section of the print edition under the headline “One belt, one roadblock”<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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