It’s not all black and white
A fasting ban in China is the talk of the town nowadays. Journalistic circles in Pakistan are not ready to believe that fasting could be banned in any country. Even the brutal regime of Israel doesn’t put any restrictions on fasting by Palestinians in the holy month of Ramzan. So how China could put curbs on its own citizens for fasting?
This intriguing question compelled me to delve into the matter. Over the past few days, I contacted numerous officials and common citizens in China to get a true picture on this fasting ban.
The Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region (Xinjiang for short) is located in northwest China where Muslims are in majority. For thousands of years it has been a multi-ethnic region of multiple religions. At present, the major religions in Xinjiang are Islam, Buddhism, Protestantism, Catholicism and Taoism.
When contacted, a Chinese government official brushed aside the notion of fasting ban for Muslims, terming it a propaganda campaign to hurt the image of China among Muslims.
“There is nothing new in this propaganda campaign. Every year with the arrival of the holy month of Ramzan, a vicious propaganda campaign based on lies is projected just to harm the image of China and its valiant people. There is absolutely no ban on fasting in China. Rather, the Xinjiang government facilitates the Muslims fasting in Ramzan,” the official said.
“Chinese government never believed in putting curbs on ethnic minorities. Fasting ban in China is a false propaganda. This issue is actually being confused by some media organisations who don’t understand the system in China,” the official asserted.
An official in Xinjiang government also confirmed that no such ban has been officially enforced in the province. The official said that like the central government, the local governments at all levels of Xinjiang have fully implemented the system of regional ethnic autonomy and the policy on the freedom of religious belief, and constantly improved laws and regulations on the administration of religious affairs.
“All religions in Xinjiang have thus reached a new historical stage at which they coexist in harmony. Religious freedom is protected under the constitution in China, which the government strictly abides by. In case of minorities especially, the constitution is strictly followed to ensure harmony, peace and tranquility among peoples from various faiths and beliefs,” the official added.
The Constitution of the People’s Republic of China clearly stipulates: “Citizens of the People’s Republic of China enjoy freedom of religious belief.” “No state organ, public organisation or individual may compel citizens to believe in, or not believe in, any religion; nor may they discriminate against citizens who believe in, or do not believe in, any religion.” “The state protects normal religious activities. No one may make use of religion to engage in activities that disrupt public order, impair the health of citizens or interfere with the educational system of the state.”
According to the Regulations on Religious Affairs promulgated by the State Council of the People’s Republic of China, and the Regulations of Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region on Religious Affairs promulgated by the local government of Xinjiang, both reflect the above principles of the Constitution that “citizens enjoy freedom of religious belief” and that “the state protects normal religious activities.”
Under the law, it is a completely independent choice of citizens to believe in, or not believe in, any religion. No organisation or individual may compel citizens to believe in, or not believe in, any religion; nor may they discriminate against citizens who believe in, or do not believe in, any religion. No citizen suffers discrimination or unfair treatment for believing in, or not believing in, any religion.
Relevant rules and regulations of Xinjiang also have provisions on religious groups, venues for religious activities, clerical personnel, religious activities, religious property and related matters. Citizens’ freedom of religious belief and their obligations are unified; citizens who believe in or do not believe in any religion must fulfill the obligations prescribed by the Constitution and the law.
Anyone who infringes upon citizens’ freedom of religious belief shall bear the corresponding legal liability.
These activities are protected by law, and no organisation or individual may interfere with them. To ensure successful pilgrimages for believers in Islam, Xinjiang adopts a policy of organised and planned pilgrimages.
The official said President Xi Jinping strongly believed in implementing the constitution in letter and spirit.
“Specific directions have been passed on to government authorities in Xinjiang to ensure that Muslim citizens enjoy religious freedom,” the official added.
During my recent visit to Xinjiang province, I also tried to investigate the fasting ban. Most of the Muslims in Ürümqi and Kashgar, with whom I spoke to, mentioned that they faced no obstructions in fasting and neither have they been prohibited or reprimanded.
I also visited the main Eidgah Mosque in Kashgar city and found people offering prayers. The mosque is the largest in the country and attracts more than 10,000 Muslims on important religious occasions, like Eid-ul-Fitr or Eid-ul-Azha.
Mohammad Noor, a Muslim praying at Eidgah, said there was no restriction on fasting in Xinjiang. “We have full freedom to observe religious rituals,” he said.
During my interaction with people in Xinjiang, it came to the fore that those government servants who are members of the Communist Party of China (CPC) are advised not to observe fasting during their duties.
Since communists do not follow the teachings of Islam, they also do not observe fasting. So the government employees are guided not to fast as the ruling party does not encourage any religious activities.
Ahmed Ali, a religious scholar in Xinjiang, says that even Islam allows children, old and the ill not to fast as it may hamper their recovery and physical and mental growth.
Discussions with some of the schoolteachers at a local school in Urumqi revealed that the government has not banned fasting for students and teachers and rather they are encouraged not to observe fasting, ensuring their mental and physical growth and nourishment as fasting may harm their mental and physical growth.
“China puts education high on its priority. China’s school time starts from 8:00 in the morning and continues until 4 in the evening and if some children want to do homework at school, their timings could go beyond 6pm. Can anyone even think of studying all day long?” the head teacher argued. She said it gets more complicated if you are not a grown up man or woman.
“Since the Chinese nationals give top priority to education, it is beyond comprehension for kids to continue long hours of fasting while being in school. No one can survive this long study while fasting. Moreover, it is difficult to carry on for a month in a competitive environment,” she added.
Chinese government respects people’s freedom to believe in whatever they want to believe, but they discourage the promotion of any religions.
Citizens’ religious feelings and needs are fully respected. During the holy Islamic month of Ramzan whether to close or open halal (Muslim food) restaurants is completely determined by the owners themselves without interference. There are mosques with a tradition of having iftar and a number of religious believers provide free iftar to fasting people.
Thanks for educating us. We do know how much our neighbor feels about Pakistan-China friendship
Towing the Chinese line, of course to the foreign media and their "long-time all weather friend "Muslim" ally Pakistan, they will lie and say ofcourse not we don't ban it. Go visit, for your self to the South of East Turkistan to the Uyghur towns, not Urumqi or Kashgar which is full of Han-Chinese, and foreigners and the Uyghurs have truly become a minority. Go visit Aksu, Khotan, Karamay, Turpan, etc and see the reality, the Chinese ban religious practices for Uyghur Muslims because they are Uyghur Turks and their land is under China's occupation and colonization. However, when it comes to Chinese Muslims (The Huis) they are allowed to fast, children allowed to attend religious schools, pray at mosques, etc. The Chinese government has destroyed much of Uyghur culture, thus the most important part that is left is religion, thus they are trying to remove them from that as well.
You have contradicted yourself. You start by saying the accusations are lies, and then you yourself confirm them.
No one says the fasting bans are universal. The people who are banned from observing Islam are members of the communist party, government employees and students. You yourself confirmed this. This is like the Hijab ban in France where government employees and students are banned from Hijab.
It is impossible to stop someone from believing in something using force. So freedom of religion isn't to do with what people are allowed to believe. It is to do with people being allowed to follow the rules of their religion. And China like France have no freedom of religion for Muslims. Muslims are not allowed to follow the rules and laws of Islam in China as can be seen by the fasting ban.
China is the enemy of Islam and Muslims. But it is an enemy of India. So some in Pakistan choose to overlook China's war against Islam and Muslims because the Chinese rulers are good friends with some in the Pakistani Army.
And everyone knows it is the Army that rules Pakistan.
A good investigative report on the issue. There are many forces who want to isolate China from rest of the world and are also working to isolate Pakistan as well. Since both Pakistan and China are engaged in CPEC and other high profile projects, there is a deliberate attempt to create rift between their people on religious grounds. China is also now enjoying great relations with many Muslim countries and that is also a problem for the lobbies who are against both Muslims and Chinese.
There may be some cultural and ideological differences which are normal and nothing which cannot be solved by mutual understanding and continuous engagements.
Thanks for giving an honest report on this issue. I'm a Chinese Muslim, I live in Shanghai while my parents are working in Urumqi (Capital of Xinjiang), we can observe fasting in both Shanghai and Xinjiang, join the prayers in Mosques, Eid-ul-Fitr are public holidays in Xinjiang and religious holidays for Muslims in Shanghai. I used to go to Pudong Mosque in Shanghai, it locates at a busy transportation hub in the central area of Pudong, on Eid day vehicles are not allowed in the area for Muslims gathering and Eid bazaar.
Comments are closed.