A move by authorities to place the national flag in the prayer area of a mosque in the far-western Xinjiang region has brought criticism from the local Muslim Uighur ethnic group and ignited fresh debate over the Communist Party’s religious policies.
Ilham Tohti, a Beijing-based Uighur professor of economics, who teaches at the National University of Minorities and is a prominent advocate for Uighur rights, on Thursday described the move as part of a policy by the government “to dilute” religious beliefs in Xinjiang.
A Uighur website, Uighurbiz.net, posted a photograph of a Chinese national flag placed above the prayer area of a mosque in Aksu, a county in Xinjiang’s western Uighur heartland.
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Provincial government officials could not be reached for comment on whether the move was part of a change in official policy. Thursday was a holiday for government offices in China on account of the Mid-Autumn Festival.
The article on the Uighurbiz website said the move had been enforced in many mosques in Aksu.
Mr. Tohti told the website he saw the campaign as an attempt “to boost patriotism”, but one that violated the religious autonomy that is granted under law to Muslims. Under the regional ethnic autonomy law, the State cannot interfere in religious practice.
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The Xinjiang government has, however, in recent months put in force a slew of religious restrictions, Mr. Tohti noted, pointing to recent public campaigns in Hotan, in southern Xinjiang, warning people against wearing “religious clothing”, such as veils, and also asking men to not grow beards. Mr. Tohti said the moves were likely to further anger the community, against the backdrop of recent unrest in Xinjiang.
In an earlier interview with The Hindu, Mr. Tohti said government policies were fuelling tensions.
Widening disparities
The development approach, he said, had been focused on merely achieving rapid growth based on utilising the region’s rich energy reserves, and resulted in widening disparities between local Uighurs and the growing number of majority Han Chinese migrants.
He called for a more inclusive approach to growth and for easing religious restrictions, including recent bans on students and teachers in universities from fasting during the month of Ramadan.