China City Bans Long Beards, Islamic Clothing on Buses: Report

[HariPrasad]

Beijing, China: A city in China's mainly Muslim Xinjiang region has banned people with large beards or Islamic clothing from travelling on public buses, state media said, prompting outrage from an overseas rights group Wednesday.

Authorities in Karamay banned people wearing hijabs, niqabs, burkas, or clothing with the Islamic star and crescent symbol from taking local buses, the Karamay Daily reported.

The ban also covers "large beards", the paper said, adding: "Those who do not cooperate with inspection teams will be handled by police."

Xinjiang, a resource rich region which abuts central Asia, is the homeland of China's mostly Muslim Uighur minority and has been hit by a wave of clashes between locals and security forces which have killed hundreds in the past year.

China has blamed several deadly attacks on civilians outside the region in recent months on "terrorists" seeking independence for the region.

Rights groups say restrictions on Uighurs' religious and cultural freedoms have stoked tensions.

China last month enforced a ban on students and government staff from Ramadan fasting, while officials have also tried to encourage locals in Xinjiang not to wear Islamic veils.

The Karamay restrictions are "a typical discriminatory measure...which add to an increasing confrontation between Uighurs and Beijing," Dilxat Raxit, a spokesman for the exiled World Uyghur Congress (WUC), said in a statement to AFP.

Chinese state media said Sunday that nearly 100 people including 59 "terrorists" had been killed in an attack in Xinjiang last week.

The report came days after the government-appointed head of the largest mosque in China, in one of the region's oldest cities, Kashgar, was killed after leading morning prayers.

China announced a year-long terrorism crackdown following a deadly bombing attack in Xinjiang's capital Urumqi in May, and hundreds of alleged terrorists have been arrested.

Security on public transport has also been tightened.

The Karamay ban applies during a sports competition ending on August 20 the report said.

Authorities in Urumqi last month banned bus passengers from carrying a range of items including cigarette lighters and yogurt, state media said.

China City Bans Long Beards, Islamic Clothing on Buses: Report - NDTV

City bans large beards on buses - Emirates 24/7

Still china is the best friend of Muslim country since it provide them with the weapons to fight. Islamic Brotherhood is a sham.

 

[Don Quixote Doflamingo]

The Chinese government always has strong fist to clam those riots down, though it has consequences. But as long as it's good for themselves.

 

[Spring Onion]

China is a non-Islam country. We understand and respect Muslim's rules(like women have to wear robes and veils) in your own countries and hopefully you could do the same thing.

you mean Chinese Muslims are not your countrymen? and they need own country to wear their traditional dress?

 

[hiphop]

WOW why Pakistanis and Bangladeshis are not reacting like they react on Indian matters?
This is internal matter of China so i don't have any problem with that but it also shows mentality of our other neighbors (Bi**hs of China)

 

[Spring Onion]

Still china is the best friend of Muslim country since it provide them with the weapons to fight. Islamic Brotherhood is a sham.

you bharotis . keep burning when you become best friend of China then come and talk

 

[Devil Soul]

China bans beards, veils from Xinjiang city's buses in security bid
By Reuters
Published: August 6, 2014

Delegates from the Xinjiang provincial delegation sit together before the start of their meeting with representatives from the National People's Congress in the Great Hall of the People in Beijing March 8, 2011. PHOTO: REUTERS

BEIJING: A city in China’s restive western region of Xinjiang has banned people with head scarves, veils and long beards from boarding buses, as the government battles unrest with a policy that critics said discriminates against Muslims.

Xinjiang, home to the Muslim Uighur people who speak a Turkic language, has been beset for years by violence that the government blames on militants or separatists.

Authorities will prohibit five types of passengers – those who wear veils, head scarves, a loose-fitting garment called a jilbab, clothing with the crescent moon and star, and those with long beards – from boarding buses in the northwestern city of Karamay, state media said.

The crescent moon and star symbol of Islam features on many national flags, besides being used by groups China says want to set up an independent state called East Turkestan.

The rules were intended to help strengthen security through August 20 during an athletics event and would be enforced by security teams, the ruling Communist Party-run Karamay Daily said on Monday.

“Those who do not comply, especially those five types of passengers, will be reported to the police,” the paper said.

In July, authorities in Xinjiang’s capital Urumqi banned bus passengers from carrying items ranging from cigarette lighters to yogurt and water, in a bid to prevent violent attacks.

Exiled Uighur groups and human rights activists say the government’s repressive policies in Xinjiang, including controls on Islam, have provoked unrest, a claim Beijing denies.

“Officials in Karamay city are endorsing an openly racist and discriminatory policy aimed at ordinary Uighur people,” Alim Seytoff, the president of the Washington-based Uyghur American Association, said in an emailed statement.

While many Uighur women dress in much the same casual style as those elsewhere in China, some have begun to wear the full veil, a garment more common in Pakistan or Afghanistan than in Xinjiang.

Police have offered money for tips on everything from “violent terrorism training” to individuals who grow long beards.

Hundreds have died in unrest in Xinjiang in the past 18 months, but tight security makes it almost impossible for journalists to make independent assessments of the violence.

About 100 people were killed when knife-wielding attackers staged assaults in two towns in the region’s south in late July, state media said, including 59 “terrorists” shot dead by police. A suicide bombing killed 39 people at a market in Urumqi in May.

 

[Sam Manekshaw]

China is sweeter than sugar and higher than mountains,must be something good for muslims .

It's just Democracy is not good for Muslims.

 

[Bombaywalla]

long beards are unhygienic, disgusting to look at, and not in the least bit conducive to our weather; I wish India had done what China did today, ages ago.

 

[GreenFoe]

It's just Democracy is not good for Muslims.

Neither worldly life

 

[Sam Manekshaw]

Neither wordly life

 

[SarthakGanguly]

I know -

i. This move won't affect terrorists, or other miscreants at all. Ok, may be a little bit, but that's all.

I think -

i. The move, if true, is not to deter terrorists
ii. But to change the culture of a place
iii. Similar things were done in the other parts of China to bring conformity to a diverse population.

IMO - I have no opinion It's their country, they need to decide what's best.

 

[zxmint]

you mean Chinese Muslims are not your countrymen? and they need own country to wear their traditional dress?

I never said that. China has its own law, no religion belief could be above laws. When there are conflicts between laws and religion doctrines, then religions must change. If you want talk about human rights, just persuade your governments to cancel those religious rules first. They are what truly against human rights, frankly.

By the way, if you sympathize the extremists so much, you could lend them a piece of land from your own country to establish a nation. Really.

 

[Indischer]

Wtf! This thread has degenerated into a naked $h!tfest.

Btw, this beard is indeed classy!

 

[xesy]

I never said that. China has its own law, no religion belief could be above laws. When there are conflicts between laws and religion doctrines, then religions must change. If you want talk about human rights, just persuade your governments to cancel those religious rules first. They are what truly against human rights, frankly.

Regional belief should not be above the laws, but laws also should not be put above human basic values. The freedom to choose a region to believe is one of those basic values. Laws exist to make the life of everyone easier, not to restrict them. Frankly I think China dealing with Islam is a bit clumsy.

 

[Bombaywalla]

In case of Indian Hindus long or short all beards are unhygienic , you guys have less love for washing. In case of religious Muslims they do wash and clean it five times a day.

But again if we go by your assumption then Jews should be asked to shave off long beards as according to your formula these are unhygienic

Who gives a shit how often they wash their annoying beards? Whether sported by a Hindu, Muslim, Jew, or a freaking Arab, long beards are ugly, stinky, unhygienic and befit cavemen, not human beings in the 21st century. You're a silly twat who is hostage to a backward, depressing education system - I don't blame you


P.S: what makes you think I'm an "Indian Hindu"? Save your assumptions for your failed journalistic ventures.