AUTHORITIES OF CHINESE XINJIANG PROVINCE BAN WEARING OF ‘ABNORMAL BEARDS’ TO COMBAT RELIGIOUS EXTREMISM

“Abnormal beards” have been banned in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region of China in order to combat religious extremism.

Photo: AP / Ahn Young-joon

The authorities of the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region of China are going to introduce a ban on wearing “abnormal beards” in order to combat religious extremism, the Tianshan Van information website reported.

According to the website, the set of rules was adopted at a session of the Assembly of People’s Representatives of Xinjiang, which was held a day before. It will come into force on April 1.

In addition to wearing an “an abnormal beard,” dissemination of extremist ideology and interference in religious freedom have also been banned.

According the new rules, it is prohibited to wear clothes that completely cover face and body, as well as extremist attributes, in public places. Employees of airports, railway stations and public transport have been ordered to close doors for people in such clothes and report about them to law enforcement bodies.

It is not allowed to enter into marriage or its dissolve only on the basis of religious methods, without registration in accordance with the legal rules. Popular education and interference in the work of the state educational system have also been prohibited. It is not allowed to damage state and private property, interfere in implementation of the policy on birth control.

Earlier, deputy chairman of the Xinjiang’s Regional Legislature’s Standing Committee, Dong Xinguang, said that the region’s authorities plan to adopt a set of rules for combating extremism in 2017. According to him, the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region also urgently needs a law on cyber security. In August 2016, the region’s authorities adopted their own version of the antiterrorist law.

The Turkistan Islamic Party (TIP) terrorist group, also known as the East Turkestan Islamic Movement (ETIM), operates on the territory of the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region. Beijing accuses the group of attempts to split the country, as well as of connections with international terrorist organizations, in particular, with Al-Qaeda. According to media reports, the East Turkestan recruits local residents and sends them to training camps for militants in Syria and Iraq.

Comments

Why States Still Use Barrel Bombs

Smoke ascends after a Syrian military helicopter allegedly dropped a barrel bomb over the city of Daraya on Jan. 31.(FADI DIRANI/AFP/Getty Images) Summary Barrel bombs are not especially effective weapons. They are often poorly constructed; they fail to detonate more often than other devices constructed for a similar purpose; and their lack of precision means they can have a disproportionate effect on civilian populations. However, combatants continue to use barrel bombs in conflicts, including in recent and ongoing conflicts in Africa and the Middle East, and they are ideally suited to the requirements of resource-poor states. Analysis Barrel bombs are improvised devices that contain explosive filling and shrapnel packed into a container, often in a cylindrical shape such as a barrel. The devices continue to be dropped on towns all over Syria . Indeed, there have been several documented cases of their use in Iraq over the past months, and residents of the city of Mosul, which was re

Russia Looks East for New Oil Markets

Click to Enlarge In the final years of the Soviet Union, Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev began orienting his foreign policy toward Asia in response to a rising Japan. Putin has also piloted a much-touted pivot to Asia, coinciding with renewed U.S. interest in the area. A good expression of intent was Russia's hosting of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit in 2012 in Vladivostok, near Russia's borders with China and North Korea. Although its efforts in Asia have been limited by more direct interests in Russia's periphery and in Europe, Moscow recently has been able to look more to the east. Part of this renewed interest involves finding new export markets for Russian hydrocarbons. Russia's economy relies on energy exports, particularly crude oil and natural gas exported via pipeline to the West. However, Western Europe is diversifying its energy sources as new supplies come online out of a desire to reduce its dependence on Russian energy supplies . This has

LONDON POLICE INDIRECTLY ENCOURAGE CRIMINALS TO ATTACK RUSSIAN DIPLOMATIC PROPERTY

ILLUSTRATIVE IMAGE A few days ago an unknown perpetrator trespassed on the territory of the Russian Trade Delegation in London, causing damage to the property and the vehicles belonging to the trade delegation , Russian Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said during the September 12 press briefing. The diplomat revealed the response by the London police was discouraging. Police told that the case does not have any prospects and is likely to be closed. This was made despite the fact that the British law enforcement was provided with video surveillance tapes and detailed information shedding light on the incident. By this byehavior, British law inforcements indirectly encourage criminals to continue attacks on Russian diplomatic property in the UK. Zakharova’s statement on “Trespassing on the Russian Trade Mission premises in London” ( source ): During our briefings, we have repeatedly discussed compliance with the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations, specif

ISDEI Instituto de Seguridad, Defensa y Estudios Internacionales

Search This Blog