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.

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