Alwaght: Muslims in northwest China have been ordered by the state not to take part in mandatory fasting during the Islamic month of Ramadan.
Statements posted in the past week on websites of schools, government agencies and local party organizations in the Xinjiang region claimed the ban would protect students' wellbeing and prevent the use of schools and government offices to promote religion.
The ban affects students and civil servants in the predominantly Muslim region and is part of a crackdown on the Uighur community at the start of the holy month of Ramadan.
Muslim abstain from eating from dawn to dusk in Ramadan, but China's ruling Communist party, which is officially atheist, has for years restricted the practice of fasting in Xinjiang region.
"No teacher can participate in religious activities, instill religious thoughts in students or coerce students into religious activities," said a statement on the website of the "Number 3 Grade School" in Ruoqiang County in Xinjiang.
Cities in Xinjiang had set up news portals claiming that fasting was detrimental to the physical wellbeing of young students, and also have called in retired teachers to stand guard at mosques in order to prevent students from entering.
Similar bans have been imposed on fasting in the past. This year's ban was unusually sensitive because Xinjiang is under tight security following a number of attacks that the government blames on Muslim rebels who allegedly have ties with foreign armed groups.
“China's goal in prohibiting fasting is to forcibly move Uighurs away from their Muslim culture during Ramadan,” said Dilxat Rexit, a spokesman for the exiled World Uyghur Congress, adding, “Policies that prohibit religious fasting are a provocation and will only lead to instability and conflict.”
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A Zaidi Shiite movement operating in Yemen. It seeks to establish a democratic government in Yemen.
Shiite
represents the second largest denomination of Islam. Shiites believe Ali (peace be upon him) to be prophet"s successor in the Caliphate.
Resistance
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Taliban
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Wahhabism & Extremism
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Kurds
Kurds are an ethnic group in the Middle East, mostly inhabiting a region, which spans adjacent parts of Iran, Iraq, Syria, and Turkey. They are an Iranian people and speak the Kurdish languages, which form a subgroup of the Northwestern Iranian branch of Iranian languages.
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Islamic Awakening
Refers to a revival of the Islam throughout the world, that began in 1979 by Iranian Revolution that established an Islamic republic.
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