China's Uighurs pass Ramadan in isolation - Feature

Kashgar, China - In China's western Xinjiang region, where ethnic riots killed almost 200 people in July, the holy month of Ramadan is passing amid tight security and government calls for ethnic unity. Under the shade of trees near the main entrance to Kashgar's Id Kah Mosque, armed police wearing military fatigues and helmets, and carrying riot shields, watch worshipers file in for prayers.

Soldiers look out from various points throughout the city, and armed mobile units circle the streets in convoys of trucks bearing patriotic slogans.

"Safeguard security and unity," a red and white banner on the side of one vehicle read.

While the July 5 clashes between ethnic Uighur and Han Chinese residents took place in Xinjiang's capital Urumqi, more Uighurs were arrested in Kashgar, a city on the old Silk Road with a history stretching back 2,000 years.

Around 90 per cent of Kashgar's 350,000 residents are Muslim Uighurs, and the earthen-walled houses and narrow labyrinthine alleyways in Kashgar's old city have for centuries been a hub for traditional Uighur culture and identity.

A cool oasis from the surrounding Taklamakan Desert, the streets of the old town still ring with the sound of blacksmiths' hammers, and as the sun sets and Ramadan restrictions on eating and drinking end, women wearing headscarves and men in skullcaps bargain with food vendors offering special Ramadan dishes, lamb kebabs, watermelon, figs, cakes and meringue.

But the very strength of Uighur culture here has raised government fears that Kashgar, and other towns in Xinjiang's predominantly Uighur south, may be hotspots for separatist, and even terrorist, activity.

The response has been to impose strict controls on the lives of Kashgar's residents, and to target separatist sentiment through a large-scale propaganda campaign.

Ramadan greetings and blessings from family and friends overseas will not arrive this year as Xinjiang's internet has - since the unrest - been restricted to a few local sites, and text messaging and international dialing services have been cut off.

For students on their summer break, the days have been passing slowly. "We don't know when the internet will be back, maybe after the national day," said a Uighur student who works part-time in a sweet shop, referring to the 60th anniversary of the founding of the People's Republic of China on October 1.

The government has meanwhile stepped up its propaganda campaign. In the old city's narrow alleyways, mud-brick walls bear two types of writing.

Using white chalk, children have drawn pictures and used the walls to practice arithmetic. Employing red spray-paint, the government has stenciled signs calling on residents to strengthen ethnic unity and oppose ethnic separatism - a new type of rhetoric which residents say appeared quickly after the riots.

A large television screen outside the Id Kah Mosque shows footage of the children of exiled Uighur leader, Rebiya Kadeer, condemning their mother and asking her to give up her separatist activities. The government accuses Kadeer of orchestrating the deadly riots in Urumqi.

As usual at Ramadan, religious practice is another area which has come under tight control.

In the evening, as men recite the Koran inside a small neighborhood mosque, a man outside says that he cannot participate because he works for the government. His job is to note down the names of those who attend the prayer sessions.

Near a school, a student says that because he is less than 18 years of age, he is only allowed to pray one time per day instead of the usual five, and that older children who want to observe the Ramadan fast have been given food and water by teachers. On the streets, most Uighur girls cover their hair, but in Kashgar's schools, headscarves are not allowed.

There are some signs that the authorities are willing to be lenient in areas which do not undermine the overall level of control. While Muslim restaurants in some regions have been encouraged to remain open during Ramadan, all Uighur restaurants in Kashgar appeared to be closed until sunset. Some teenagers and government workers also said they ignored rules which forbid them from fasting.

But those are small areas of freedom in an otherwise heavily restricted environment. And while it is easy to understand the need for tightened security since the riots, it is harder to see how the other controls will bring about greater ethnic harmony, rather than provoke increased resentment.

Source: Earth Times.
Link: http://www.earthtimes.org/articles/show/285681,chinas-uighurs-pass-ramadan-in-isolation--feature.html.