NEW DELHI: Chinese authorities banned most Uyghurs praying in mosques – and even in their homes – during the Eid ul-Fitr holiday, marking the end of the Islamic holy month of Ramadan, in many parts of the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region, residents and police said, the media reported.
People aged 60 and older were allowed to pray in a local mosque under heavy police surveillance during Eid, Radio Free Asia reported. Since 2017, China has restricted or banned ethnic customs and religious rituals among the mostly Muslim Uyghurs in an effort to stamp out "religious extremism", RFA reported.
During this year's Eid, the most important Muslim holiday, authorities in Xinjiang patrolled city streets and searched houses to prevent people from secretly praying inside their homes, sources said, RFA reported. An administrative staffer from Yarkowruk town in Akesu Prefecture said one mosque there was open for Eid prayers.
"Our police officers went to the mosque to watch the people," the employee said. "I don't know if people needed permission to go to the mosque because I did not go there."
Likewise, only one mosque was open for Eid prayers in Bulung town, Bay county, an officer at the local police station said. (IANS)
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