CHINA-TERRORISM: XINJIANG

The Xinjiang United Front website (新疆统一战线) had a post on their website on June 19, 2017 of a list circulated earlier this year by the UFWD of “75 Signs of Religious Extremism”. According to Radio Free Asia (RFA) the guidelines are used by the authorities to detain Muslim Uyghurs on charges of religious “extremism” that now include their postures while at prayer, the color of their hair, and even how they wear their watches. Among the signs of extremism on the list were “conducting business as usual” and “women who wear religious clothing to work” during the holy Islamic month of Ramadan, “storing or purchasing large quantities of food for home” and “acting abnormal,” and “praying in groups in public outside of mosques.” Chinese Communist Party secretaries in villages in Xinjiang’s Hotan (in Chinese, Hetian) prefecture, including Ilchi village, recently told RFA’s Uyghur Service that they were notified in April of several new “signs of extremism” security personnel should look for to determine whether a Uyghur is at risk of becoming an Islamic “radical.” The “[New guidelines say to look for] those who, when at prayer, stand with their legs wide apart and place their hands above their chest, and also those who dye their hair red [with henna], who “grow their hair or beards long,” “those who wear short trousers” and “those who wear a watch on their right wrist.” A village secretary said “In villages, people who don’t greet the party secretary or cadres, and those suddenly abstaining from drinking alcohol—these changes are [now] also considered to be a sign of religious extremism.” One village secretary was quoted by RFA as saying “In our opinion, they are part of an organisation, and they coordinate and identify one another by their colored hair—otherwise they wouldn’t do it.” He added “We also believe there has been a change in their ideology [that made them become extremist].”





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