Xinjiang bans 'Abnormal' veils, beards

World 
Xinjiang bans 'Abnormal' veils, beards

Beijing (Web Report): In China the Xinjiang government has declared a crackdown against wearing of veils or "abnormal" beards.

According to details, Xinjiang’s top legislative body on Wednesday, has put ban on 15 types of behavior considered to be connected with "religious extremism", including the wearing of "abnormal" beards or veils but unfortunately fails to explain what exactly "abnormal" veil or beard.

According to the regulation, resorting to religious instead of legal procedures to marry or divorce or meddling in other people’s weddings, funerals and inheritance are all prohibited extremist acts.

The authorities will set up special task forces across the Muslim-majority region to prevent the "extremist" types of behaviors and each prefecture, district and locality will have their success at stamping out "extremism" evaluated annually.

Religious and culture bans are nothing new in the restive region of Xinjiang. But recently Uighur Muslims have complained about a number of measures that they say discriminate against their religion by cracking down on religious holidays and customs.

In 2013, Xinjiang authorities launched the "Project Beauty" campaign aimed at encouraging Uighur women to stop wearing veils, and, in 2015, a Kashgar man was sentenced to 6 years in prison for growing his beard. Both practices have long been linked with harboring extremist ideals and thinking.

China has claimed that these kinds of hard-line policies are necessary for maintaining peace and stability in the region.

During this month's legislative meetings in Beijing, Chinese President Xi Jinping met with top Xinjiang officials and called for the building of a "Great Wall of Iron" around the region.