Restrictions Imposed on Hijab and Long Beards in China's Muslim Region

The Chinese government has banned 'unusual' hijabs and long beards for Muslims in the Xinjiang region. The enforcement of this ban began on Saturday, April 1st. According to international media reports, the Chinese government has implemented these measures as part of its stated goal of confronting Islamic extremism and 'fighting terrorism to its eradication.' The regulations state that women who cover their entire face and body are prohibited from entering public places such as train stations and airports, and security personnel at these locations have the right to conduct body searches. The new prohibitions also include the marriage of Muslim women and men according to religious rites; marriages must be conducted according to the country's secular laws. The new regulations also require Chinese Muslims to adhere to family planning policies, meaning they must refrain from having more than one child. Naming Muslim children with 'Islamic extremist' names has also been banned. The regulations prohibit the use of non-state television channels in China, as the government is concerned about attracting Uyghur Muslims to programs aimed at promoting extremist Islamism. Despite these measures, the Chinese government stated that the 'religious, cultural, and legal rights' of Muslims in the country are respected. China claims that the Xinjiang regional parliament has also approved these restrictions. The Islamic State (ISIS) recently threatened that China would soon witness a 'bloodbath' in defense of Muslims. ISIS showed that several Uyghur Muslim children and teenagers are being trained with weapons in Islamic State camps. Previously, some beheadings had involved Chinese Muslim teenagers. Chinese officials have imposed stricter passport issuance for Uyghur Muslims since the rise of global Islamic extremism, fearing their travel to ISIS-controlled territories in the Middle East. Xinjiang has witnessed bloody conflicts over the past eight years, resulting in hundreds of deaths and injuries. Recent international media reports indicate an increase in security forces in Xinjiang. Central Chinese government officials and local Xinjiang authorities state that there are suspicions of cooperation between extremist Muslims and some international groups like ISIS, while separatist activists are also seeking to revive the 'East Turkestan' government. Simultaneously, Israeli media reported last week that the military intelligence agency of Israel has informed the Israeli government about the presence of thousands of extremist Uyghur Muslims among ISIS fighters. Israeli media cited the military intelligence report, stating that most of the Uyghur forces reached ISIS-controlled territories in Syria and Iraq via Turkey. The special report from Israeli military intelligence was published concurrently with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's official visit to China. The Xinjiang region in northwest China, previously known as East Turkestan, has an area larger than Iran. Xinjiang borders the Muslim-majority republics of Central Asia, and the movement of Muslims across the borders has deeply concerned the Chinese government about the increasing influence of extremist Islamic thoughts in Xinjiang. About half of Xinjiang's 22 million population speaks Uyghur Turkish, and Arabic is also their religious language. Uyghur and Kazakh Muslims, including Kyrgyz and Mongolian people, make up about half of Xinjiang's population, while Han Chinese also constitute half of the residents of this vast land. Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty recently reported on the imposition of restrictions on extremist Muslims in Tajikistan, one of China's western neighbors. The Tajik government has confirmed that hundreds of extremists have traveled from Tajikistan to fight alongside ISIS forces in the Middle East in recent years. Tajik President Emomali Rahmon has emphasized the fight against extremist Islamism. Despite this, the use of hijab by women and girls in Tajikistan has increased in recent years.