BEIJING: China has passed new law that seeks to “Sinicize” Islam within the next five years.
The move came after Chinese government officials met with representatives from eight Islamic associations, China’s main English newspaper, Global Times, reported on Saturday .”(The officials) agrees to guide Islam to be compatible with socialism and implement measures to Sinicize the religion,” the article outlined.
The exact methodology which will be utilized to implement the law has not been divulged.
This comes amid a crackdown on Uighur Muslims in the nation, with the United Nations estimating that over one million Uighurs are being held in internment camps in the Xinjiang province.
Practicing Islam is illegal in some pockets of China. People caught fasting, praying, growing beard or wearing a hijab attract arrest in the nation.
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However, three mosques established by the marginalised Hui Muslim ethnic minority in the southwestern Chinese province of Yunnan were closed by authorities on Saturday, the South China Morning Post has reported.
Saying they were engaged in “illegal religious activities,” Chinese authorities raided the three mosques and forcibly evicted local ethnic minority Hui Muslims.
With agency inputs