The Chinese government has insisted that civil servants, teachers and students in the northwest region of Xinjiang, where many Muslim Uighur minority live, should restrict themselves from fasting and observing the rites during Ramadan.
The government has reportedly disseminated announcements that were posted on school websites and government agencies as a way to restrict these institutions from promoting religion. China also ordered restaurants to remain open during regular hours, Al Jazeera reported.
Mosques in Xinjiang are also under strict 24-hour surveillance for any hints of security threats, according to The Telegraph.
The ban, however, is not new to Uighurs, as China has imposed a similar directive during last year's Ramadan. However, there is a great deal of pressure this year, as the government is keeping watch over "religious extremists" who may be recruiting its people to become jihadists in Iraq and Syria.
China, a pre-dominantly Community country, also believes that it's the Muslims who are instigating violence in Xinjiang. The latest restrictions are already creating more tension among the Muslim minority that has constantly experienced persecution from the Chinese.
"China's goal in prohibiting fasting is to forcibly move Uighurs away from their Muslim culture during Ramadan," said Dilxat Rexit from the World Uighur Congress, Al Jazeera reported. "Policies that prohibit religious fasting are a provocation and will only lead to instability and conflict."
Ramadan, which started in Thursday, June 18, is marked by 30 days of fasting, during which Muslims are not supposed to eat or drink anything else from dawn till sunset, while also doing a process of self-reflection.
