Results tagged “mosques”

If you've never seen Far West China, it's a pretty fantastic blog written by an American expat living in Xinjiang. Since the unrest in Xinjiang this summer, the blog has become a platform for airing the Kafkaesque circumstances that have been imposed on the region. From posts on the psychological effects of the complete internet blackout to the numerous new security checks at mosques and on buses, as well as the increases in tourism to Dunhuang for web access, the blog chronicles the very human issues involved. Personally, we can't even imagine what months without internet would be like, and we're sure that's the least of their concerns. Photo byRemko Tanis @ flickr

Although the violence in Xinjiang has calmed down, tensions are still high as the Chinese government ordered mosques in Urumqi not to open for Jumu’ah, Friday prayers. According to the BBC, an unnamed government official told the AFP news agency that the order not to open for prayers’ on Friday, the holiest day of the week in Islam, was because of fears of further unrest, saying “For the sake of public safety, all of the mosques have told people that there will be no Friday prayers and that people should stay at home today and pray,” But the government’s imposition may do more harm than good. One Uighur man told Reuters, “Jumu'ah (Friday) is the time of the week when we must pray. For us, it would be an insult to shut it down… If we're not allowed to hold normal religious activities, there will be a lot of anger."