According to a report in the
New York Times, the Chinese authorities have added another layer of restriction
on the Muslims of the Xinjiang region, its westernmost province that borders
with Pakistan, Afghanistan and India and is home to some 11 million Uighur Muslims
and other small groups of ethnic Muslims among Tajik, Kazakh and Mongolian
communities.
The New York Times report
claims to have a copy of the “List of Banned Ethnic Minority Names" that has
asked the Muslim parents to desist from choosing names like Muhammad, Medina,
Mecca, Islam, Quran, Imam, Hajj, Jihad, Arafat and Mujahid. The directive has banned
over two dozen such names which may be used to fan religious and divisive
agenda. The list further expands the one notified in 2015 which banned names
like Saddam, Hussein, Laden, Fatima, Amanet, Muslime among others.
The New York Times report,
quoting Xinjiang officials, says the directive is "part of an effort to
“curb religious fervour” in Xinjiang."
A report in the Financial
Times gives more details into this. It says that the Muslim families not
complying with this directive will not get 'hukou', the registration of their
households that gives them access to state benefits of childcare, health,
education and employment. According to the report, the municipal authorities in
Xinjiang have issued a notice which prohibits "overly religious or splittist
names" for newborns. The directive doesn't stop at naming the newborns
only. It further says that “if your family has circumstances like this, you
should change your child’s name.”
Organizations like the Human
Rights Watch and Uighur representatives living in exile have condemned this
order. The Human Rights Watch has termed it the "latest absurd restriction
imposed on people of Xinjiang" while the World Uyghur Congress has termed
"China’s policies increasingly hostile".
Xinjiang, China's North-western
province, that is also known as Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region, borders
eight countries including Pakistan, Afghanistan and India. It came on the radar
of the Chinese authorities, especially after the widespread riots in its
capital city Urumqi in July 2009 between the Uighur Muslims and Han Chinese that
saw around 200 dead and some 2000 injured. Ethnic Han Chinese are around 40
percent of Xinxiang's population. China now considers Islamic terrorism
emanating from Xinjiang destructive enough to convert into a full blown separatist
movement and does all to curb its spread, especially after reports that the
Islamic State (ISIS) is eyeing the region to recruit fighters and expand its
base.
According to Amnesty
International, mass arrests, arbitrary detentions, disappearances, shooting and
torture followed the Urumqi riots. China maintains a strong vigil in the region
with large rallies of security forces to intimidate the minds who dare to think
otherwise. It has banned its civil servants in the region from taking part in religious
activities, even if it means fasting during Ramadan, a ban that was extended to
students as well. Muslim attire like veils and symbols like keeping beard are
already banned.
©SantoshChaubey
