Xinjiang’s Kashgar University Students, Teachers Forced to Give up Muslim Dietary Restrictions
November 06, 2018Officials at a university in northwest China’s Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region are forcing students and staff to forgo their Muslim dietary restrictions in favor of traditionally pork-heavy Han Chinese cuisine, saying halal food is associated with religious extremism.
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Chinese authorities have closed down all halal restaurants on university campuses in the XUAR and had initiated a campaign to remove halal signage from restaurants owned by Muslims in the region.
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On Oct. 5, the Ministry of Justice in the XUAR capital Urumqi organized an advocacy meeting which called on all staff members to fight against “pan-halalism” and refrain from following dietary restrictions.
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Oct. 7, the official Tengritagh news website ran a story about Ablikim Momun, the head of Maralbeshi’s Alaghir township, who it said invited Uyghur cadres to a Chinese restaurant to eat a meal made with pork, and praised him as a model official for doing so.