The top Islamic regulatory body in China has asked all the mosques in the country to raise the national flag for promoting a spirit of “patriotism among Muslims”, Times of India has reported.
The said “China Islamic Association” also called for the flags to be placed in a prominent position in the Mosque courtyards, via a letter published on its website on Saturday. As per reports, China has about 20 million Muslims in the country who belong to 10 different ethnic groups.
The letter also asks the Mosques to publicly display the socialist values of the communist party and also explain it to the devotees via Islamic scriptures.
The organisation thus claims that implementing such measures would strengthen the understanding of national, civic ideas and instil the spirit of patriotism among the Muslims.
As per a Channel News Asia report, the China Islamic Association is a body affiliated to the government and holds a monopoly over accrediting imams. The report also claims that the notification comes in the light of China’s new regulations on Religious Affairs.
These regulations are supposed to have intensified state supervision for preventing extremism and increasing punishments for unsanctioned religious activities. The report claims that finally the association hopes for the mosques to become a platform for studying nation and party’s laws and policies.
Such a notification comes in the light of reports of atrocities against the Muslims in the country, for making them give up their Islamic beliefs and align themselves with communism. These measures include forcing Xinjiang Muslim in “re-education camps” to eat pork and drink alcohol – both forbidden in Islam if they don’t follow orders.
These “re-education” camps are supposedly an effort by the Chinese government to check Islamic extremism and separatism in the troubled province. It has been speculated that hundreds and thousands of Muslims have been sent to such camps.