Xinjiang, the home of the Uighur Muslim minority, will reportedly start banning the use of the Islamic face veil in public, a move that has been backed up by local authorities.

According to the state media, the ban is the latest move in the campaign against Islamic clothing and symbols in the Muslim region. This has stemmed out from the conflict and unrest between the Uighur militants and the Chinese government due to the several attacks in Beijing.

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However, according to the activists, their violence has been fuelled due to the repression of the Chinese.

The Uighurs conventionally only practice a moderate form of Islam but due to the stricter forms of their faith from the Gulf and Pakistan, more Uighur females are wearing the Islamic face veil to cover their faces in public.

Because of this, the Asia Pacific editor of BBC, Charles Scanlon, said that the Chinese authorities are regarding this move by the Uighurs as an act of disobedience especially at this time that there is a growing violence in their region and tensions continue to rise.

This is in reference to the arrest by the Chinese officials during their crackdown resulting to scores of people being jailed. Uighur activists added that the tactics of the Chinese officials in Xinjiang especially cultural and religious repression is fueling more tension.

Earlier this year, around August, the northern city of Karamay has banned men who sported long bears from boarding public buses. Experts have already had a say on these moves and they pointed out that these restrictions could just further fuel the strained relationship between the Uighurs and the Chinese authorities especially because the Muslim minority feel as if their culture is already under attack.

According to an expert on China's ethnic policy at La Trobe University in Melbourne, James Leibold, the ban on the veils will just make the officials who imposed this more popular as they symbolize resistance and assertion against the ethno-national identity.

The Islamic veil ban has already been approved by a regional body, so it will be forced on the female Uighurs soon. 

TagsMuslim community, Urumqi, Xinjiang, Islamic face veil, banned, female Uighurs