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Fears abound as China bans video of girl reciting Quran

Catholics fear China has begun strictly enforcing a long-standing ban on religious activity in schools and universities
Fears abound as China bans video of girl reciting Quran

Children join adults at a mosque for Friday prayers in Urumqi, the capital of China's Muslim Uighur homeland of Xinjiang in this 2014. (Photo by AFP)

Published: May 11, 2016 10:42 AM GMT
Updated: May 11, 2016 04:10 PM GMT

Catholics fear China has begun strictly enforcing a long-standing ban on religious activity in schools and universities after authorities in Gansu province issued a rare public reminder of the ban in response to an online video featuring a kindergarten student reciting the Quran.

The public warning by the Education Department of Gansu last week said the incident "harms the mental health of the youth" and follows a top-level meeting of the Communist Party elite in April in which President Xi Jinping called for stricter management of China's religious groups.

"In the past, when such a school case was found, authorities would issue an internal notice among the different levels of the education department rather than posting it publicly on the internet," said Matthias, a Catholic in Gansu Province.

When officials of Shaanxi Normal University in Xian discovered nine female students wearing Islamic veils and a male student reading the Quran on campus in April last year, those involved received a private warning later leaked and reported online.

Beijing's policy on education and faith groups in different areas remains inconsistent.

Military and police have closed "illegal" madrassas or Islamic religious school in Xinjiang following a wave of attacks blamed on minority Muslim Uighurs in recent years, and minors remain banned from entering mosques in Xinjiang.

However, young Muslims in other areas of the country can enter mosques freely, and Christians have been able to infuse education with religion with tacit approval of authorities in some areas of China. 

An outcry by ordinary Chinese in response to the recent video of the kindergarten student reciting the Quran appeared to put provincial authorities under pressure. Thousands of critical comments flooded Weibo, China's equivalent of Twitter.

 

 

"Cute? This is a violation of human rights. It is against the principle of freedom of religious belief," wrote one Weibo user in response to the video.

The Education Department of Gansu stressed the "rule of law" in its warning to education centers to respect Chinese legislation, noted Matthias, another key difference with previous warnings — and a major theme of Xi's leadership.

The Chinese president made frequent use of the word "law" in a speech to faith leaders and fellow members of the all-powerful Politburo last month, the first high-level Chinese government meeting on management of religions since 2001.

A priest in Tianjin who declined to give his name for security reasons noted that China maintains a long-standing ban on mixing faith with education.

Passed in 1995, the Education Law remains vague, however: "The state shall separate education from religion. Any organization or individual may not employ religion to obstruct activities of the state education system."

Stricter interpretation of the law in the recent case in Gansu could be a sign of tighter control on growth of religious activity, warned a priest in Hebei province, home to 1 million Catholics.

However, a priest in Shandong province who also asked to remain anonymous said it was unrealistic of the party to think it could separate faith from education in schools and universities China.

"It is impossible to ban religious activities on campus," he told ucanews.com.  

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