prithvi.k
on off on off......
The official who identified herself as a government worker but refused to give her name said on Friday that the decision to close mosques had been made for public safety and that "people should stay at home today and pray."
Separately, officials in Kashgar in southwestern Xinjiang have told visiting journalists that they and other foreigners had to leave the city.
The city's foreign affairs office says that although the city has had no unrest, the decision was made to ensure the safety of the visitors.
Uighur Muslims said they had been directed to pray at home, as armed forces saturated the streets of the northwest Xinjiang region's capital five days after clashes that authorities said left 156 people dead.
"The government said there would be no Friday prayers," said a Uighur man named Tursun outside the Hantagri mosque, one of the oldest in the capital, as about 100 policemen carrying machine guns and batons stood guard nearby.
"There's nothing we can do... the government is afraid that people will use religion to support the three forces."
The "three forces" is a Chinese government term referring to extremism, separatism and terrorism, forces it says are trying to split the remote Xinjiang region from the rest of the country.
Xinjiang's eight million Uighurs have long complained about religious, political and economic repression under Chinese rule, and this deep-set anger spilled out on Sunday in protests that quickly turned violent.
The Chinese government said 156 people were killed and more than 1,000 others were injured, as Uighur Muslims attacked people from China's dominant Han ethnic group.
But Uighur exiles have said security forces over-reacted to peaceful protests. They said up to 800 people may have died in the unrest, including the security crackdown.
AFP witnessed Han Chinese mobs assaulting two Uighurs in separate attacks, and Uighurs alleged many other beatings took place, but the extent of the violence throughout the week was unclear.
China poured in thousands of extra police and army troops on Tuesday, and the Urumqi government said the situation was under control the next day.
Many security forces remained in place on Friday, and the traditional Muslim day of prayer passed with many Uighurs and other Muslims such as from the Hui ethnic group unable to attend mosques.
"Go home to pray," said handwritten notices on the front gates of five shuttered mosques that AFP visited on Thursday.
The Liu Daowan mosque in a Uighur and Hui district of eastern Urumqi, which normally holds about 1,000 people, was also closed on Friday, according to an AFP reporter who went there.
The small Xida mosque that Hui normally attend was also shut.
"According to an order from higher up, out of concern for the safety of the people and during this special time, we ask all people to go home and pray there," a notice outside said.
"We don't want to give the criminal element a chance to ruin the situation. The government fears that the bad elements will try to use Islam to promote the three forces," said an assistant imam named Feng.
When asked if all mosques in Urumqi were closed on Friday, a spokesman for the Xinjiang regional government told AFP that "all religious activities should go on normally", without elaborating.
China's leaders vowed on Thursday to severely punish those responsible for this week's unrest, the nation's worst ethnic conflict for decades.
"The planners of the incident, the organisers, key members and the serious violent criminals must be severely punished," President Hu Jintao and the other eight members of the ruling Communist Party's elite Politburo said.
Local party leaders in Urumqi had on Wednesday warned that people involved in any killings would be sentenced to death, and earlier announced that more than 1,400 people had been arrested for their involvement in the unrest.
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China's ethnic riots: Death toll rises to 184
Many Uighurs who are still free live in fear of being arrested for any act of dissent.
Chinese leaders have alleged that a woman masterminded the rioting in Xinjiang's capital, Urumqi. They blame activist Rebiya Kadeer, a 62-year-old businesswoman who was once the government's favorite Uighur success story. But she began criticizing communist rule, served time in prison and eventually went into exile in the U.S. She has repeatedly denied instigating the violence.
Most Muslim Uighurs practice a moderate form of Sunni Islam or follow the mystical Sufism tradition. The women often work and lead an active social life outside the home. Many wear brightly colored head scarves but the custom is not strongly enforced. Young Uighur women often wear jeans, formfitting tops and dresses.
As the faithful streamed into the White Mosque, Ahtam arrived holding a lilac umbrella and told foreign reporters in broken English, "Toilet no open. No water."
"Every Uighur people are afraid. Do you understand? We are afraid. Chinese people are very happy. Why?" said Ahtam. lmao....
About 200 more riot police arrived and cut off the group, with some of the security forces kneeling down and pointing their automatic rifles at the marchers. Foreign reporters were led to a side alley, out of view of the protesters, who were forced to squat on the sidewalk along a row of shuttered shops.
Hours later, calls to Ahtam's cell phone went unanswered and it was unknown what happened to her.
