Three Uyghur women and a child at a market in Kashi, Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region Photo: CFP

Gulimila Maimaiti isn't all that comfortable with the compliments her new look is getting at her job with a local training center. The 38-year-old Muslim has taken to wearing layers of floating, black silks topped with an orange scarf draped around her shoulders. Her fashion accessories include black boots, a high bun, lipstick and shinny bracelets on both wrists.

What's distinctly missing from Gulimila's office outfit is any sign of the puritan, restrictive dress that is a must for Muslim women in some Middle Eastern countries.
Here in Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region, in Northwest China, many Muslim men and women wear traditional clothing that is distinctively different from the fashions worn by the local Han population.

Throughout the region women in burkas and men with long beards are not an uncommon sight.

While Gulimila's ethnicity and choice of clothing set her apart from the classic look of Han people, she shuns wearing even a traditional head scarf while on the job.

"It's not necessary to wear a black veil and cover your entire body, which is not a required tradition here in Xinjiang," Gulimila told the Global Times, adding that she only wears a headscarf at home while she cooks.

Gulimila's choice of fashion sits well with local authorities in Yining in western Xinjiang.

'Diluting religious consciousness'

More than a year ago the city government's website promoted a campaign titled "Dilute religious consciousness; advocate a civilized healthy lifestyle." It was launched a year after a riot that killed nearly 200 people in Urumqi, the capital of the region.

The notice posted by the Dunmaili district of Yining encouraged people to get rid of the "abnormal phenomenon" of traditional Muslim attire. It said "stubborn individuals who refused to give up their veils, Arab dress or long beards should be educated."

The document was later removed from the website after sparking huge debates about whether it infringes religious freedom.

Ye Jun, an official with the Yining publicity department, told the Global Times that the Web posting was not aimed at "restricting religious freedom."

"Ordinary people are free to wear what they like, women here don't have the tradition of wearing veils and young men don't grow long beards," she said. "However if they suddenly start doing that, we want to know if some extreme religious belief is behind it."

On the streets of Yining many people have their heads covered during the cold winter. Muslim women can be frequently seen with their heads and faces tightly covered in a traditional manner.

Yining is home to 35 ethnic minorities, accounting for nearly 70 percent of the city's total population of 580,000. Uyghur people make up 46 percent of the total population.

Maidina Arepijiang, 33, from the Dulaitibage community in Yining, dresses in all black and this year has added a pink fur hat. She said wearing a veil is just not her style.

"Some women from the southern part of Xinjiang wear veils but it's not practical and not considered beautiful here," she said.

A milder tradition

According to local tradition, men generally wear long, buttonless robes, fixed by waistbands. Women wear baggy-sleeved, straight-cut dresses. Small colored embroidered hats are favored by both genders. Many retired men grow beards but most of the younger men shave.

The tradition of observing modest fashions is OK with district authorities and Party leaders, who are required as a condition of membership to be atheists.

Some in the local government developed stereotypical ideas of veil wearing and long beards.

"Long beards are preferred by terrorists," Meng Xuhui, head of Dunmaili district that issued the controversial notice, told the Global Times. "For example, after the death of Bin Laden, the first thing his successor did was grow a long beard," said Meng, who has apparently not seen the many photographs of Ayman al-Zawahiri, with a long beard sitting with Bin Laden.

 

Women shopping at a local market in Yining, Xinjiang, on December 23. Photo: Lin Meilian/GT

"When we notice some young people suddenly change their style and start growing beards or wearing veils, we see that as a signal that they might go extreme," he said.

Meng says his office questions people whose outward appearance has changed. He didn't say how many people they have questioned or under what circumstances or legal authority the questioning takes place.

He suggested it's more of a discussion than an interrogation and admits they don't always achieve his desired results.

"They have different kinds of excuses such as 'I just feel like wearing veil today' or 'I am too lazy to shave,'" said Meng who insisted that "after our talk they stop."

Guiding not forcing

Xiong Kunxin, a professor at Minzu University of China in Beijing, told the Global Times that attempting to "dilute religious consciousness" is likely to meet emotional resistance among Xinjiang's Muslim population.

"Diluting religious consciousness" has been mentioned again and again throughout the year. I think the best way to soften religious awareness is to guide them instead of forcing them, otherwise it only increases tension and mistrust among the minorities," he said.

Muslims in Xinjiang have traditionally practiced a more relaxed form of Islam, and parts of Xinjiang have become noticeably more open to diverse dress codes.

Slogans not helpful

Ma Jinlong, Imam of a mosque in Yining, told the Global Times that Koran doesn't have an exact definition of modest dress.

Ma, who belongs to the Hui ethnic group, also believes the sloganeering from local authorities is not helpful and is also open to interpretation.

"A 'civilized healthy lifestyle' is just a slogan, and people have different understanding of what a civilized and healthy lifestyle is," Ma said.

He's more worried that young people in the region might be susceptible to other negative influences. "The minds of young people are very active, they are easily brainwashed by outside information."

"Our job is to educate them and block unwanted noise, unite with all the ethnic minorities and mind your own business."

China has been attacked by extremists belonging to the East Turkestan Movement several times since the 2009 riots in Urumqi. Xinjiang authorities remain on alert for signs terrorists might strike again. Officials also fear fervent young people are being targeted by religious extremists for recruitment. The dichotomy has led to suspicious minds on both sides.

The website notice telling community organizations to be wary of men who grow long beards and women who wear veils was deleted a year after it was posted, and only after it was picked up by the media which sparked controversy.

Some critics said the notice indicated a mindset that flew in the face of the policy of allowing religious freedom.

Others who joined the online debate were more supportive of the local initiative. "France banned burqas, why can't we?" asked one Internet user.

Other online users say the government was justified because the authorities are not forcing Muslims to shave or take off their veils. Given that some people are fermenting extremism and separatism in the name of religion, authorities should always be on alert for any suspicious phenomenon.

Zhang Lijuan, a professor of ethnic studies at Xinjiang Normal University, told the Global Times that ethnic relations remain a highly sensitive subject more than two years after the riot in Urumqi.

"The July 5 riot in 2009 deeply hurt both Han and Uyghur people. It would be better not to irritate them by launching such a campaign," she said.

Professor Zhang is now helping write a new textbook on ethnic studies for high school students in Xinjiang.

"Our textbook will teach students that we are all 'Chinese' instead of stressing how different we are," she said.