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China is said to be one of three countries that prohibits its Muslim citizens from fasting during Ramadan. Photo/REUTERS
JAKARTA – There are three countries that prohibit their citizens from fasting. In addition to being banned from worshiping, Muslims in these three countries also receive discriminatory treatment.
Ramadan fasting is one of the obligatory acts of worship for Muslims. However, not everyone can do it freely and peacefully.
Muslims living in three countries that do not uphold religious freedom must fight every day to fight discrimination and defend their beliefs.
Here are 3 countries that prohibit their citizens from fasting
This prohibition of fasting is done in order to destroy a person’s confidence and trust. Three countries that prohibit their citizens from fasting are China, North Korea, and Myanmar.
1. China
In 2014, several government departments in the far western region of Xinjiang, China, banned Muslim staff from fasting during the month of Ramadan.
The move was taken in line with the tightening of surveillance in the region of Xinjiang which is inhabited by ethnic Uighurs. The move came after outbreaks of violence in the region, which authorities said were caused by ethnic Muslims.
The Uighur Islamic ethnic group denies the claim. Humanitarian activists also accuse Beijing of exaggerating threats from Uighur separatists to justify its abuse of religious freedom.
2. North Korea
North Korea is known as a country that has a lot of atheist residents. Even so, according to the State Religious Characteristics Data Collection Project, in 2015, around 1.7% were still Buddhists, and 16.5% included a mix of other religions namely Christianity and Islam.
According to The Guardian, although North Korea’s constitution proclaims freedom of religion, in practice this is bogus. Someone will be forced to learn about the negative effects of having a large religion in their country.
This is what makes many North Koreans become agnostics. So that the holders of beliefs or religious people must worship in private to avoid serious sanctions.
This terrible rule that exists in North Korea is applied to all religious teachings. So there will be no holy month of Ramadan, no Christmas or other religious celebrations.
3. Myanmar
When Myanmar carried out massacres against the Rohingya, there were many discriminatory actions carried out by Buddhist extremists together with the armed military.
Starting from cases of closing several madrasas, restraining worship during the holy month of Ramadan, to killings and massacres against Muslims.
The treatment carried out by Myanmar was declared by the United States as genocide. Hundreds of thousands of Rohingya Muslims have fled Myanmar since the military crackdown that began in 2017.
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