In One Xinjiang City, Beards and Muslim Headscarves Banned From Buses

A city in China’s remote western Xinjiang region has temporarily banned men with beards and women with Muslim headscarves from taking public buses. The extreme security measure — to be implemented for the duration of a sports competition slated to kick off in northern Xinjiang’s Karamay city on August 8 — is the latest example of the kind of religious intolerance that some say has fuelled growing anti-government feelings and radicalized the region’s Muslims, particularly the Uighurs, a Turkic-speaking minority concentrated primarily in Xinjiang. The QQ news portal and other Chinese news sites that picked up the report also ran a graphic showing the "five abnormal styles" that weren’t allowed on Karamay public transport. It showed pictures of women in full and partial veils, headscarves, and men with full beards and even a modest goatee.