"There are different opinions after the legislators of Urumqi, the capital of the region, passed a regulation banning full face and body coverings in public in February. The fact is that such clothes are not traditional ethnic³ costumes, but expressions of religious extremism," said Nayim Yasen, director of the Standing⁴ Committee of the Xinjiang People's Congress, during the annual session of the National People's Congress. 

 

He added that the regional legislature is considering including the same article in its anti-extremism draft regulation. 

 

"Religious extremism is one of Xinjiang's biggest problems at the moment, and it must be handled in accordance with the law," Nayim said. 

 

Ma Pinyan, a senior anti-terrorism researcher at the Xinjiang Academy of Social Sciences, said such a ban is necessary because wearing full face and body coverings in public is an obvious statement promoting religious beliefs. 

 

Many deputies to the Xinjiang delegation⁵ of the NPC said people, especially in rural areas, have been forced to cover up their faces and bodies so the extremists won't harass⁶ them, and not because they hold extremist thoughts. 

 

Xinjiang, which has a large Muslim population, has been hit by religious extremism, leading to an increasing number of terrorist attacks.

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