Turkish journalist refutes rumor of Ramadan ban in China

It is not true that China has banned local muslims in Xinjiang to observe the holy month of Ramadan, a Turkish journalist who is currently on a trip in northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region told local radio here in an interview.

Speaking at a live program in Direction Radio on Friday, Sadi Kaymaz said he attended prayers with local muslims in Xinjiang during Ramadan.

"The mosque was crowded, and I saw nobody was stopped for wanting to enter or leave the mosque," he said.

He also said that he and his colleagues were invited to eat Ramadan fasting-break dinner with a local muslim family.

Kaymaz and his colleagues of the China Radio International are taking a 10-day interview trip in the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region starting from July 9.

Ramadan lasts from June 18 to July 18 this year. During this season of fasting and spiritual reflection, Muslims do not eat or drink from sunrise to dusk. It is widely observed by Xinjiang's ethnic minorities including Hui, Uygur, Kazak, Uzbec, Tajik and Kyrgyz.

Rumors have been circulating on some social networks in the past weeks that China bans muslims from praying and fasting during Ramadan.