Xinjiang Muslims attend Friday prayer

(Xinhua)
Updated: 2009-07-11 01:06

It was not immediately known how many mosques remained open for the Friday prayer in Urumqi, the official said on condition of anonymity.

Major streets in Urumqi seemed peaceful Friday. Security remained tight with a heavy police presence. More pedestrians and vehicles were seen on the roads compared with the previous four days but peddlers still had not come back. Most roadside stores also remained closed.

In others places such as Aksu in southern Xinjiang, Muslims had their normal prayers in mosques.

In the Langanda mosque in Aksu, around 600 Muslims, mostly males, attended the prayer as usual.

Ahmed Niyaz, imam of the mosque, said he told believers that the July 5 riot was neither ethnic nor religious in nature, but the sabotage of separatists.

The riot violated the doctrines of the Koran and did not represent Muslims, he said.

Emirjan, a taxi driver who attended the prayer in the Langanda mosque, said his business was not affected. Both Han and Uygur passengers were quite friendly, he said.

Shops opened and construction work went on as usual in Aksu on Friday, although police and members of the Armed Police were patrolling major intersections.

About 800 officials were sent to the mosques to ensure the smooth going of the service in Yining City. More than 44,000 people prayed at 196 mosques across the city. Officials said the number was close to those in previous years.

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