JuD chief Hafiz Saeed slams China for warning people to shun practice of Islam

Delhi: Jamaat-ud-Dawa chief Hafiz Saeed has rejected Beijing's call to prevent the practice of Islam in China, as per a media report.

According to a report in The Times of India, President Xi Jinping had recently cautioned citizens to be vigilant against Islamic tendencies.

He had warned them about things such as halal products at 'Second National Conference on Religion' in the Chinese capital.

Chinese President had also asked people not to confuse themselves with non-CCP approved tendencies and to never find their values and beliefs in any religion. 

Reacting on Xi's comments, Saeed has said that he would talk to the Chinese ambassador in Islamabad and lodge his protest.

He made the announcement at a congregation in Lahore. 

Interestingly, this is the first time that the JuD chief has attacked China.

Earlier his tirades were mainly directed at India, USA, Israel and other Western countries.

Saeed said that the Chinese leadership's comment was a 'challenge to the Islamic way of life'.

At the same time, he called upon the Nawaz Sharif government to 'show some courage and direct China to stay away from hurting Islamic sentiments'.

Backing Xi's statement, senior Communist Party officials had made it clear that halal products would continue to be banned in China as they 'promoted religious segregation'.

Beijing had asked those living in Xinjiang province to shun Islam. They had also asked them to stick to China's state policy of 'Marxist atheism'. 

The statements were seen to directed at Uyghurs, who in recent times, have become very aggressive in their protests against the state.

It is said that large parts of the population living in Xinjiang province have become radicalised.