Popular Chinese Muslim website shutters after Xi Jinping petition

AFP/14 December 2016-   
One of China’s most popular online communities for Muslims has been shuttered after posting a petition asking Chinese President Xi Jinping to stop his “brutal suppression” of activists, the letter’s authors told AFP Wednesday.   

Since 2003, the “Zhongmu Wang” website, or 2muslim.com, functioned as an “online network of Muslims sharing Islam”, according to archived descriptions.   

But as of Wednesday the site was inaccessible, showing only a message stating it was “under maintenance”.   

Two of its affiliated social media accounts were also unavailable, displaying messages that declared one account “abnormal” and the other “in violation of required guidelines”.   

China officially has more than 23 million Muslims, though some independent estimates say there may be as many as 50 million -- which would put China among the world’s top 10 Muslim nations.   
While China’s constitution enshrines freedom of religious belief, authorities keep strict limits on it, recognising only five belief systems and seeking to control their messages.