Xinjiang: dangerous for jewish traveler?

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nponieman.1296583
nponieman.1296583

Hi!

I'll be travelling through China, and had my eye on doing the old silk road.
This might come as a silly question, but I was wondering if I could encounter any trouble as a jew in a muslim province.
I know certain muslim countries have a greater tolerance for jews than others, for example Iran and Afghanistan are dangerous destinations but I have been in Turkey and had no trouble at all.

Just to clarify, I'm not at all religious, I don't were a yarmulke or perform any jewish rituals, I just have a pretty obvious jewish name and face.

Thanks for the info!

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rpbourne
rpbourne

Xinjiang is perfectly safe

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bittermelon
bittermelon

I doubt very much anyone would recognize an "obvious" Jewish name or face.

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mvbergen
mvbergen

You have a lot of Jewish people in Iran...

Michel

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lucapal
lucapal

Yes,can't see any problems in China.The vast majority of locals wouldn't know,and practically no-one would care.

A side point but as Michel says above...there are Jews in Iran.The second largest Jewish population in the Middle East in fact,after Israel.

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nponieman.1296583
nponieman.1296583

Thank you all for your replies and sorry for my ignorance about Iran.
Sadly, Israel's international politics resulted in the non-welcoming of international jews to some countries, and I had the impression Iran was one of this countries.

It sucks but the jewish community is very insistent on being extra careful when traveling to muslim destinations due to today's current global situation, despite of the fact that jews and muslims lived together peacefully for hundreds of years.

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lucapal
lucapal

Israelis are certainly not welcome in Iran.Or even people with an Israeli stamp in their passport.

They have their own Jewish citizens,though the number has been declining since the Islamic revolution.Many Jews left the country for the USA and Israel.

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889
889

As said, it shouldn't even come up. Unless you're Israeli, since foreigners in casual conversation are almost always asked where they're from. Usually insistently, and it can be hard to avoid the question. If you try, they'll start guessing, and Israel will be among the guesses.

Still, should not be an issue. In general, Islam in China is quite moderate and not politicised, because that's the way the government wants it.

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fieldgate
fieldgate

I see in your profile you reside in Buenos Aires, Argentina.
I too reacted to your mentioning regarding Iran and would ask you if you were talking from experience. As already said here, Iran has the largest Jewish population in the ME, after Israel, and they co-exist peacefuly with the rest of the population (which is very multi-ethnic). I met an Argentinian Jew who was with his mother (a typical Jewish surname), and they travelled together, independently in Iran without any problems.

You have nothing to worry about in China. Nobody will care where you come from and what ethicity you are.

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