URUMQI -- Muslims in Northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region are observing the fasting month of Ramadan "normally and freely," local imams said on Sunday.

This year's Ramadan began on April 13. Yiminjan Kerim, an imam of the Tuanjie Mosque in Korla city, helped arrange religious activities and services. To prevent COVID-19, the mosque also applied daily disinfection measures to guarantee the smooth operation of religious activities, the imam said.

Ma Jirong, an imam at the Shaanxi Grand Mosque of Yining city, said that during Ramadan, local Muslims practice religious activities in mosques or their own homes according to their own free will, and these rights are protected by law.

Memet Ehet, an imam of the Restjama Mosque in the region's Aksu city, said that during Ramadan, Muslims of different ethnic groups are free to decide whether to fast or not according to their own circumstances.

"I observe the Islamic tradition of fasting, and so does my wife. She prepares the evening meal that marks the end of daily fasting for me."