'The government brought the situation under control soon after the riot. Now social order is restored and we feel safe in the mosques,' said Tayir, only the first name was given.

The ceremony in China's largest mosque, the Id Kah Mosque, in Kashi City in Xinjiang Province, went smoothly with a heavy police presence. The people entered the mosque through three security checkpoints, as armed police guarded the building until the ceremony was over.

In Yining City, the prayer services proceeded calmly in the 196 mosques.

'According to the doctrines of the Koran, Muslims can perform rituals at home Friday, not necessarily at mosques, if there is social a unrest or war, or (when) their families are sick,' said Abdushukur, the imam of the Baida Mosque.