The Uyghurs are a Muslim ethnic group who have lived in northwest China for centuries. Uyghurs predominantly live in Xinjiang, the largest province in China by area and one of the most remote and least populous regions in the country.
In recent years, the Chinese government has cracked down on Uyghur culture and religion, punishing Uyghurs for speaking their native language, maintaining their culture or practicing their religion, including fasting during Ramadan or abstaining from pork and alcohol.
In culture and religion, the Uyghurs are similar to other Central Asian ethnic groups such as the Uzbeks and Kazakhs. They speak a language that is closely related to Uzbek and shares similarities with Kazakh, Kyrgyz and Turkish.
Islam is an important part of Uyghur identity, and most Uyghurs are Sunni Muslims.
Approximately 10 million Uyghurs live in Xinjiang while several hundred thousand more Uyghurs live in neighboring countries, including Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan.
Xinjiang is rich in natural resources, and its economy has historically revolved around agriculture and trade. Its towns were once main stopping points along the famous Silk Road.
The modern territory of Xinjiang, meaning “New Frontier” in Chinese, came under Chinese rule after the Qing Dynasty asserted control over the region in a military campaign in the 18th century. In the 1930s and 1940s, the region saw the declaration of two short-lived republics claiming independence, but China regained control of it after the Communist Party took power in 1949.
Persecution by China
For many years, Uyghurs have faced extensive discrimination by the Communist government, which has put in place wide-ranging restrictions on their ability to practice their culture and religion. The government has also provided incentives for millions of ethnic Han Chinese (the largest ethnicity in China) to move to Xinjiang to dilute the Uyghur majority and develop the region’s natural resources. Pervasive social and government discrimination against Uyghurs and other members of Muslim minority groups has led to protests against Chinese rule and occasional violence.
Journalists have reported that in recent years the local government has organized public ceremonies and signings in which ethnic minorities must pledge their loyalty to the Chinese Communist Party. Furthermore, the Chinese government strictly limits Uyghurs’ ability to get passports, restricting their freedom of movement and making it difficult for Uyghurs to have any contact with other Turkic and Muslim peoples abroad.
More recently, in the name of fighting against what the Chinese government terms “Islamic extremism” and “splittism,” China has detained at least 800,000 and possibly more than 2 million Uyghurs and members of other Muslim minority groups in “internment camps” since April 2017. Signs of “potential extremism” that may lead to detention include “irregular” beards, travel abroad to Muslim majority countries, possession of unauthorized Qurans and refusal to consume alcohol or pork.
The Chinese authorities call the camps “re-education” or “vocational” schools, but people who have escaped tell stories about electric shocks, forced confessions and brainwashing. They are forced to sing Chinese songs, memorize laws and recite Communist Party sayings. International media and human rights organizations have reported that security officials in the centers abused, tortured and killed some detainees.
Uyghurs not in the camps are subject to one of the most pervasive police states on Earth, with large police and military presences in cities and towns. Security cameras are on every corner, and Uyghurs are required to install apps on their phones that allow the government to monitor their activities. Uyghurs are also forced to give up DNA and other biometric data for government databases.
Uyghurs aren’t even alone in their homes. A program of “in-person monitoring” means that Chinese Communist Party members have moved into Uyghur family homes, ostensibly to “get closer to the people” and “understand the problems they are facing,” but also to report on their cultural activities, religious practices and perceived loyalty to the Communist Party.
“These camps are clearly a Chinese effort to reduce the capacity for Chinese people to exercise their religious freedom,” Secretary of State Michael Pompeo said in an interview in October. The United States is going to “push back against these denials of the most basic human rights.”
This story draws on a Voice of America report.
