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China intensified its religious oppression on Muslim
Uyghurs
Adil Muhammet Kali
Chinese government intensified its religious
oppression on Muslim Uyghurs in Eastern Turkistan
during the last Ramadan month fasting period. In
addition to the practices existed before such as
restricting fasting and praying of students and
government personnel during the holy month of Ramadan
party officials had intensified its pressure to
exercise religious practices.
According to the information our Informational Center
was able to secure from Eastern Turkistan during this
year fast in Ramadan month three party officials were
dispatched to each mosk to observe practices in Hoten
and Qashgar region. They were officials representing
police, court and regular party personnel in addition
to those Chinese policemen guarding outside of mosk
itself. In addition to that party officials in regard
of possible exercising the religious practices
inspected each enlightened house after the 10 p.m.
Moreover party officials dispatched special personnel
to lecture Muslims on when and how to prey Eid prayer.
In Islamic word the Eid prayer is to be read at the
same time and it is of the great importance. But even
to this a political emphasis was given by Chinese
government and the celebration praying of Eid was
forcifully moved one day later from the 16th to 17th
of December to be marked by Eastern Turkistan Muslim
Uyghurs. It was noted that if celebrations will be
held on 16th of December rather than on 17th, which
was desighned, party will hold the imam and the person
in charge of the inspection of the mosk responsible
and fined. And the celebration praying itself was to
execute after the eight in the morning. Moreover, the
party officials dispatched at the mosks proclaimed the
party’s new rule banning those who are not 18 years
old and government’s emploees to pray at the premises
of the mosk. Such practices are very common in Eastern
Turkistan. For example, according to the information
obtained from Eastern Turkistan by our Informational
Center in Hoten region of xxx mosk before the prayer
began party officials made speech before the crowd and
forced all government’s employees and those under the
age 18th to leave the mosk. Such incidents occurred
almost in every mosk of Hoten. As the result hundreds
of teenagers were force to pray outside of the mosk in
the freezing cold. And again in Hoten in one of the
big local mosk the deputy secretar of the regional
party Tursun made a speech before the crowd and force
those 18 years old out of the mosk. Those like Tursun
a puppet of the Chinese regime destroyed the holiday
spirit of attended Muslims. And even though in the
past Chinese government was harsh in providing its
policies toward Uyghurs no such extreme experiences
were happen before. It is obvious that China is
stepping up its efforts to eliminate a 1,000 years
long Islamic tradition of Uyghurs in its atheist
propaganda.
And in Eastern Turkistan practices made by Chinese
government on cracking down religious education by
imprisoning those attended to these centers is the
vivid example of such policy.
For example, according to the information obtained
from the Eastern Turkistan in Hoten during the period
from 8th to the 13th of December a son of the
well-known religious cleric Abdulehet haji Abdureup
was arrested while teaching Kuran to 8 young girls by
the Security forces. On December 10th thefamous cleric
woman Muhabet hanim was arrested together with her
pupils. Among those arrested were the girls who are
only 13 years old. And although they were soon relased
from the custody they were given an extremely high
fine penalty of 7000 Yuan for Abdureup, 300 Yuan fine
on girls attended the school. One of the girls was
fined for 3000 Yuan because of her “resistence to the
authorities” during the arrest.
It is nessessary to state how hard is to cover such
extreme fines in the region where the average earnings
are 80 dollars a month. According to the information
obtained from Eastern Turkistan, such practices of
extreme penalties are wide spread and even those
arrested on suspicion and released later are fined
just in case by the Chinese officials. It to be
understood that such practices are made by Chinese not
only to fear the population but again to weaken it by
endorsing such cruel economic hardships. And again
such practices are the good source of income to the
Chinese police while oppressing the Eastern Turkistan!
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ETIC REPORT 2000 
