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They were buddhist but are today largely muslims and being Turkic also means being Asian/Euroasian
Explosion occurred near a park in Urumqi
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China Restrictions Stifle Uighurs' Ramadan
Wary of Islam, China Tightens a Vise of Rules
Gilles Sabrie
A People’s Liberation Army political poster in a town in Xinjiang, China, a region largely inhabited by Uighurs, an ethnic group uneasy with the government’s rule.
By EDWARD WONG
KHOTAN, China — The grand mosque that draws thousands of Muslims each week in this oasis town has all the usual trappings of piety: dusty wool carpets on which to kneel in prayer, a row of turbans and skullcaps for men without headwear, a wall niche facing the holy city of Mecca in the Arabian desert.
The edicts touch on every facet of a Muslim’s way of life. Official versions of the Koran are the only legal ones. Imams may not teach the Koran in private, and studying Arabic is allowed only at special government schools.
Two of Islam’s five pillars — the sacred fasting month of Ramadan and the pilgrimage to Mecca called the hajj — are also carefully controlled. Students and government workers are compelled to eat during Ramadan, and the passports of Uighurs have been confiscated across Xinjiang to force them to join government-run hajj tours rather than travel illegally to Mecca on their own.
Government workers are not permitted to practice Islam, which means the slightest sign of devotion, a head scarf on a woman, for example, could lead to a firing.
The Chinese government, which is officially atheist, recognizes five religions — Islam, Protestantism, Catholicism, Taoism and Buddhism — and tightly regulates their administration and practice. Its oversight in Xinjiang, though, is especially vigilant because it worries about separatist activity in the region.
Some officials contend that insurgent groups in Xinjiang pose one of the biggest security threats to China, and the government says the “three forces” of separatism, terrorism and religious extremism threaten to destabilize the region. But outside scholars of Xinjiang and terrorism experts argue that heavy-handed tactics like the restrictions on Islam will only radicalize more Uighurs.
Many of the rules have been on the books for years, but some local governments in Xinjiang have publicly highlighted them in the past seven weeks by posting the laws on Web sites or hanging banners in towns.
Those moves coincided with Ramadan, which ran from September to early October, and came on the heels of a series of attacks in August that left at least 22 security officers and one civilian dead, according to official reports. The deadliest attack was a murky ambush in Kashgar that witnesses said involved men in police uniforms fighting each other.
The attacks were the biggest wave of violence in Xinjiang since the 1990s. In recent months, Wang Lequan, the long-serving party secretary of Xinjiang, and Nuer Baikeli, the chairman of the region, have given hard-line speeches indicating that a crackdown will soon begin.
Mr. Wang said the government was engaged in a “life or death” struggle in Xinjiang. Mr. Baikeli signaled that government control of religious activities would tighten, asserting that “the religious issue has been the barometer of stability in Xinjiang.”
Anti-China forces in the West and separatist forces are trying to carry out “illegal religious activities and agitate religious fever,” he said, and “the field of religion has become an increasingly important battlefield against enemies.”
Uighurs are the largest ethnic group in Xinjiang, accounting for 46 percent of the population of 19 million. Many say Han Chinese, the country’s dominant ethnic group, discriminate against them based on the most obvious differences between the groups: language and religion.
The Uighurs began adopting Sunni Islam in the 10th century, although patterns of belief vary widely, and the religion has enjoyed a surge of popularity after the harshest decades of Communist rule. According to government statistics, there are 24,000 mosques and 29,000 religious leaders in Xinjiang. Muslim piety is especially strong in old Silk Road towns in the south like Kashgar, Yarkand and Khotan.
Many Han Chinese see Islam as the root of social problems in Xinjiang.
“The Uighurs are lazy,” said a man who runs a construction business in Kashgar and would give only his last name, Zhao, because of the political delicacy of the topic.
“It’s because of their religion,” he said. “They spend so much time praying. What are they praying for?”
The government restrictions are posted inside mosques and elsewhere across Xinjiang. In particular, officials take great pains to publicize the law prohibiting Muslims from arranging their own trips for the hajj. Signs painted on mud-brick walls in the winding alleyways of old Kashgar warn against making illegal pilgrimages. A red banner hanging on a large mosque in the Uighur area of Urumqi, the regional capital, says, “Implement the policy of organized and planned pilgrimage; individual pilgrimage is forbidden.”
As dozens of worshipers streamed into the mosque for prayer on a recent evening, one Uighur man pointed to the sign and shook his head. “We didn’t write that,” he said in broken Chinese. “They wrote that.”
He turned his finger to a white neon sign above the building that simply said “mosque” in Arabic script. “We wrote that,” he said.
Like other Uighurs interviewed for this article, he agreed to speak on the condition that his name not be used for fear of retribution by the authorities.
The government gives various reasons for controlling the hajj. Officials say that the Saudi Arabian government is concerned about crowded conditions in Mecca that have led to fatal tramplings, and that Muslims who leave China on their own sometimes spend too much money on the pilgrimage.
Critics say the government is trying to restrict the movements of Uighurs and prevent them from coming into contact with other Muslims, fearing that such exchanges could build a pan-Islamic identity in Xinjiang.
About two years ago, the government began confiscating the passports of Uighurs across the region, angering many people here. Now virtually no Uighurs have passports, though they can apply for them for short trips. The new restriction has made life especially difficult for businessmen who travel to neighboring countries.
To get a passport to go on an official hajj tour or a business trip, applicants must leave a deposit of nearly $6,000.
One man in Kashgar said the imam at his mosque, who like all official imams is paid by the government, had recently been urging congregants to go to Mecca only with legal tours.
That is not easy for many Uighurs. The cost of an official trip is the equivalent of $3,700, and hefty bribes usually raise the price. Once a person files an application, the authorities do a background check into the family. If the applicant has children, the children must be old enough to be financially self-sufficient, and the applicant is required to show that he or she has substantial savings in the bank. Officials say these conditions ensure that a hajj trip will not leave the family impoverished.
Rules posted last year on the Xinjiang government’s Web site say the applicant must be 50 to 70 years old, “love the country and obey the law.”
The number of applicants far outnumbers the slots available each year, and the wait is at least a year. But the government has been raising the cap. Xinhua, the state news agency, reported that from 2006 to 2007, more than 3,100 Muslims from Xinjiang went on the official hajj, up from 2,000 the previous year.
One young Uighur man in Kashgar said his parents were pushing their children to get married soon so they could prove the children were financially independent, thus allowing them to qualify to go on the hajj. “Their greatest wish is to go to Mecca once,” the man, who wished to be identified only as Abdullah, said over dinner.
But the family has to weigh another factor: the father, now retired, was once a government employee and a Communist Party member, so he might very well lose his pension if he went on the hajj, Abdullah said.
The rules on fasting during Ramadan are just as strict. Several local governments began posting the regulations on their Web sites last month. They vary by town and county but include requiring restaurants to stay open during daylight hours and mandating that women not wear veils and men shave their beards.
Enforcement can be haphazard. In Kashgar, many Uighur restaurants remained closed during the fasting hours. “The religion is too strong in Kashgar,” said one man. “There are rules, but people don’t follow them.”
One rule that officials in some towns seem especially intent on enforcing is the ban on students’ fasting. Supporters of this policy say students need to eat to study properly.
The local university in Kashgar adheres to the policy. Starting last year, it tried to force students to eat during the day by prohibiting them from leaving campus in the evening to join their families in breaking the daily fast. Residents of Kashgar say the university locked the gates and put glass shards along the top of a campus wall.
After a few weeks, the school built a higher wall.
China officials tighten restrictions on Muslim practices
Government employees and Communist members banned from fasting during Ramadan
Officials in China's turbulent north-western region of Xinjiang are tightening restrictions on Muslim practices including mass prayers during Ramadan, according to government notices.
Government employees and Communist party members are banned from fasting, wearing veils or growing beards, said circulars posted on several official websites. Other measures - which appear to vary area to area - include forcing restaurants to maintain their usual opening hours instead of shifting them in light of dawn-to-dusk fasting.
Religious controls are usually stricter during Ramadan but experts say this year's are noticeably stronger and believe it is the first time they have been published rather than passed on orally.
A notice on the Zhaosu county website said that ideological education had to be stepped up in the face of "violent and disruptive activities by religious extremists, separatists and terrorists".
Last month saw the worst violence for a decade with a string of fatal attacks including an assault on police in Kashgar that left 16 officers dead and 16 wounded. No one has claimed responsibility but officials have blamed Uighur separatists.
Two of the towns that posted notices, Xinhe and Shaya, are near Kuqa, where 11 people died in suicide bombings and police shootings a few days later.
Around half the population of the vast region of Xinjiang is composed of Muslim Uighurs. Many resent the religious and cultural restrictions placed upon them and some seek an independent East Turkestan.
A note on the Shaya government website said propaganda and inspections should be stepped up during the period. "Fasting and participation in religious activities by party members and students is forbidden," it said.
The note called for stronger security at mosques, saying that officials should "prohibit playing recordings, videos or using loudspeakers to force people to take part in fasting. Work units or individuals are not allowed to hand out religious propaganda in public areas."
It said people were forbidden from forcing others to fast, attend religious activities or cover their face with veils. "Effective measures" should be taken to ensure people who already had beards and veils removed them, the note said, although it appears it may have been referring to officials and public sector workers.
A Zhaosu county website notice said officials should "try to reduce Ramadan's influence on society as much as possible".
It told them to "dissuade people from attending organised and planned worship in large groups in order to prevent mass incidents; prevent, guide and stop situations like closing restaurants during Ramadan, students attending religious activities, women going into mosques with veils and shops stopping selling wines and cigarettes".
"To the best of my knowledge it's the first time this has been explicitly spelled out in this way - normally these instructions are not put in writing," said Nicholas Bequelin, an expert on Xinjiang at Human Rights Watch. Measures such as the restrictions on restaurants were "definitely more intrusive than before," he said.
"What has been driving these increasingly invasive restrictions on religious and cultural behaviour is the fear that Uighurs are not loyal to the party and government," Bequelin said. "It used to be the case that some cadres in the 80s and early 90s were clearly religious. That's not possible any more because the state sees what it regards as ostentatious religiosity as an act of defiance towards the government."
Struggling with the Chinese government to guarantee religious freedoms, Islamic practices were becoming a symbol of Uighur identity.
BEIJING – Restricting the entry of Uighur Muslims to mosques and interfering with their requisite daytime fasting, Chinese restrictions during the holy month of Ramadan are inviting the outrage of human rights groups.
"Launched in the name of stability and security, Beijing’s campaigns of repression against Uighur Muslims include the targeting of peaceful private gatherings for religious study and devotion," Dr Katrina Lantos Swett, of the US Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF), was quoted as saying by The Muslim Village on Monday, July 15.
“These abuses predictably have led to neither stability nor security, but rather instability and insecurity.”
Ahead of the start of Ramadan, Chinese authorities have imposed restrictions on Muslim prayers at mosques and interfered with their requisite daytime fasting.
According to World Uighur Congress spokesman Dilxadi Rexiti, the government officials have repeatedly entered Uighur homes to provide them with fruit and drinks during daylight hours to force them to break their Ramadan fast.
Rexiti accused the authorities of banning organized study of religious texts and placed religious venues under close watch, including an “around-the-clock” monitoring of mosques in the northern city of Karamay, the Karamay Daily reported.
The worrying restrictions were confirmed in the USCIRF’s annual report which said many Uighur Muslims served prison terms for engaging in independent religious activity.
Government employees, professors and students were also fined if they observe the fast.
Another report by the Washington-based Uighur American Association (UAA) in April cited a Muslim restaurant owner from Hotan as saying that any restaurant closing, even for repairs, during the holy fasting month, is fined.
“The extremely aggressive and intrusive religious restrictions even into the private lives of Uighurs by the Chinese state will only further provoke the anger of the Uighur people,” UAA president Alim Seytoff said.
“Violence may erupt again due to such systematic repressive measures.”
Ramadan, the holiest month in Islamic calendar, started last Wednesday, July 10.
In Ramadan, adult Muslims abstain from food, drink, smoking and sex between dawn and sunset.
The sick and those traveling are exempt from fasting especially if it poses health risks.
Muslims dedicate their time during the holy month to be closer to Allah through prayers, self-restraint and good deeds.
Identity Struggle
Struggling with the Chinese government to guarantee religious freedoms, Islamic practices were becoming a symbol of Uighur identity.
“These measures will only solidify the distance between the ethnicities in Xinjiang,” Dr Reza Hasmath, an Oxford researcher with a focus on China’s ethnic minorities, said.
Other experts warn that the situation in Xinjiang is more than a localized security issue.
“China needs to manage its minorities better,” said Ronan Gunaratna, head of the International Centre for Political Violence and Terrorism Research in Singapore.
“At this point, threats to the government comes primarily from its ethnicities.”
By cracking down repeatedly on Uighur Muslim identity, China has entered a “vicious circle” that only created more resentment.
“Over the past few weeks, the central leadership has had only one idea – to use as much security as possible,” said Kerry Brown, director of Sydney University’s China Studies Centre.
“And it’s a very questionable strategy.
“The government has a paranoid mindset, but this is a real problem that has nothing to do with outsiders,” he said.
These measures were actually threatening mass uprising with potential to spill over on a regional, or even national, level.
“China could explode anywhere, but Xinjiang is at the forefront,” said Brown.
“It’s the perfect storm.”
Uighur Muslims are a Turkish-speaking minority of eight million in the northwestern Xinjiang region.
Xinjiang, which activists call East Turkestan, has been autonomous since 1955 but continues to be the subject of massive security crackdowns by Chinese authorities.
Rights groups accuse Chinese authorities of religious repression against Uighur Muslims in Xinjiang in the name of counter terrorism.
Muslims accuse the government of settling millions of ethnic Han in their territory with the ultimate goal of obliterating its identity and culture.
Analysts say the policy of transferring Han Chinese to Xinjiang to consolidate Beijing's authority has increased the proportion of Han in the region from five percent in the 1940s to more than 40 percent now.
Wary of Islam, China Tightens a Vise of Rules
Gilles Sabrie
A People’s Liberation Army political poster in a town in Xinjiang, China, a region largely inhabited by Uighurs, an ethnic group uneasy with the government’s rule.
By EDWARD WONG
KHOTAN, China — The grand mosque that draws thousands of Muslims each week in this oasis town has all the usual trappings of piety: dusty wool carpets on which to kneel in prayer, a row of turbans and skullcaps for men without headwear, a wall niche facing the holy city of Mecca in the Arabian desert.
The edicts touch on every facet of a Muslim’s way of life. Official versions of the Koran are the only legal ones. Imams may not teach the Koran in private, and studying Arabic is allowed only at special government schools.
Two of Islam’s five pillars — the sacred fasting month of Ramadan and the pilgrimage to Mecca called the hajj — are also carefully controlled. Students and government workers are compelled to eat during Ramadan, and the passports of Uighurs have been confiscated across Xinjiang to force them to join government-run hajj tours rather than travel illegally to Mecca on their own.
Government workers are not permitted to practice Islam, which means the slightest sign of devotion, a head scarf on a woman, for example, could lead to a firing.
The Chinese government, which is officially atheist, recognizes five religions — Islam, Protestantism, Catholicism, Taoism and Buddhism — and tightly regulates their administration and practice. Its oversight in Xinjiang, though, is especially vigilant because it worries about separatist activity in the region.
Some officials contend that insurgent groups in Xinjiang pose one of the biggest security threats to China, and the government says the “three forces” of separatism, terrorism and religious extremism threaten to destabilize the region. But outside scholars of Xinjiang and terrorism experts argue that heavy-handed tactics like the restrictions on Islam will only radicalize more Uighurs.
Many of the rules have been on the books for years, but some local governments in Xinjiang have publicly highlighted them in the past seven weeks by posting the laws on Web sites or hanging banners in towns.
Those moves coincided with Ramadan, which ran from September to early October, and came on the heels of a series of attacks in August that left at least 22 security officers and one civilian dead, according to official reports. The deadliest attack was a murky ambush in Kashgar that witnesses said involved men in police uniforms fighting each other.
The attacks were the biggest wave of violence in Xinjiang since the 1990s. In recent months, Wang Lequan, the long-serving party secretary of Xinjiang, and Nuer Baikeli, the chairman of the region, have given hard-line speeches indicating that a crackdown will soon begin.
Mr. Wang said the government was engaged in a “life or death” struggle in Xinjiang. Mr. Baikeli signaled that government control of religious activities would tighten, asserting that “the religious issue has been the barometer of stability in Xinjiang.”
Anti-China forces in the West and separatist forces are trying to carry out “illegal religious activities and agitate religious fever,” he said, and “the field of religion has become an increasingly important battlefield against enemies.”
Uighurs are the largest ethnic group in Xinjiang, accounting for 46 percent of the population of 19 million. Many say Han Chinese, the country’s dominant ethnic group, discriminate against them based on the most obvious differences between the groups: language and religion.
The Uighurs began adopting Sunni Islam in the 10th century, although patterns of belief vary widely, and the religion has enjoyed a surge of popularity after the harshest decades of Communist rule. According to government statistics, there are 24,000 mosques and 29,000 religious leaders in Xinjiang. Muslim piety is especially strong in old Silk Road towns in the south like Kashgar, Yarkand and Khotan.
Many Han Chinese see Islam as the root of social problems in Xinjiang.
“The Uighurs are lazy,” said a man who runs a construction business in Kashgar and would give only his last name, Zhao, because of the political delicacy of the topic.
“It’s because of their religion,” he said. “They spend so much time praying. What are they praying for?”
The government restrictions are posted inside mosques and elsewhere across Xinjiang. In particular, officials take great pains to publicize the law prohibiting Muslims from arranging their own trips for the hajj. Signs painted on mud-brick walls in the winding alleyways of old Kashgar warn against making illegal pilgrimages. A red banner hanging on a large mosque in the Uighur area of Urumqi, the regional capital, says, “Implement the policy of organized and planned pilgrimage; individual pilgrimage is forbidden.”
As dozens of worshipers streamed into the mosque for prayer on a recent evening, one Uighur man pointed to the sign and shook his head. “We didn’t write that,” he said in broken Chinese. “They wrote that.”
He turned his finger to a white neon sign above the building that simply said “mosque” in Arabic script. “We wrote that,” he said.
Like other Uighurs interviewed for this article, he agreed to speak on the condition that his name not be used for fear of retribution by the authorities.
The government gives various reasons for controlling the hajj. Officials say that the Saudi Arabian government is concerned about crowded conditions in Mecca that have led to fatal tramplings, and that Muslims who leave China on their own sometimes spend too much money on the pilgrimage.
Critics say the government is trying to restrict the movements of Uighurs and prevent them from coming into contact with other Muslims, fearing that such exchanges could build a pan-Islamic identity in Xinjiang.
About two years ago, the government began confiscating the passports of Uighurs across the region, angering many people here. Now virtually no Uighurs have passports, though they can apply for them for short trips. The new restriction has made life especially difficult for businessmen who travel to neighboring countries.
To get a passport to go on an official hajj tour or a business trip, applicants must leave a deposit of nearly $6,000.
One man in Kashgar said the imam at his mosque, who like all official imams is paid by the government, had recently been urging congregants to go to Mecca only with legal tours.
That is not easy for many Uighurs. The cost of an official trip is the equivalent of $3,700, and hefty bribes usually raise the price. Once a person files an application, the authorities do a background check into the family. If the applicant has children, the children must be old enough to be financially self-sufficient, and the applicant is required to show that he or she has substantial savings in the bank. Officials say these conditions ensure that a hajj trip will not leave the family impoverished.
Rules posted last year on the Xinjiang government’s Web site say the applicant must be 50 to 70 years old, “love the country and obey the law.”
The number of applicants far outnumbers the slots available each year, and the wait is at least a year. But the government has been raising the cap. Xinhua, the state news agency, reported that from 2006 to 2007, more than 3,100 Muslims from Xinjiang went on the official hajj, up from 2,000 the previous year.
One young Uighur man in Kashgar said his parents were pushing their children to get married soon so they could prove the children were financially independent, thus allowing them to qualify to go on the hajj. “Their greatest wish is to go to Mecca once,” the man, who wished to be identified only as Abdullah, said over dinner.
But the family has to weigh another factor: the father, now retired, was once a government employee and a Communist Party member, so he might very well lose his pension if he went on the hajj, Abdullah said.
The rules on fasting during Ramadan are just as strict. Several local governments began posting the regulations on their Web sites last month. They vary by town and county but include requiring restaurants to stay open during daylight hours and mandating that women not wear veils and men shave their beards.
Enforcement can be haphazard. In Kashgar, many Uighur restaurants remained closed during the fasting hours. “The religion is too strong in Kashgar,” said one man. “There are rules, but people don’t follow them.”
One rule that officials in some towns seem especially intent on enforcing is the ban on students’ fasting. Supporters of this policy say students need to eat to study properly.
The local university in Kashgar adheres to the policy. Starting last year, it tried to force students to eat during the day by prohibiting them from leaving campus in the evening to join their families in breaking the daily fast. Residents of Kashgar say the university locked the gates and put glass shards along the top of a campus wall.
After a few weeks, the school built a higher wall.
China officials tighten restrictions on Muslim practices
Government employees and Communist members banned from fasting during Ramadan
Officials in China's turbulent north-western region of Xinjiang are tightening restrictions on Muslim practices including mass prayers during Ramadan, according to government notices.
Government employees and Communist party members are banned from fasting, wearing veils or growing beards, said circulars posted on several official websites. Other measures - which appear to vary area to area - include forcing restaurants to maintain their usual opening hours instead of shifting them in light of dawn-to-dusk fasting.
Religious controls are usually stricter during Ramadan but experts say this year's are noticeably stronger and believe it is the first time they have been published rather than passed on orally.
A notice on the Zhaosu county website said that ideological education had to be stepped up in the face of "violent and disruptive activities by religious extremists, separatists and terrorists".
Last month saw the worst violence for a decade with a string of fatal attacks including an assault on police in Kashgar that left 16 officers dead and 16 wounded. No one has claimed responsibility but officials have blamed Uighur separatists.
Two of the towns that posted notices, Xinhe and Shaya, are near Kuqa, where 11 people died in suicide bombings and police shootings a few days later.
Around half the population of the vast region of Xinjiang is composed of Muslim Uighurs. Many resent the religious and cultural restrictions placed upon them and some seek an independent East Turkestan.
A note on the Shaya government website said propaganda and inspections should be stepped up during the period. "Fasting and participation in religious activities by party members and students is forbidden," it said.
The note called for stronger security at mosques, saying that officials should "prohibit playing recordings, videos or using loudspeakers to force people to take part in fasting. Work units or individuals are not allowed to hand out religious propaganda in public areas."
It said people were forbidden from forcing others to fast, attend religious activities or cover their face with veils. "Effective measures" should be taken to ensure people who already had beards and veils removed them, the note said, although it appears it may have been referring to officials and public sector workers.
A Zhaosu county website notice said officials should "try to reduce Ramadan's influence on society as much as possible".
It told them to "dissuade people from attending organised and planned worship in large groups in order to prevent mass incidents; prevent, guide and stop situations like closing restaurants during Ramadan, students attending religious activities, women going into mosques with veils and shops stopping selling wines and cigarettes".
"To the best of my knowledge it's the first time this has been explicitly spelled out in this way - normally these instructions are not put in writing," said Nicholas Bequelin, an expert on Xinjiang at Human Rights Watch. Measures such as the restrictions on restaurants were "definitely more intrusive than before," he said.
"What has been driving these increasingly invasive restrictions on religious and cultural behaviour is the fear that Uighurs are not loyal to the party and government," Bequelin said. "It used to be the case that some cadres in the 80s and early 90s were clearly religious. That's not possible any more because the state sees what it regards as ostentatious religiosity as an act of defiance towards the government."
Battle of Bach Dang River
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Why is there tension between China and the Uighurs?
The Xinjiang autonomous region in China has had a long history of discord between Chinese authorities and the indigenous ethnic Uighur population. The BBC sets out why.
Where is Xinjiang and who lives there?
The ethnic Uighur population used to be the majority in China's Xinjiang region
The sprawling Xinjiang autonomous region is located in China's far west. The largest of China's administrative regions, it borders eight countries - Mongolia, Russia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Afghanistan, Pakistan and India.
Uighurs comprised most of the population before the heavy migration of China's ethnic majority Han began.
Most Uighurs are Muslim and Islam is an important part of their life and identity. Their language is related to Turkish, and they regard themselves as culturally and ethnically close to Central Asian nations.
The region's economy has largely revolved around agriculture and trade, with towns such as Kashgar thriving as hubs along the famous Silk Road.
But development has brought new residents. In the 2000 census, Han Chinese made up 40%, excluding large numbers of troops stationed in the region and unknown numbers of unregistered migrants.
Has Xinjiang always been part of China?
Xinjiang officially became part of Communist China in 1949
The region has had an intermittent history of autonomy and occasional independence, but what is now known as Xinjiang came under Chinese rule in the 18th Century.
An East Turkestan state was briefly declared in 1949, but independence was short-lived. It was during that year that Xinjiang officially became part of Communist China.
In the 1990s, open support for separatist groups increased after the collapse of the Soviet Union and the emergence of independent Muslim states in Central Asia.
However, Beijing suppressed demonstrations and activists went underground.
What is at the heart of the unrest?
China's critics say authorities have stepped up a crackdown on Uighurs in recent years
While the issue is a complex one, many say that ethnic tensions caused by economic and cultural factors between the Uighurs and the Han Chinese are the root cause of violent incidents in the region.
In recent decades, major development projects in energy and industry have brought prosperity to Xinjiang's big cities. This has attracted young and technically-qualified Han Chinese from eastern provinces.
The Han Chinese are said to be given the best jobs and the majority do well economically, something that has fuelled resentment among Uighurs.
The Uighur culture leans more towards Central Asia than China
Activists say Uighur religious, commercial and cultural activities have been gradually curtailed by the Chinese state. There are complaints that the Uighurs experience severe restrictions in the practice of their Muslim faith, with fewer mosques and strict control over religious schools.
Rights group Amnesty International, in a report published last year, said authorities criminalised "what they labelled 'illegal religious' and 'separatist' activities" and clamped down on "peaceful expressions of cultural identity".
How has the violence developed?
China has poured troops into the region in recent years as unrest has rumbled
China has been accused of intensifying its crackdown on the Uighurs after street protests in the 1990s and again in the run-up to the Beijing Olympics in 2008.
But things really escalated in 2009, with large-scale ethnic rioting in the regional capital, Urumqi. Some 200 people were killed in the unrest, most of them Han Chinese, according to officials.
Xinjiang's economy has largely revolved around agriculture and trade
Beijing then increased security in Xinjiang and detained many Uighurs as suspects. But violence rumbled on as right groups increasingly pointed to tight control by Beijing.
In June 2012 six Uighurs reportedly tried to hijack a plane from Hotan to Urumqi before they were overpowered by passengers and crew.
There was bloodshed in April 2013 and in June that year, 27 people died in Shanshan county after police opened fire on what state media described as a mob armed with knives attacking local government buildings
Establishing facts about these incidents is difficult, because foreign journalists' access to the region is tightly controlled.
Are the attacks changing?
Chinese officials blamed the attack at Tiananmen Square on separatists from Xinjiang
In recent months, there appears to have been a shift towards larger-scale incidents where citizens have become the target.
At least 31 people were killed and more than 90 suffered injuries in May when two cars crashed through an Urumqi market and explosives were tossed into the crowd. China called it a "violent terrorist incident".
It followed a bomb and knife attack at Urumqi's south railway station in April, which killed three and injured 79 others.
Some incidents have taken place outside of Xinjiang. A March stabbing spree in Kunming in Yunnan province that killed 29 people was blamed on Xinjiang separatists, as was an October 2013 incident where a car ploughed into a crowd and burst into flames in Beijing's Tiananmen Square.
Who's to blame?
China also blamed Xinjiang separatists for the brutal attack in March 2014 at Kunming station
China has often blamed ETIM - the East Turkestan Islamic Movement - or people inspired by ETIM for violent incidents both in Xinjiang and beyond the region's borders.
ETIM is said to want to establish an independent East Turkestan in China. The US State Department in 2006 said ETIM is "the most militant of the ethnic Uighur separatist groups".
The scope of ETIM's activities remains unclear with some questioning the group's capacity to organise serious acts of extremism.
ETIM has not said it was behind any of the attacks. Chinese authorities said the Turkestan Islamic Party - which it says is synonymous with ETIM - released a video backing the Kunming attack, however.
With the recent apparent escalation in Xinjiang-related violence, the question of who and what is driving it is likely to attract greater scrutiny.
Uighurs and Xinjiang
- Uighurs are ethnically Turkic Muslims
- They make up about 45% of the region's population; 40% are Han Chinese
- China re-established control in 1949 after crushing short-lived state of East Turkestan
- Since then, there has been large-scale immigration of Han Chinese
- Uighurs fear erosion of their traditional culture
"Uighurs comprised most of the population before the heavy migration of China's ethnic majority Han began."
I think this is the key cause of all causes...
TaiShang
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Let's not lose the view of positive developments. Majority of Xinjiang is still peaceful and the improving transportation is creating a whole new level of integration.
Uygur student and his“qiegao”dream
CCTV
Adili, known as the “＃Prince of Nut ＃Cakes”, is a 23-year-old college senior of ＃Uygur ethnicity at a ＃university in central ＃China’s ＃HunanProvince. He opened an online shop selling “＃qiegao”, or Xinjiang’s famed nut cake, with his two Han classmates.
The young man was born in a family with a tradition of selling “qiegao”, with the proceeds of which his parents raised six children.
In 2012, when the price of nut cakes skyrocketed and inadvertently stirred up prejudice against the ＃Uygur minority, Adili decided to open an online shop to provide the public with “qiegao” with authentic flavor at a favorable price.
To maintain the original flavor, Adili used raw materials sent by his parents from his hometown. The tasty snack soon became popular among cyber-shoppers.
In early May, a TV show introduced nut cakes, making the sales of Adili’s handmade “qiegao” surge to 100,000 yuan (about $16,000 USD) daily. Over 6,000 orders were made on May 3rd and May 4th.
Now the “Prince of Nut Cakes” is planning to open a physical store. He hopes that “qiegao” will become a common and favored snack displayed in the country’s supermarkets.
The “Prince of Nut Cakes” and his “qiegao” dream became a trending topic on Sina Weibo. Most of the opinions are supportive after Thursday’s terror attack in Urumqi.
Uygur student and his“qiegao”dream
CCTV
Adili, known as the “＃Prince of Nut ＃Cakes”, is a 23-year-old college senior of ＃Uygur ethnicity at a ＃university in central ＃China’s ＃HunanProvince. He opened an online shop selling “＃qiegao”, or Xinjiang’s famed nut cake, with his two Han classmates.
The young man was born in a family with a tradition of selling “qiegao”, with the proceeds of which his parents raised six children.
In 2012, when the price of nut cakes skyrocketed and inadvertently stirred up prejudice against the ＃Uygur minority, Adili decided to open an online shop to provide the public with “qiegao” with authentic flavor at a favorable price.
To maintain the original flavor, Adili used raw materials sent by his parents from his hometown. The tasty snack soon became popular among cyber-shoppers.
In early May, a TV show introduced nut cakes, making the sales of Adili’s handmade “qiegao” surge to 100,000 yuan (about $16,000 USD) daily. Over 6,000 orders were made on May 3rd and May 4th.
Now the “Prince of Nut Cakes” is planning to open a physical store. He hopes that “qiegao” will become a common and favored snack displayed in the country’s supermarkets.
The “Prince of Nut Cakes” and his “qiegao” dream became a trending topic on Sina Weibo. Most of the opinions are supportive after Thursday’s terror attack in Urumqi.
Jlaw
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Friend, the Chinese rule in the region is historically recorded. The news report is propaganda.
The Hou Hanshu (Book of the Later Han), provides a wealth of detail on developments in the region:
"In the period of Emperor Wu [140-87 BC], the Western Regions1 were under the control of the Interior [China]. They numbered thirty-six kingdoms. The Imperial Government established a Colonel [in charge of] Envoys there to direct and protect these countries. Emperor Xuan [73-49 BC] changed this title [in 59 BC] to Protector-General.
Nan Yang
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You support killing old people, women and children ?
Snomannen
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Uyghur nationalists often incorrectly claim that 5% of Xinjiang's population in 1949 was Han, and that the other 95% was Uyghur, erasing the presence of Kazakhs, Xibes, and others, and ignoring the fact that Hans were around one third of Xinjiang's population at 1800, during the time of the Qing Dynasty.[66] At the start of the 19th century, 40 years after the Qing reconquest, there were around 155,000 Han and Hui Chinese in northern Xinjiang and somewhat more than twice that number of Uyghurs in southern Xinjiang.[67] A census of Xinjiang under Qing rule in the early 19th century tabulated ethnic shares of the population as 30% Han and 60% Turkic, while it dramatically shifted to 6% Han and 75% Uyghur in the 1953 census, however a situation similar to the Qing era-demographics with a large number of Han has been restored as of 2000 with 40.57% Han and 45.21% Uyghur.[68]
-WIKIpedia
TaiShang
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Terrorists will face their ultimate end. Good days for them are over.
Anti-terror plans go national
Year-long campaign to be ‘ultra-tough, unconventional’
A one-year anti-terrorism campaign in Northwest China's Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region, which vows "ultra-tough measures and unconventional means," will expand nationwide as terrorist threats become a new norm.
Analysts said the campaign, which is expected to shake off some unnecessary constraints, will deal with the root cause of terrorism in Xinjiang.
The operation in Xinjiang, which was launched Friday and will last until June 2015, came after Thursday's deadly attack at a market in Urumqi, which killed 43, including four assailants, and injured 94.
Soon after its launch, it has seen the apprehension of the first batch of terror suspects.
According to the Xinhua News Agency, police in Xinjiang's Hotan, Kashi and Aksu have busted 23 terrorist and religious extremist groups, caught over 200 suspects and seized more than 200 explosive devices.
Most of them were apprehended in raids early Sunday morning, after local police probed key suspects.
"The raids came as a deterrence for terrorists, and were also a concerted action to pressure some other involved in terror activities to turn themselves in," said Xu Jianying, a research fellow with the Research Center for Chinese Borderland History and Geography at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, referring to a statement issued by Xinjiang's legal, procuratorate and public security authorities Saturday.
The statement said those involved in terror-related activities will be given mitigated punishments if they turn themselves in within 30 days, according to Xinhua. It also encourages the public to send tip-offs.
Xu said the tips and surrenders will lead to a follow-up of intelligence for the authorities. "We can expect that the heavy-handed raids will last one or two months, which covers the sensitive period around July 5," he said.
July 5 marks the fifth anniversary of deadly riots in Urumqi, in which 197 people were killed and 1,700 injured.
The campaign has seen strengthened security in the regional capital over the weekend. A Global Times reporter Sunday saw a SWAT team stationed in front of the International Grand Bazaar, a famous market and tourist attraction in Tianshan district. Cars going into the bazaar need to open up their trunks for security checks and passengers need to open their bags.
More police were deployed around schools. A new regulation says no parking is allowed within 100 meters of schools and cars picking up children can only stay temporarily.
Security is also tightened in front of supermarkets, malls and entertainment centers such as karaoke parlors.
Xinjiang said "ultra-tough measures and unconventional means" will be used in the anti-terror campaign. While focusing on terrorists and religious extremist groups, gun and explosive manufacturing dens and terrorist training camps, the regional government also said it will put some key people, who are related to terrorism and religious extremism, under control, and rectify some key villages and towns.
Yang Shu, director of the Institute for Central Asian Studies at Lanzhou University in Gansu Province, told the Global Times that the move is aimed at rooting out religious extremism, the deep-rooted cause of Xinjiang's terror threats. "Those key people may indicate those who have already participated in the spreading of religious extremism or those who are likely to be approached, such as unemployed youngsters."
Li Wei, an anti-terrorism expert at the China Institutes of Contemporary International Relations, shares similar sentiments, adding that some villages, where underground preaching activities are prevalent,will also be targeted.
"However, despite the stressing of ultra-toughness and unconventional means, the campaign will still be carried out in the framework of law," Li said, regarding it is a strengthening of existing measures.
Xu told the Global Times that though the regional government stressed heavy-handed anti-terror measures in the past, it still fell short of strong punishments.
"Sometimes, local authorities only dealt with the attacks in a case by case manner. They stopped short of rooting out the whole terror chain," Xu said, citing the repeated attacks in one single town last year.
Xu also noted that sometimes local authorities strike terrorists in a secretive manner, simply because those suspects were from minority groups.
"These practices made their hands tied in the fight against terrorism. Hopefully, the ongoing campaign could make a difference," he said.
Meanwhile, the website of Hong Kong-based Ta Kung Pao reported that the central authority will hold a key work conference on Xinjiang in June, the second such meeting attended by China's leaders. The first work conference on Xinjiang was held in 2010 in the wake of the July 5 riot in 2009. The meeting will be the first held under President Xi Jinping, who visited Xinjiang late April.
Experts believe the meeting will focus on maintaining stability and building a lasting peace in the region, and the fight against terrorism will be the priority among priorities in the wake of the surge of attacks.
The Ministry of Public Security Sunday announced that police across the country will also start a year-long operation. Police nationwide will pool their information for early identification of terrorist groups and their members.
Anti-terror plans go national
Year-long campaign to be ‘ultra-tough, unconventional’
A one-year anti-terrorism campaign in Northwest China's Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region, which vows "ultra-tough measures and unconventional means," will expand nationwide as terrorist threats become a new norm.
Analysts said the campaign, which is expected to shake off some unnecessary constraints, will deal with the root cause of terrorism in Xinjiang.
The operation in Xinjiang, which was launched Friday and will last until June 2015, came after Thursday's deadly attack at a market in Urumqi, which killed 43, including four assailants, and injured 94.
Soon after its launch, it has seen the apprehension of the first batch of terror suspects.
According to the Xinhua News Agency, police in Xinjiang's Hotan, Kashi and Aksu have busted 23 terrorist and religious extremist groups, caught over 200 suspects and seized more than 200 explosive devices.
Most of them were apprehended in raids early Sunday morning, after local police probed key suspects.
"The raids came as a deterrence for terrorists, and were also a concerted action to pressure some other involved in terror activities to turn themselves in," said Xu Jianying, a research fellow with the Research Center for Chinese Borderland History and Geography at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, referring to a statement issued by Xinjiang's legal, procuratorate and public security authorities Saturday.
The statement said those involved in terror-related activities will be given mitigated punishments if they turn themselves in within 30 days, according to Xinhua. It also encourages the public to send tip-offs.
Xu said the tips and surrenders will lead to a follow-up of intelligence for the authorities. "We can expect that the heavy-handed raids will last one or two months, which covers the sensitive period around July 5," he said.
July 5 marks the fifth anniversary of deadly riots in Urumqi, in which 197 people were killed and 1,700 injured.
The campaign has seen strengthened security in the regional capital over the weekend. A Global Times reporter Sunday saw a SWAT team stationed in front of the International Grand Bazaar, a famous market and tourist attraction in Tianshan district. Cars going into the bazaar need to open up their trunks for security checks and passengers need to open their bags.
More police were deployed around schools. A new regulation says no parking is allowed within 100 meters of schools and cars picking up children can only stay temporarily.
Security is also tightened in front of supermarkets, malls and entertainment centers such as karaoke parlors.
Xinjiang said "ultra-tough measures and unconventional means" will be used in the anti-terror campaign. While focusing on terrorists and religious extremist groups, gun and explosive manufacturing dens and terrorist training camps, the regional government also said it will put some key people, who are related to terrorism and religious extremism, under control, and rectify some key villages and towns.
Yang Shu, director of the Institute for Central Asian Studies at Lanzhou University in Gansu Province, told the Global Times that the move is aimed at rooting out religious extremism, the deep-rooted cause of Xinjiang's terror threats. "Those key people may indicate those who have already participated in the spreading of religious extremism or those who are likely to be approached, such as unemployed youngsters."
Li Wei, an anti-terrorism expert at the China Institutes of Contemporary International Relations, shares similar sentiments, adding that some villages, where underground preaching activities are prevalent,will also be targeted.
"However, despite the stressing of ultra-toughness and unconventional means, the campaign will still be carried out in the framework of law," Li said, regarding it is a strengthening of existing measures.
Xu told the Global Times that though the regional government stressed heavy-handed anti-terror measures in the past, it still fell short of strong punishments.
"Sometimes, local authorities only dealt with the attacks in a case by case manner. They stopped short of rooting out the whole terror chain," Xu said, citing the repeated attacks in one single town last year.
Xu also noted that sometimes local authorities strike terrorists in a secretive manner, simply because those suspects were from minority groups.
"These practices made their hands tied in the fight against terrorism. Hopefully, the ongoing campaign could make a difference," he said.
Meanwhile, the website of Hong Kong-based Ta Kung Pao reported that the central authority will hold a key work conference on Xinjiang in June, the second such meeting attended by China's leaders. The first work conference on Xinjiang was held in 2010 in the wake of the July 5 riot in 2009. The meeting will be the first held under President Xi Jinping, who visited Xinjiang late April.
Experts believe the meeting will focus on maintaining stability and building a lasting peace in the region, and the fight against terrorism will be the priority among priorities in the wake of the surge of attacks.
The Ministry of Public Security Sunday announced that police across the country will also start a year-long operation. Police nationwide will pool their information for early identification of terrorist groups and their members.
shuntmaster
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Nope. I don't support anyone killing innocents. However, I don't understand how the innocent people can be protected by restricting religious practices of some people.
TaiShang
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You would not understand.
Because your throat has never been cut off by a religious zealot like it happens in Syria.
None of your sister have probably gone out for jihad sex.
Or, none of your brother, just because he is from another sect of Islam, has been thrown alive from the rooftops of government buildings.
I am glad none of these happened to you. And I pray never happens to no one.
But stop feeding on your hatred and bash China's logical and legal grievances of ethno-religious terrorism. You look like a terrorist sympathizer.
shuntmaster
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I don't think anyone here has the experience of having their throat slit..
How is following Islamic religious laws and rules going to cause all of the things you cited above??
Are you suggesting that all followers of Islamic religion are terrorists?
Brainsucker
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Well, I do understand. Indonesia was also the victim of terrorism. But we can deal against them and reduce their capability and destroy a lot of their cells.
I think that your technique on how to deal against terrorism is a bit stupid. Because you just put the oil into the flame. The way you are doing just make Uighur people hate your country more. You are basically not reduce the threat, but increasing it. I tell you, with our way, terrorists becomes the enemy of my people. Thus, they lost their support base and we can deal against them better. But with your strategy, you just fuel the terrorist with more Uighur who hate you because of the oppression. If you press them too much, at the end, even Uighur people who support your government will change their heart and become Terrorist. And at the end, it can escalate into a civil war.
But I think that it doesn't matter for you, the Keyboard Warrior. As long as you can see J-10 and Type 99 in action, bombing something and bring glory and pride, you will be satisfied.
TaiShang
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But Chinese have experienced in Kunming terrorist attacks. So, do not be judgmental if the state cares about the security of its citizens, including those of Xinjiang because terrorism often kills indiscriminately. It also creates a self-perpetuating violence its own members in the form of in-group revenges and power struggles.
No. I suggest, those who carry out terrorist acts in Xinjiang, as well as in Syria or India, are fanatics who carry an inverted understanding of religion. Religion is a strong motivator here; this cannot be denied. Only a promise of an instant gratification and reward after death will persuade people to blow themselves up with 40 other innocent people.
And yes, following Islamic (or Christian, Jewish) religion text by text "literally" leads to violence since religion, too, needs to keep up with the times.
Those people who cut the throat of Syrian Jafaris in a religious ectacy and a ritual way believe that they are carrying out the word of God. it is sick and inverted, but, they will put out a handful of verses to justify their actions. Those people cannot be reasoned with or rehabilitated. Annihilation of the few zealots will liberate the rest of society and enable them to practice religion as it should be: As a way of personal conduct and morality.
We are talking about two different countries. No two cases would be similar. In Xinjiang, the basis for terrorism is ethno-religious, which is even more violent and hard to pacify. The Chinese government allowed them enough freedoms, but, what they want is to have their own ethnic country and rule under Sharia, that cannot simply happen.
When the terrorist and underground cells are annihilated, rest of the society will be liberated and have greater freedom. No sane 18-year old girl would like to live under Taliban. Xinjiang extremists (such as ETIM) are fighting for such ethno-religio savage land.
Last edited:
Brainsucker
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You know, we have also the same case as your Xinjiang too. It was East Timor / Timor Leste. It was part of our country, but now lose because we handled them with wrong way. That's why I know.
TaiShang
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I think there was also a lot of foreign meddling, in that case (although I did not study that specifically).
As far as I understand, China's security actions are still not sweeping, but surgical. Surgical action, I argue, should be as ruthless as possible. Some people really deserve not to exist. They must be relieved from their agony.
Other than that, the larger society are free to express their religion personally and at the local level.
But religion cannot be allowed to control/shape the politics. That might be wrong to you, but it our "right way."
Edit:
As it is originally envisioned, Judaism is the religion of wisdom; Christianity, love; and Islam, peace (Talking about 3 big Middle Eastern religions. I think Buddhism and other East Asian traditions are a mixture of the three, but they lack the political aspects of Judaism and Islam. Christianity lost its political status after being reformed in Europe.)
Muslims say extremists don’t represent Islam
CCTV.com
The terror attack of May the 22nd in Urumqi has aroused indignation amongst locals. They say those who carried out the attacks are extremists and not truly Muslims and also that violence is against their faith. CCTV reporter Wu Lei spoke to students and Principal of the Xinjiang Islamic Institute, for their reaction to the attack.
Praying to Allah. Everyday for the past two years, Aisiaiti has been performing prayers alongside other students at the Xinjiang Islamic Institute. He is at the institute studying the Quran. Like others, he was shocked after hearing of the deadly terrorist attack on Thursday morning.
"This kind of attack is against humanity. We Muslim students are very angry and don’t understand their behavior, because a true Muslim will not hurt innocent civilians," he said.
In their study of the Quran, the students learn peace, patience and other core values of the Islamic faith. They will spend five years learning and practicing Islamic principles in this only religious institute in Xinjiang.
The principal of the institute says any terrorist activity conducted under the guise of religion, is completely against the Islamic faith.
"These extremists will never represent Islam or what Muslims do. Their actions have nothing to do with our faith. So this is not a national problem or a religious problem, but the common enemy of all ethnic groups in Xinjiang," said Abudurekefu Mawla, principal of Xinjiang Islamic Institute.
Islam prides itself at being a religion of peace and teaches its followers to be united and live a peaceful life. These students say they will help spread the true teachings of Islam to other Muslims.
Most Muslims say violence against innocent people is un-Islamic and mustn’t be tolerated. The people I spoke to here believe all ethnic groups should unite and fight together against the common enemy -- terrorism.
Video news here
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