Source: The U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom
Date: May 15, 2018
The U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) is concerned about the Chinese government’s increasing crackdown on Muslims in the Xinjiang Uighur Autonomous Region. The government has instituted a comprehensive security grid throughout the region using both personnel and advanced technology, such as armed checkpoints, facial and iris recognition software, and cell phone monitoring.
The authorities ban Uighur language instruction in schools and prohibit children from attending mosque. Countless Uighur Muslims are detained in extrajudicial “re-education camps,” they continue to receive unfair trials and are harshly treated in prison. The Uighurs face longstanding restrictions on religious practices, such as fasting and praying, during the holy month of Ramadan, which this year begins today, May 15.
Such policies, resembling that of a police state, deny Uighur Muslims basic civil liberties and human rights and interfere with the practice of their faith.
