A popular imam was arrested for resisting direct government control. This time, Hui Muslims decided to publicly protest.
by Ma Guangyao
Protests in Yunnan this month after the arrest of a well-known Hui imam confirmed that the Chinese government is now cracking down on Muslim Hui communities not strictly aligned with the government-controlled China Islamic Association. It also confirmed that Hui Muslims, which were accustomed for decades to a certain limited religious liberty, are not tolerating this state of affairs and are willing to protest publicly.
This month, on December 15 and 16, groups of Hui Muslims assembled in front of the Yuxi Municipal Government in Yunnan Province for two consecutive days to demonstrate against the arrest of an imam by Chinese authorities.
Ma Yuwei serves as the imam of Yuxi Daying Mosque, where he has devoted many years to educating the community on the Quran. He is held in high esteem for his dedication. However, as governmental oversight of religious activities has increased in recent years, he has faced surveillance and threats.
The government determined that the Daying Mosque, where he was employed, was an unauthorized site for religious activities. In May of this year, the Religious Affairs Departments of Yuxi City and Hongta District convened a meeting to caution Ma Yuwei against engaging in unauthorized religious activities and issued an order to cease the Quran study class.
To ensure his safety, Ma Yuwei and his family have remained secluded within the mosque for the past six months, avoiding any public appearances. Reportedly Ma Yuwei has been followed and investigated by unidentified individuals for nearly a year. For safety, he and his father have stayed in the mosque for months, seldom going outside.
At lunchtime on December 15, plainclothes police forcibly took Ma Yuwei from Shuxiang Chuanchuanxiang restaurant in Nie’er Square, Yuxi. Reportedly, the police did not show any arrest warrant or other identification documents during the arrest, and mentioned as the only reason for the arrest was that Ma Yuwei “preached the Quran.”
His brother in Shadian narrowly escaped arrest due to local residents’ strong resistance. Ma Yuwei’s father, Ma Chongguang, and his mother were apprehended at separate locations.
The arrests led to the response from the local Muslim community, who gathered at the city government to request Ma Yuwei’s release.
Beginning early on the morning of the 16th, a significant number of military and police vehicles were deployed from Kunming and the surrounding areas of Yuxi to the protest site. Communication jammers were installed, highways leading to Yuxi were blocked, and Hui Muslims were subjected to questioning, until the protest subsided.
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