As Muslims around the world mark the end of Ramadan with Eid al-Fitr celebrations, the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) strongly condemns the Chinese government\u2019s restrictions on Uighur and other Muslims\u2019 religious practices.<\/p>\n
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE WASHINGTON, D.C. \u2013 As Muslims around the world mark the end of Ramadan with Eid al-Fitr celebrations, the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) strongly condemns the Chinese government\u2019s restrictions on Uighur and other Muslims\u2019 religious practices. These restrictions are particularly egregious during this month-long period of introspection, fasting, prayer, and devotion.<\/p>\n \u201cThe Chinese government once again has banned government employees, students, and children from fasting, and in some cases praying, during Ramadan,\u201d <\/em><\/strong>said USCIRF Chair Thomas J. Reese, S.J. \u201cWhile restrictions on Uighur Muslims\u2019 religious practices take place year round, they are particularly onerous during Ramadan, giving lie to the government\u2019s claim that Uighur Muslims in Xinjiang enjoy religious freedom. They do not. The Chinese government is violating its own constitution and international human rights standards by denying religious freedom to its citizens.\u201d <\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n The government imposed Ramadan restrictions this year after it issued a June white paper, Freedom of Religious Belief in Xinjiang, <\/em>that highlights the supposed religious freedom experienced by people of the Xinjiang Uighur Autonomous Region, where the majority of China\u2019s Uighur Muslim population lives. The paper alleges that the government protects \u201cnormal\u201d religious activities and respects citizens\u2019 religious needs and customs. <\/p>\n Rather than recognize that the vast majority of Uighur Muslims peacefully practice their faith, Chinese regional and central governments treat the entire Uighur community as potential violent terrorists whose \u201cextreme religious activities\u201d must be monitored, controlled, and restricted. <\/p>\n To these ends, local authorities throughout the year seek to ban any visible Islamic expression, including men\u2019s beards and women\u2019s face-covering veils, and prohibit children under 18 from practicing any religion. Authorities also regularly surveil mosques and harass religious adherents. <\/p>\n The government\u2019s crackdown since 2009 on religious activities and expression in Xinjiang has led to the detention and deaths of hundreds of Uighur Muslims, fueling resentment and the very extremism the government claims it is trying to quell.<\/p>\n For more information, please see USCIRF\u2019s China chapter in the 2016 Annual Report (in English<\/a> and Chinese<\/a>). See also the following press release about Professor Ilham Tohti\u2019s life sentence: USCIRF Calls on the Release of Ilham Tohti and other Prisoners of Conscience<\/a>.<\/p>\n
July 6, 2016<\/strong><\/p>\n