Islamic persecution in Xinjiang, China has deteriorated to a point at which Uighurs, a Turkic-speaking Muslim minority who consider China their homeland, endure discrimination on a daily basis. Mosques are being banned from broadcasting the call to prayer, which is an essential part of practicing Islam; families are being split through waves of detention; women are being banned from wearing scarves on their heads, men beards on their face. These restrictions are all part of the government’s view that “tougher security and tighter restraints on the practice of Islam is the best way to stem a wave of violence that included a knife attack at a coal mine that killed dozens of people in September” (NY Times).

The Uighurs are feeling the effect of the Chinese government’s harsh restrictions. A 23-year-old Uighurs engineer student comments, “All of us have become suspects. These days, even receiving phone calls from overseas is enough to warrant a visit from state security.” The government monitors calls made by the Uighurs, and there are harsh consequences if a Uighur is found communicating with anyone outside of China. The government has banned two dozen names that are deemed to be “too muslim”, therefore some parents have had to rename their children, or were unable to register their children for school because of their name. Additionally, Muslims are being forced to carry special identification.

Islamophobia is nothing new in China; it has been rising ever since a drastic rise of non-muslims in the area. However, it has recently worsened, causing many to wonder why. The difference with this circumstance is that the Chinese government is concerned that radical Islam may have reached the Uighurs, therefore they feel the need to take extra precaution. With the rise of radical Islam in the middle east, one can see why the Chinese government would be concerned about their country’s safety, but whether or not their actions against the Uighurs are justified is greatly disputed. Thomas Hilder ’17 comments, “I think for the sake of national security, surveillance of technology is justified but prohibiting the practice of religion would most likely result in increased radicalization.”

The worry of increased radicalization due to this religious discrimination is definitely prevalent. New York Times writer Isabel Larroca addresses this issue in a recent article: “As the restrictions pile on to years of ethnic tension, and radical groups lend an ear to local frustrations, Beijing may be creating the very problem it claims to be addressing.” Around the world, Islamic radicalization is rising partially due to years of intense oppression, which leads to a question of why the Chinese government thinks that oppressing Muslims is at all a good idea. Katie Zucca ’16 comments, “The way that they are treating Muslims is unbelievable and disgusting. We really take our religious freedom for granted here in the U.S.” The United States has always prided itself for being “the land of the free,” where anyone can practice any religion freely, but is this still the case?

Grant Sheppard ’19 provides some thought on this: “It’s hard to criticize China when some US presidential candidates endorse similar plans. Forcing Muslims to carry special identification sounds all too familiar. Although this is a story about Muslim mistreatment in China, this battle shouldn’t be foreign to someone following the 2016 US presidential election. Unfortunately in China, fear has won and fairness has lost.” For the Uighurs, there is no end in sight of this persecution. It will be interesting to see whether or not extremism has in fact taken over the Uighurs, or if the Chinese are persecuting them for no legitimate reason.