"Most #Uyghurs in #Xinjiang have not returned to mosques that Chinese authorities have reopened for limited religious services in response to heavy international criticism of repressive policies targeting the mostly Muslim ethnic group." rfa.org/english/news/u…
Authorities in Xinjiang began scaling back their crackdown on religion in early 2020 by reopening some mosques they previously shut down during the height of religious persecution in 2017.
Despite the “softened” stance toward Islam in Xinjiang, most Uyghurs who lost confidence in China’s religious policy that officially recognizes five religions, including Islam, because of the crackdown, have refrained from returning to the reopened houses of worship.
“After being criticized by the international community over the concentration camps, China defended itself by partially relaxing religious restrictions,” said Ilshat Hassan Kokbore, a political analyst based in the United States.
“However, since those who were taken to the camps have not been released yet, the residents did not believe in this ‘softening’ of the policy,” he said.
Under President Xi Jinping, the Chinese Communist Party has focused on Sinicizing religions to conform with the doctrines of the officially atheist party and the customs of the majority Han Chinese population.
But Beijing views expressions of Islam in Xinjiang as extremist because of former independence movements and occasional violent outbursts in the region.
Authorities also assigned party cadres to stay in Uyghur homes to monitor the behavior of the inhabitants and destroyed many mosques across the region, claiming they were structurally unsafe.
But there have been some attempts to loosen controls.
In January 2020, authorities Korla, known as Ku’erle in Chinese and the second-largest city in Xinjiang, issued a document informing residents that they had the right to practice Islam.
In January 2020, authorities Korla, known as Ku’erle in Chinese and the second-largest city in Xinjiang, issued a document informing residents that they had the right to practice Islam.
They then tried to persuade them to return to local mosques, said a policeman who declined to be named because he is not authorized to speak with the media.
A member of a mosque management committee told residents that if they believed in Islam, they could perform regular religious activities at a local mosque that can accommodate 100-150 people, he said.
“The residents said they believed in the faith, and some signed their signatures on a document,” the officer told RFA.
But only four or five Uyghur pensioners dependent on government assitance are attending prayer services there, he said.
But only four or five Uyghur pensioners dependent on government assitance are attending prayer services there, he said.
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