Uyghur Muslims Told To Deny Islam

Uyghur Muslim government workers in China’s Xinjian region have been ordered to remove the word ‘Islam’ from forms on which religion has to be indicated, a worker in Kashgar told the RFA news agency. Muslims who have filled in Islam as their religion on their forms have been told to take them back to the offices where they were issued and have them changed. A police officer speaking to RFA defended the new Chinese policy saying, “Yes, it is right that these should be changed.  Whoever gets a government salary should not write on their forms that they believe in such-and-such a religion on their registration forms. This should be left blank.” The Chinese government passed the directive last month and several helpless Muslims have begun to comply. Rights groups accuse Chinese authorities of heavy-handed rule in Xinjiang, including violent police raids on Uyghur households, restrictions on Islamic practices, and curbs on the culture and language of the Uyghur people.