Since 2017, the Uyghurs in the diaspora have lost communication with their family members and friends back home as the Chinese authorities in East Turkistan made a simple call from abroad a pretext for Uyghurs to be sent to concentration camps. Therefore, the Uyghur Muslims cannot even call their families and friends in East Turkistan just to say “Eid Mubarak”!
CUS Press Releases
For Immediate Release
July 9, 2022
Contact@uyghurstudy.org
Uyghurstudy.org
Today, on the arrival of Eid al-Adha, the most joyous occasion of the year for the Muslim Ummah, the Center for Uyghur Studies would like to congratulate the Muslims around the world, wishing everyone a blessed and happy Eid. We recognize that despite all the pain and suffering we are witnessing today among the Muslim communities, it is critical to show gratitude for Eid and enjoy the moment.
While we enjoy Eid, it is also important to remember our oppressed brothers and sisters around the world, particularly the Uyghur Muslims, who have been suffering under the Chinese communist regime for the last seven decades and have been subjected to genocide and a war on their faith by the communist regime since 2017.
Since 2017, the Uyghurs in the diaspora have lost communication with their family members and friends back home as the Chinese authorities in East Turkistan made a simple call from abroad a pretext for Uyghurs to be sent to concentration camps. Therefore, the Uyghur Muslims cannot even call their families and friends in East Turkistan just to say “Eid Mubarak”!
On the other hand, the Uyghur Muslims in East Turkistan cannot celebrate Eid as attending prayer in the mosques has been deemed a crime that can put them in concentration camps by the Chinese authorities. This is in addition to the demolishment of thousands of mosques in East Turkistan and the closing down of many more. Only a small number of mosques remain open for propaganda purposes. Reports have emerged in previous years that the Chinese authorities encouraged the Uyghur Muslims to show up in several mosques on the first day of Eid to stage a scene of fake Eid celebration.
As Muslims, it is crucially important to remember those to whom Eid only brings sadness and sorrow as Eid reminds them of their family members who have been locked up in concentration camps and prisons, forcibly disappeared or even died. It is painful to think about more than 900,000 Uyghur children who have been forcibly separated from their parents and are not able to celebrate Eid. China’s war on Islam that deems Islam as a “mental illness” meant that the Muslims of East Turkistan cannot own their Muslim identity in the slightest form or teach Islam to their kids.
Abdulhakim Idris, executive director of the Center for Uyghur Studies said: “The meaning of Eid al-Adha is deeply rooted in sacrifice and devotion. Since the Chinese occupation of East Turkistan in 1949, the Uyghur Muslims have made a lot of sacrifices in their fight for freedom, human rights, and democracy. I strongly believe that Muslims around the world have an obligation to help them. There are many ways of contributing, from remembering the Uyghur Muslims in our prayers, raising awareness of the Uyghur genocide, and pushing politicians and governments wherever it is possible to confront the Chinese regime to stop its war on Islam and the genocide of the Uyghur Muslims.”
Once again, we wish everyone a joyous Eid celebration and pray that the suffering of the Uyghur Muslims will come to an end soon.
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