Page 137 - Communist Chinas Policy of Oppression in East Turkestan

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the rare journalists able to enter the region and send out a secret re-
port about the oppression of Muslims, had this to say in an article
titled "Inside Story China: Beijing vs. Islam":

Since then they have closed down unregistered mosques; forbidden
the use of loud-speakers outside registered ones; banned Quranic
classes for children and youths; prohibited foreign money for reli-
gious purposes; tightened exit requirements; imposed an age restric-
tion on haj pilgrims; outlawed unauthorized religious publications;
and cracked down on Communist party members visiting mosques. 18
One Turkestan resident interviewed by Winchester (who refused
to give his real name) said that since he worked in a state office he was
never able to go to the mosque, and that he would be sacked if he were
to be seen doing so. The reason was the increased Chinese hostility to
Islam which began at the end of the 1980s. A 1997 article in the official
East Turkestan newspaper, the Xinjiang Daily, set out what party mem-
bers' view of religion should be:
Those party members firmly believe in religion and who refuse to
change their ways after education should be given a certain period to
make corrections, be persuaded to withdraw from the party or dis-
missed from the party according to the seriousness of their case. In re-
cent years, 98 religious party members have been dealt with. 19

In East Turkestan, those who are caught praying or studying the
Qur'an are punished, particularly if they are aged under 18, because
Chinese law explicitly prohibits minors from studying the Qur'an. In
1999, for example, five 12-year-olds were arrested for reading the
Qur'an. When one of them fled from the police station, his family were
arrested and tortured by the police (and told that they would not be re-
20
leased until he gave himself up). That incident is just one of the many
frequently encountered in East Turkestan. Thousands of people have
been detained and tortured simply for living in accordance with their
religion, or for teaching other people who want to do so. The accusa-

Harun Yahya - Adnan Oktar