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tions made against religious figures who have been detained are partic-
ularly noteworthy. For instance, on October 28, 1999, Memet Eli, the
imam of the Oybagh Mosque in Hotan, was arrested and heavily fined
for teaching religion contrary to the Communist Party policy. This is
how his "crimes" were set out in the indictment:
During his duty as an Imam, Memet Ali did not study, teach and im-
plement Communist Party's regulations on religion. He pretended
he did not see the instructions of department of religious supervision.
When related departments organized study and educational activities
for religious personals, he did not attend… He allowed people with
unclear identity to stay at the Mosque… 21
Other articles, as well as "failure to give instruction in communist
teachings" (under which six other imams in Hotan were arrested
on similar pretexts) are striking examples of the oppression faced
by Muslims in Red China:

They said in their prayers: "Allah
rescue your Muslim believers
from the oppression of atheists."
They did not stop people when
they came to pray from other
neighborhoods. They exceeded
the 20 minutes time limit for Fri-
day prayer and teachings. They
failed to inform the authorities of
people who came to get religious
education." 22

T he Chinese Communist
Party banned the teaching
of the Qur'an.

Communist China’s Policy
of Oppression in East Turkestan