More than one million Han Chinese people have reportedly moved into the homes of Uyghur Muslims to report back to the authorities about “unpatriotic” and Islamic beliefs.
American anthropologist Darren Byler said they were tasked with watching for signs that their hosts’ attachment to Islam might be “extreme”.
The government informants, who call themselves “relatives” of the families they are residing with, are said to have received specific instructions on how to get Uyghur Muslim families to get comfortable.
Uyghur Muslims refusing to dance with the opposite sex, smoke cigarettes and drink alcohol will be seen as one “indicator” of “extreme” beliefs.
American anthropologist, Dr Darren Byler, stated in a research published by Asia Society’s Centre on US-China Relations: “Had a Uyghur host just greeted a neighbour in Arabic with the words ‘Assalamu Alaykum’? That would need to go in the notebook.
“Was that a copy of the Quran in the home? Was anyone praying on Friday or fasting during Ramadan? Was a little sister’s dress too long or a little brother’s beard irregular?”
At least one million Uyghurs have been forcibly put into “re-education’ centres”, in what China claims is a clampdown on Islamic extremism.
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Those who have spent time in the concentration camps have said they were forced to undergo an intensive indoctrination programme, which urged them to renounce Islam and adopt Chinese Communist beliefs.
Many former Uyghurs who were detained have said that Muslim inmates were forced to drink alcohol, eat pork, dance with each other’s spouses and sing Communist anthems when they wake up and before the go sleep.
Dr Byler’s claim that one million Chinese civilians were assigned to the homes of Muslims was confirmed in the Communist Party’s official newspaper, the People’s Daily, which reported that more than 1.1 million people paired up with 1.69 million ethnic minority citizens in China by the end of September 2018.
They often focus on families of those who have been detained in the “re-education” concentration camps.
Chinese authorities have also banned Muslims from fasting during Ramadan in the Xinjiang region since 2016.
According to the World Uyghur Congress (WUC), Chinese officials in the region ordered all restaurants to remain open during fasting hours whilst a series of draconian measures were implemented to prevent people observing Ramadan.
Chinese authorities have also been accused of putting Uyghur and Kazakh Muslim children into state-run orphanages across the Xinjiang region, even if their parents were not deceased.
You can watch the following lectures by 5Pillars deputy editor Dilly Hussain on the history and plight of the Uyghur Muslims of occupied East Turkestan:
University College London: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dTKx9CZ-7Ik
Pulrey Mosque: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-DoAhRoD85E
Oxford University: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4Y56xirVGUs
