Faizel Patel, Radio Islam News – 02-08-2019
A Uighur activist has told Radio Islam the Communist Party in China is an enemy of all religions.
This comes after authorities in the Chinese capital Beijing ordered halaal restaurants and food stalls to remove Arabic script and symbols associated with Islam from their signs, part of an expanding national effort to “Sinicize” its Muslim population.
The campaign against Arabic script and Islamic images marks a new phase of a drive that has gained momentum since 2016, aimed at ensuring religions conform with mainstream Chinese culture.
Arsalan Hidayat says Communist Party has a history of targeting other religions.
“If you go back in the 60’s and 70’s with the culture revolution, not just Islam, even Christianity, with the burning of the crosses and the closing of the churches. This has happened before.”
Hidayat says the plight of the Uighur’s is beginning to gain momentum.
“People are starting to recognize who the Uighurs are, what the situations is with the concentration camps, why China is doing this.”
China, home to 20 million Muslims, officially guarantees freedom of religion, but the government has campaigned to bring the faithful into line with Communist Party ideology.
Listen to the interview with Arsalan Hidayat
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