The Invisible Wall of China

By Mohit Nayal

The disintegration of Soviet Union in 1991, led to five new countries gaining independence in Central Asia. The Muslims, a predominant majority in the region, had faced religious suppression under the rule of the communist. Thus, began an era where Islam was practiced with larger freedom. However, the governance of most of these states was with the autocratic leaders who had grown under the influence of communism. Therefore, it was but natural for them to soon impose religious restrictions. This close tussle in almost all these newly raised states, led to emergence of some radical groups. Over the years, the influence of such groups has spread to the extent of posing a threat to the stability of country like China. A foothold for radical groups in China is a possibility as its western province of Xinjiang has historical links with Central Asia and was part of Turkistan. Today Xinjiang due to its ethnic violence between the Uyghur Muslims and the Han Chinese is acknowledged to be quite volatile. The link of Uyghur's with Central Asia has further compounded China problem. Apart from the extremists, China is also concerned regarding the growing American presence within the region of Central Asia. To negate the American influence and restrain any turbulence on its western province supported by the extremist of Central Asia, there is a need for China to review its external and internal policies which will steer it towards a more politically and economically stable nation. Failing to addresses such simmering issues the nation will be trapped within the folds of 'THE INVISIBLE WALL OF CHINA'.

• Language: English
• Publisher: VIJ Books (India) Pty Ltd
• Release date: Sep 1, 2012
• ISBN: 9789381411711

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PREFACE

During the Cold War era, the Soviet Union had launched the military operations to spread their influence in Afghanistan. To stop the Communist supported governance from coming to power in Afghanistan, American promoted the local warlords to fight against the Soviets. In the war that lasted for nearly a decade, the Soviets were defeated in their aim and finally withdrew. However, ironically for the international community, this war, de facto, led to the growth of non-state actors. On Soviet withdrawal from the region, America also lost interest in Afghanistan and left behind groups, potentially armed with not only the weapons but with a staunch belief that they can defeat any army of the world and spread their radical fundamentalist views.

The seriousness of this cynical approach became evident to the world when the Taliban managed to take control overAfghanistan. Still, the world’s reaction was lukewarm. Soon Al Qaeda, the prudent force behind the Afghan regime, launched war against the United States of America. The world witnessed America being the victim of the 9/11 attacks. In 2001, America declared its intention to fight global terrorism. The international community extended its full support to the United States. Nations like Russia and China came forward to acknowledge the threat of terrorism and Islamic fundamentalism. Both these states had mutual concerns regarding the increase in extremist activity within the region of Central Asia.

On disintegration of Soviet Union’s status quo, five new nations declared independence in Central Asia. A large majority of the people within the region were Muslims who were deprived religious freedom by the Soviets. Thus, the Islamic practice had gotten subdued and diluted. Therefore, need was generated to learn the Islamic norms and practices from the very start. This promoted many religious teachers from across the Islamic world to visit Central Asia. Some of them justified the violent means to spread Islam. Over a period, such groups have been able to influence a large number of young people.

Soon the fury of violent actions by organisations like the IMU and the Tahrir-a-Islam spread in Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, Russia and China. I have made an endeavour to highlight the background of the situations that were prevailing in Central Asia post the Cold War period. My focus was on the changing dimensions in which China has found itself. I feel that there is a need for China to address the issue of Islamic fundamentalists in Central Asia. If China fails to take concrete measures for curbing this problem, then the possibility of Xinjiang also becoming an unstable region, will arise. The economic interest attached with Xinjiang indicates that China cannot afford such a situation. Therefore, the government of China requires a very balanced and mature approach. China would surely face scrutiny for its fair acts without the legacy of working behind the closed Iron curtains.

I have also touched upon the policy adopted by China and Russia in the region before the arrival of the Americans. The influence of regional players in Central Asia may not be the only influencing factor in the near future. Many powerful nations have shown their keenness for involvement in the region, which still have a struggling economy and politically unstable governance. China too will have to come forward to help the region gain stability. Even China as a nation needs introspection into its stability. The younger generation within China may not follow Mao’s ideology for long. There are clear indications for preference of democracy within the country. Only when China addresses these issues with legitimate transprancy, can it, in the long run, become a real global power.

-Mohit Nayal

New States within the Region of Central Asia

Not to Scale

Introduction

The region of Central Asia comprising of Tajikistan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan had been under the control of Soviet Union for more than 70 years. The nations within the region gained their independence in 1991, once Soviet Union disintegrated. A large majority of the people from this region are Muslims. However, during the Soviet rule, the religious freedom of the Muslims was limited and the religion was under state control.

Islam in Central Asia

Islam is the world’s second largest religion with over one billion adherents, representing 22 percent of the world’s population¹. In Central Asia, Islam came in the 8th century. Today, there are 52 million people living in the land mass of 1,542,200 sq miles². A large majority of the Muslims are the Sunnis of the Hannafi section and the Shias form the minority. In addition, Central Asia had also been the home for the Jews, Buddhists, Hindus, Zoroastrians and the Nestorian Christians. The credit for introducing Islam to Central Asia goes to the Arabs. The Persian and the Turkic tribes, who had also adopted Islam, soon replaced the Arabs. The influence of the Persian dynasty lasted for many years but was subdued by the Safavid Dynasty in 1500 A.D.³ In 1650 A.D., Russia annexed Siberia, which was its initial foothold outside the region⁴. From 1861 to 1865 A.D., there was Civil War in America due to which the cotton supply to Russia stopped. This led Russia to conquer the territory of Central Asia as it had the potential for cotton growth. Thus, from 1865 to 1876 A.D., Russia captured Tashkent, Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan and Tajikistan. By 1891 A.D., millions of Russian farmers migrated to Kazakhstan and Tajikistan to enhance the cotton production within the region. In 1916 A.D., there was a severe famine in Central Asia⁵. The Russians wanted to take advantage of this situation and tried to involve Central Asia in the First World War. This led to a revolt against Russia in the region. Finally, in 1929, with the defeat of Basmachis, Central Asia was forcibly redrawn and added into the Soviet Republic⁶. On the religious front, Islam got subdued but was still practiced by the people. This was mainly because the Russians had adopted a very harsh policy towards the Muslims. Many Muslims and tribal leaders were behind bars on flimsy grounds. Central Asia was completely isolated from the rest of the world. The Soviet closed its borders with its neighbours like Iran, Turkey, Afghanistan and China⁷. Therefore, in 1991, after the region gained independence, the mindset of its people, behind the iron curtains, was still of the 1920’s.

In comparison to the practices of Islam in other Muslim nations like the Saudi Arabia or Iran, the practices of Islam in Central Asia were as such very moderate. The moderation was due to the acceptance for the nomadic practices of ancient times. It was like the fermentation of a mare’s milk into mildly intoxicating ‘Qymyz’ which reflected a less strict attitude towards alcohol. Similarly, Islam in Central Asia accommodated the needs of nomadic Kazakh and Kyrgyz women to ride horses and work equally with men, free of the hijab (Islamic dress) adopted by more sedentary communities, like the Uzbeks and people from Tajikistan⁸. Out of all the countries in Central Asia, Uzbekistan is probably the most important with a population of something like 20 million. It is very much the heartland of Islam and Sufism in Central Asia. All the great Islamic monuments of Central Asia are in Uzbekistan. The Uzbeks were always politically much stronger and since the 15th century, had ruled Central Asia.⁹ Then there are Kazakhs, who are essentially nomads, originally one of the tribes of Genghis Khan’s Mongol horde. Sharing boundaries with Kazakhstan is a much smaller state of Kyrgyzstan, which is also a nomadic state. Kyrgyzstan’s biggest problem is that it lacks self-reliance in the production sector and largely depends upon exports.

On the eve of independence in 1991, the religious passions in Central Asia were at the peak and therefore groups like Hizb-ut-Tahrir and IMU came into existence. Hizb-ut-Tahrir proclaimed the means of non-violence, and intent to get the complete region of Central Asia under the Islamic rule¹⁰.

Other Minorities in Central Asia

There are 130 ethnic groups in Central Asia. Large majorities of these groups have past affiliations with Turkey and speak in various versions of the Turkish language. The Soviets during the Cold war era ensured that no region retained its ethnic cohesiveness. Therefore, people of Soviet Union where forced to migrate to regions where the ethnic minorities dominated the land. Thus, a large number of Russians from the mainland migrated into the Soviet Provinces in Central Asia. By the end of the 1980s, more than 5 million Russians had migrated to Kazakhstan, 2 million to Uzbekistan, over 0.9 million to Kyrgyzstan, 0.38 million to Tajikistan, and more than 0.3 million to Turkmenistan ¹¹. Once the region became independent, some of the Russians migrated back to the mainland. However, a substantial strength of Russians continued to stay in the region. The other minority groups existing in Central Asia are the Baptists, Roman Catholics, Korean Protestants, Zoroastrians, Hare Krishna and Jews. Governments of all states within this region, claim that its people freely exercise their right to religion. As a measure for ensuring secularism, almost all the governments insist that the religious institutions must get state approval. Fortunately, the religious institutions do not govern the present political ideology. Still, the possibility of Islamic groups acquiring a dominating position in the political arena in future needs closer monitoring by the international organisations. Due to this uncertainty and because of the weak governments, the minority groups of the region constantly stay in fear. On the religious front, the governments in the region claim to promote the religious practices of the minority community. However, large number of international agencies functioning there, feel that the things on ground are quite contrary to those which the states claim them to be.

Relation of Central Asia with the Outside World

An important facet of Soviet communism was the denial of free interaction of its citizens, with the outside world. The ideology was with the belief that an easy access with the outside world would influence the citizens away from communism. Therefore, during the Soviet era, the region of Central Asia remained completely cut off from the rest of the World. Before the Soviet rule, this region had the influence of the Arabs and the Turkish tribes¹². In fact, at one point of time, the region of Central Asia was under the governance of Turkey. Afghanistan also had the same ethnic affiliations as that of the people of Central Asia. The British understood the importance of Afghanistan and used it as a buffer state between its imperial state of India and the Soviet Union. Under the bilateral agreement, areas north of the Oxus such as Shignan, Roshan and Pamirs came under the Russian control and the areas south of the Oxus, including Wakhan were recognised as parts of Afghanistan.¹³ Even today, border areas between Afghanistan and Central Asia have settlers of nomadic tribes that have had past affiliations with Central Asia. The western part of China is the Autonomous Province of Xinjiang and has historic affiliation with the region of Central Asia. In fact, people hailing from this region have more in common with Central Asia then with China. A major portion of the population consists of the Muslims. The contact between the people completely broke when both China and Soviet Union decided to seal their common borders.

Countries of Central Asia

Uzbekistan

Uzbekistan is located in Central Asia between the Amu Darya and Syr Darya Rivers, the Aral Sea and the slopes of the Tien Shan Mountains. It has Kazakhstan in the north and northwest, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan in the east and southeast, Turkmenistan in the southwest and Afghanistan in the south¹⁴. The republic also includes the Karakalpakstan Autonomous Republic, with its capital at Nukus. The country is about one-tenth larger in area than the state of California and covers 4, 47,400 square kilometres¹⁵. The area of Uzbekistan had unified under the Achaemenids many centuries ago. Later Alexander in 329 B.C conquered it¹⁶. From the 1st century to 4th century, Uzbekistan was under the Kushana Kingdom. By 8th century, the Arabs conquered the area and Islam came in the region¹⁷. Further, in the 9th century, the Samanids took control of most of Central Asia, including Uzbekistan. Turkic tribes again began to push into the area from the east in the 10th century, eventually forming the Karakhanid state. A lesser part of that state, Khwarazm, grew more powerful in the 12th century and came to dominate most of Central Asia¹⁸.

In 1219 A.D., Genghiz Khan established his rule over the complete region of Central Asia. After the death of Genghiz Khan, his son continued to rule over the Kingdom. In 1336 A.D., Timur established his empire and Uzbekistan formed part of his kingdom. However, the internecine wars became more frequent at the end of 15th century and caused the breakdown of Timurid’s state by the beginning of the 16th century. In the 16th century, Khwarazm, Balkh, and Khiva separated from Bukhara and became separate principalities. The Persians conquered Bukhara kingdom in 1740 A.D., but soon became sovereign under the Mangyt dynasty, which ruled until 1920 A.D. In the early 19th century, the Kokand Khanate grew powerful in the eastern part of present-day Uzbekistan and governed the state until it came under the Soviet domain. In 1929 A.D, Tajikistan, which had been an administrative sub-unit, was elevated to full republic status and the boundaries were suitably changed. This boundary change was undertaken again in 1936 AD¹⁹. If we look back at the history of Uzbekistan, its importance gets further elevated because of it being part of the ancient Silk Route that connected China with the western countries²⁰. Between 484 A.D. to 1150 A.D., Huns, Turks and Arabs came to Central Asia and brought with them, a new religion called Islam. Islam found ready acceptance within the region and soon became the faith of a large majority of people. Thus, during this time, a number of mosques and madrasas where built in Samarkand, Bukhara and Khiya cities of Uzbekistan.

Kazakhstan

Kazakhstan has a total territory of 27, 27,300 square kilometres and happens to be the largest land locked country of the world. The country is equal to the complete area covered by the rest of the other four nations put together. It is neighboured clockwise from the north by Russia, China, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan and also borders on a significant part of the Caspian Sea²¹. The northern region of this country comprises of forest steppe. The central region is semi-desert and the southern portion is a desert. In terms of mineral resources, the country has abundance and most of the resources are still unexploited. This republic is a multinational state inhabited with representatives of more than 120 nationalities. A large percentage of the population follows Islam and Christianity.

Kazakhstan had been a region inhabited by the nomads in the ancient times. History of Kazakhstan is on record from the 6th century B.C., when the power of the Achaemenid Empire of Persia reached beyond the Amu-Darya River (currently the border between Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan). While expanding his empire to Central Asia, Alexander the Great defeated the Persians in 330 BC²². The silk route passed through the region and the move of foreigners from east and west became quite common. The Mongol rule over Central Asia in the 13thcentury brought Kazakhstan also within its jurisdiction. Under the Mongol Empire, administrative districts were established and these eventually came under the emergent Kazakh Khanate²³. Kazakhstan was one of such administrative districts. The power dynamic of Kazakhstan stayed an internal matter until the time the Soviet brought the area under their domain. The area came under Russian control between 1731A.D. to 1742 A.D. when all three local khans swore loyalty to the Russian Tsar to seek protection against the aggressive Mongolian Oyrats people²⁴. Following the 1917 A.D. Russian Revolution and subsequent civil war, the territory of Kazakhstan was reorganised several times before becoming the Kazakh Soviet Socialist Republic in 1936 A.D., a part of the USSR²⁵.

Kyrgyzstan

The country has a total area of 76,500 square miles. It has land borders with China in the East, Tajikistan in the South, Uzbekistan in the South-West and Kazakhstan on the Northeast. It is rich in water resources and is ideal for hydro projects. Bishkek, formerly called Frunze, is the capital with about one million inhabitants. The country, as a whole, has about five million inhabitants²⁶. Kyrgyzstan has also been home of the nomads who had inhabited the area for many centuries. The recorded history indicates their presence from 3rd century B.C²⁷. In the 4th and 3rd century B.C., Kyrgyz bands were among the raiders who persistently invaded Chinese territory and stimulated the building of the original Great Wall of China in the 3rdcentury B.C.

Kyrgyzstan’s own state existed between the 6thand 13thcentury A.D. until the Mongols captured the complete region. For the next 200 years, the Kyrgyz remained under the Golden Horde, then the Oriot and subsequently the Jumgar khanates that succeeded that regime. In 1510 AD, Kyrgyzstan once again became independent. During the next few centuries, the region saw a power tussle between many rulers and finally in the 19thcentury A.D., the Uzbeks controlled the region. Kyrgyz tribes fought and lost four wars against the Uzbeks of Quqon from 1845 A.D to 1873 A.D. The defeats strengthened the Kyrgyz willingness to seek Russian protection. From 1876

A.D onwards, Kyrgyzstan came under the complete control of the Russians²⁸. In 1916 A.D, there was a large-scale rebellion against the Russian rule and the region gained its independence. This independence was very short lived as the region was again under the Soviet Union. In 1926 A.D, the official name of the region became the Kyrgyz Autonomous Republic and the region achieved the status of a full republic of the Soviet Union in 1936 A.D²⁹.

The Kyrgyz people believe that their name means kirkkyz, (forty girls), and that they are descended from forty tribes. Kyrgyz have a high birth rate and especially after independence, the strength of the community has gone up. A majority of people consider themselves Sunni Muslims, but in actuality, they are quite moderate and the practices of Islam are not a daily routine for them. This is in spite of the fact that Islam came in the Kyrgyz area between the ninth and twelfth century.

Turkmenistan

Turkmenistan has a total area of 488,100 square kilometres and is a developing economy with the GDP at 11.5 percent (estimate of IMF in 2007). It is bordered by Afghanistan in the southeast, Iran in the south and southwest, Uzbekistan in the east and northeast, Kazakhstan in the north and northwest and the Caspian Sea to the west³⁰. Turkmenistan has the world’s fourth largest natural gas reserve. The gas reserves are at 8.1 to 8.7 trillion cubic metres and its prospecting potential at up to 21 trillion cubic metres³¹. Due to its geographical location, the country was a staging area for almost all military campaigns in Central Asia from the west. The region’s written history begins with its conquest by the Achaemenid Empire of ancient Persia³². In the fourth century B.C., Alexander had conquered this region when he was advancing into Central Asia. After Alexander’s death in 323 B.C., his generals fought for control of his empire, which quickly fell apart. The Scythians fierce, nomadic warriors from the north then established the kingdom of Parthia, which covered present-day Turkmenistan and Iran³³. Subsequently, the region formed part of the famous silk route connecting China with the West. The Persian dynasty ruled the country for several centuries. In the 7th century, the Arab conquered the region and introduced Islam, which got wide acceptance by the local inhabitants. In the middle of the 11th century, the Turkoman-ruled Seljuk Empire concentrated its strength in the territory of modern Turkmenistan in an attempt to expand into Khorasan (modern Afghanistan)³⁴. The empire broke down in the second half of the 12th century and the Turkmen lost their independence when Genghis Khan took control of the eastern Caspian Sea region³⁵.

For the next few centuries, Turkmenistan was under various empires³⁶. In 1894 A.D., Turkmenistan came under the domain of the Russians. The October Revolution of 1917 A.D. in Russia and subsequent political unrest led to the declaration of the area as, one of the six republics of the Soviet Union in 1924 A.D, assuming the borders of modern Turkmenistan³⁷.

Tajikistan

Tajikistan is a mountainous region and does not have access to the sea. The country covers a total area of 143,100 square kilometres. Afghanistan borders it on the south, Uzbekistan on the west, Kyrgyzstan on the north, and People’s Republic of China on the east. Tajikistan also lies adjacent to Pakistan with Wakhan Corridor in between³⁸. A large number of dynasties, with the Persians rule lasting the longest, occupied the land of Tajikistan. The Persian domination ended after the conquest of the region by Alexander in 329

B.C. From the last quarter of 4th century B.C. until the first quarter of the 2nd century B.C., it was part of the Bactrian Empire, from whom it was passed on to Scythian Tukharas and hence became part of Tukharistan. Contact with the Chinese Han Dynasty was made in the 2nd century B.C, when envoys went to the area of Bactria to explore regions west of China³⁹. In the 5th and 6th century, the nomadic tribes controlled a sizeable portion of Tajikistan. Arabs conquered Tajikistan in the start of the 8th century and were subsequently displaced by the Samanides in the 9th century. From the 10th to the 13th century, a number of kingdoms came into power in Central Asia. During the 13th century, Genghis Khan’s son Chagatai ruled Tajikistan and subsequently in the 14th century, the area was under Timur⁴⁰. Till 1863, various other dynasties ruled the area until the Russians established a foothold. Tajikistan became an Autonomous republic within the Uzbek Soviet Socialist Republic in 1924. The republic became a full Soviet Socialist Republic in 1929. The country is one of the poorest in the region and does not hold oil resources. In addition, because of the terrain configuration it is not easy to abstract mineral resources from the country. During the Soviet rule, the area was mainly engaged in cotton production. The primary sources of income in Tajikistan are aluminium production, cotton growing and remittances from migrant workers⁴¹.

East Turkistan

Historical Background

East Turkistan is the region, which at present is known by the name of Xinjiang Province of China. Xinjiang was Xiyu in ancient times. The area of East Turkistan is spread over 1,60,000 square kilometres, which makes it three times the size of France. The natives of this place presently are the Uyghurs who followed the Sunni Islam. The region has a historical record of existing as an independent nation during various phases of history⁴². The local empire, Kara-Khanid Khanate ruled the region of Turkistan from 840

A.D to 1212 A.D. During the 9thcentury, for a very short duration, the area came under the Chinese Tang Dynasty. From 13th to 17th century, the Mongols ruled the region⁴³. Therefore, region of East Turkistan was not always the integral part of China, as have been often claimed by the Chinese. Nevertheless, for centuries, this region had maintained diplomatic protocol with China. Under this system, the weaker state used to send gifts of tribute and recognise the supremacy of the governance of the mainland of China. In bargain, they were able to maintain their independence.

Periods of East Turkistan Independence

Periods of Chinese Occupation of East Turkistan

As can be seen from the table above, East Turkistan has been under Chinese occupation only for a total of 570 years during its 2,200-year history as given in Isa Yusuf Alptekin, Unutulan Vatan Dogu Turkistan (East Turkistan, the Forgotten Country), by Seha Nesriyat.

The Qing Dynasty, which ruled China from 1644 A.D. to 1911 A.D. was decedents of Manchu rather than the Chinese. The Qing Dynasty undertook aggressive actions for expansion of their kingdom. During the 18th century, the western region that had Turkic speaking people came under their control. The region was renamed Xinjiang, which meant ‘New Frontiers’. The Chinese later changed the region’s name again and started calling it the Uyghur Autonomous Region of Sinkiang. Thus, Xinjiang became a part of China in 1884 A.D.⁴⁴. This act of subverting the independence of Uyghurs over the years saw many more attempts for liberation of the region. In all, forty revolts were undertaken. In 1933 A.D., this western region within China gained its independence but the Chinese regime soon brought it under its control. Again, in 1944 A.D., East Turkistan’s independence was attempted, but then the efforts in this direction were unsuccessful.

Over a period, the rivalry between Soviet Union and the Chinese sharpened. This led the Soviets to instigate the Uyghurs of Xinjiang to revolt against the Communist government of China. Cautioned by such actions, the Chinese virtually sealed the borders with the Soviets⁴⁵. In 1991, after the disintegration of Soviet Union, China once again opened it borders with the region. The Chinese regime also loosened its tight control over the region of Xinjiang and encouraged trade activities with newly formed nations in Central Asia.

Religion of the Uyghurs

Different religious traditions have influenced the people of this region. During the first century B.C., the region came under the influence of Buddhism. Then there was Zoroastrianism, which had its roots in the Indo-Iranian region and got acceptance in the complete region of Central Asia.

Department of Population, Social, Science and Technology Statistics of the National Bureau of Statistics of China and Department of Economic Development of the State Ethnic Affairs Commission of China, eds. Tabulation on Nationalities of 2000 Population Census of China. 2 vols. Beijing: Nationalities Publishing House, 2003. (ISBN 7-105-05425-5)

The other religions that found space for free growth in the region were the Nestorianism, Shamanism and the Manicheanism⁴⁶. However, predominantly, large majorities of the nomadic Uyghurs were Buddhist⁴⁷. In 751 A.D., Chinese and the Muslims met in the battlefield for the first time. The Uyghurs supported the Muslims and opposed the Chinese, which led to the victory for the Muslims. For their support, the Muslims allowed the Uyghurs to stay independent and helped them in expanding towards the region of Eastern Central Asia.

In 934 AD, the Uyghur leader, Satuk Boghra Khan, accepted Islam⁴⁸. Due to this, many other Uyghurs willingly converted and started practicing Islam. By the 17th century, Islam became the largest religion of the complete region. The Uyghurs ruled an independent kingdom until 1759, which had a mixed population of Muslims and Buddhists. The Manchu Chinese invaded the region and destroyed the sovereignty of the place. Most of the Muslims in Xinjiang practice Sunni Islam of the Hanafi branch. The Sufistic section, which is more moderate in its teachings, also exists in the region. ⁴⁹

The Uyghur People

The Uyghurs originated from the tribes of Turkish nomads⁵⁰. Generally, they were characterised as proud, happy and independent people. As their region was in the way of the Silk route, most of the Uyghurs were either the caravan drivers for the traders or else worked as the intermediaries. Music and dance forms an integral part of their lives. However, over the years, Uyghurs got adequate opportunities to interact with many other cultures of the world but still they have been able to preserve their own identity. In 1940s, when China took the administrative control of the region, then a lot of Uyghurs migrated to neighbouring countries like Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, Pakistan and Afghanistan. Over the years, many Uyghurs have also settled in far off counties⁵¹. Uyghur people live in almost all parts of Xinjiang and especially concentrate in Kashi, Hetan, Aksu and Dongjiang’s Hami and Turpan⁵². A large segment of the population was living in the isolated villages before the Chinese annexation of the region. These self-governed villages, which belonged to the Uyghurs, underwent transformation into social communities under the great revolution. The Chinese also promoted the Han Chinese from the mainland to settle in this region.

Over the years, the demographic composition of the place has undergone a change. As per the 5th National population growth census conducted in 2000, the population of the region has increased. It is home for 19 million people, belonging to 47 ethnic groups. The present population of Xinjiang has representation of mainly the Uyghurs, Kazaks, Hui, Mongolians, Kirgizs, Tajiks, Ozbeks, Manchu, Daurs, Tatars and Russians⁵³. In Xinjiang, Chinese national language is most often in use along with the Uyghurs’ regional language. The government of China insists that the languages of the other minority groups are given due respect and promoted by granting financial assistance.

Islam in China

Background

Islam is one of the five major religions in China. The four others are Buddhism, Taoism, Catholicism and the Protestantism⁵⁴. The others include Confucianism, Daoism and Judaism. Some historians hold that, as early as the Sui Dynasty (581 A.D to 618 A.D) during the revelation of Islam (610

A.D to 632 A.D) to the Prophet, Islam had simultanously appeared in China⁵⁵. The ancient record of the T’ang Dynasty notes that in the second year of the rule of Gaozong in 651 A.D., an emissary from Arabia came to the royal court bearing gifts. The leader of this delegation was Said Ibn Abi Waqqas, one of the noted companions of the Prophet. Gaozong gave Said Ibn Abi Waqqas and his delegation, the freedom to propagate their faith and expressed his admiration for Islam by ordering the establishment of the first mosque at Chang’an, an important event in the history of Islam. This mosque still stands in excellent condition in modern Xi’an after ages of repairs and restorations⁵⁶. In