Backgrounder: The Muslim Minority Uighurs in China

Backgrounder: The Muslim Minority Uighurs in China

The Council of Foreign Relations has recently published a backgrounder on the Uighurs and China's Xinjiang Region.

September 29, 2008

The Chinese government says Xinjiang is home to thirteen major ethnic groups. The largest of these groups is the Uighurs, who comprise 45 percent of Xinjiang's population, according to a 2003 census. Like many of these groups, the Uighurs are predominantly Muslim and have cultural ties to Central Asia.

As Han migrants pour into Xinjiang, many Uighurs resent the strain they place on limited resources like land and water. "Uighurs feel like this is their homeland, that these resources should be more devoted to them," says Gladney. In 2006, Human Rights in China said population growth in Xinjiang had transformed the local environment, leading to "reduced human access to clean water (PDF) and fertile soil for drinking, irrigation and agriculture."

http://www.newageislam.com/backgrounder--the-muslim-minority-uighurs-in-china--/islam-and-human-rights/d/824