Uyghur Blog

Ramadan Mubarak!

The fourth pillar of Islam is one that focuses on mercy, forgiveness and salvation. For those in the west, Ramadan can come across extreme, but with a closer look, it is an inspiring act of faith and observance. Ramadan is practiced by fasting, an act that is shared not only in the Quran, but in the Bible, Torah and Hindu scriptures as well. By fasting, one aims at lessening the physical desires, while allowing a focus on salvation and purification. By removing distractions, fasting allows one to focus on what is important.

Eboo Patel, Director of Interfaith Youth Core, explains the history of Ramadan.

Ramadan is the month that Muhammad, a respected merchant in late-sixth- and early-seventh-century Arabia, would retire to a cave on Mt. Hira for a period of fasting, praying and giving alms to the poor. One night, during the last ten days of his monthly pilgrimage in the year 610, Muhammad was visited by the Angel Gabriel (the same Angel Gabriel from the Bible), squeezed three times in the Angel’s grip, and given the first lines of the Holy Qur’an: “Recite in the name of your Lord who created. Created man from a clot. Recite and your Lord is most generous” (96:1-3).

Prophet Muhammad said, “Oh people! A great month has come over you; a blessed month; a month in which is a night better than a thousand months; month in which God has made it compulsory upon you to fast by day, and voluntary to pray by night. Whoever draws nearer (to God) by performing any of the (optional) good deeds in (this month) shall receive the same reward as performing an obligatory deed at any other time, and whoever discharges an obligatory deed in (this month) shall receive the reward of performing seventy obligations at any other time.  It is the month of patience, and the reward of patience is Heaven.”

Regardless if you are observing Ramadan, we want to wish you peace and blessings.

Below are some photos taken from around the world. These were posted in a gallery on guardian.co.uk. Enjoy!

On August 3^rd, the Congressional-Executive Commission on China held a meeting in Washington to discuss the abuses happening in China. This article in the Epoch Times has some insight by some heavy hitters in regards to China policy. One suggestion brought forth by Sophie Richardson of Human Rights Watch was to have the Obama administration play a more active role. She said, “All senior Obama administration officials should commit to raising at least one individual case in each meeting with their Chinese counterparts.”

Read the full article below.

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WASHINGTON—The Chinese regime has been notorious for using detention to stifle dissent and advance the state’s agenda. Over the last two years, these abuses have worsened, with more detentions and longer sentences being meted out.

Testimony before the Congressional-Executive Commission on China (CECC) discussed both high profile cases of dissenters being imprisoned and lesser known cases of persons not particularly critical of the regime—such as a Uyghur journalist and a geologist who happens to be a U.S. citizen employed by a U.S. company.

“What is the trend towards the greater imprisonment of people for exercising their right of free speech?” asked Senator Byron Dorgan (D-ND), who chaired the hearing held on Aug. 3 on Capitol Hill. He expressed concern for those sending an “innocent e-mail” through the Internet being arrested and put “in some dark cell for 10 or 20 years.”

Sen. Dorgan said he was concerned secondly for the lawyers and human rights defenders inside China whom the regime is clamping down on for defending “house church people, AIDS activists, Falun Gong practitioners, Uyghurs, and Tibetans.”

Dissidents Jailed

Sen. Dorgan expressed particular indignation at the way the regime has handled Gao Zhisheng, saying it was perhaps the “most outrageous” and “cruel” example of physical and psychological abuse of one of China’s greatest human rights lawyers.

Gao’s disbarment, torture, imprisonment, and then a long time disappearance, his reappearance last spring for two weeks and then his abduction again by security police “revealed a complete disregard for his individual rights and the rule of law.”

The senator said he has personally written the Chinese government as well as the embassy in Washington about the status of lawyer Gao, but has not received a satisfactory answer.

The recent increase in detentions has seen an increase in the state’s use of the charge “endangering state security” (ESS).

Last December, prominent writer Liu Xiaobo was sentenced to 11 years for “inciting subversion of state power”— Joshua Rosenzweig from the Dui Hua Foundation said at the hearing that this was the longest sentence known to have ever been handed down in China in the category of ESS.

An advocate for human rights and democracy in China since Tiananmen protests in 1989, Liu’s case shows the concerns the regime has for the use of the Internet to distribute writings critical of the regime.

Liu’s harsh and lengthy sentence is representative of a trend, according to Rosenzweig.

“The most recent official statistics suggest that as many as 1,500 Chinese were convicted on state security charges in 2009—more than three and a half times the number convicted for ESS in 2004,” said Rosenzweig. More arrests and indictments for ESS were carried out in 2008 and 2009 than in the 5-year period from 2003 to 2007.

Furthermore, official court statistics reveal that individuals convicted of the “crimes” above are being punished more harshly, said Rosenzweig. He said there has been a 20 percent increase of sentences of 5 years or longer in 2009.

Professor of Law Jerome A. Cohen, New York University, expressed concern for the blind “barefoot lawyer” Chen Guangcheng. Chen exposed to the world the forced abortions and sterilizations in Linyi, Shandong province, by officials enforcing China’s one child policy.

On trumped up charges—“damaging property and organizing a mob to disturb traffic,” according to the BBC, Chen was sentenced to 4 years and three months. Chen’s sentence is completed in September, and Cohen worries that Chen will continue to be confined to his home, be harassed by police, and in effect, become a prisoner for life.

In Cohen’s verbal testimony, he said that Chen’s 5-year old daughter is not allowed to enroll in school.

New Type of ‘Political’ Prisoner

Dr. Xue Feng is a petroleum geologist and naturalized American citizen who was born in Shaanxi province. In 2001, he allegedly helped his employer, a U.S. energy consulting company, purchase a database containing information on the locations of oil wells. Dr. Xue “disappeared” in China in Nov. 2007, according to an article by Professor Cohen, cited by CECC.

On July 5, 2010, a Beijing court sentenced Dr. Xue to 8 years in prison and a fine of 200,000 yuan (US$29,850) for “trafficking state secrets,” said the CECC, citing a Wall Street Journal report.

The CECC documents Dr. Xue’s case and notes that China officials did not declare the database a state secret until after the transaction occurred, and that they allegedly attempted to coerce Dr. Xue into confessing to the crime by the use of torture. U.S.-China consular agreement was violated in Dr. Xue’s case in that authorities did not notify American officials of Dr. Xue’s detention, and access was restricted.

A yet more severe sentence is the 15 years that Uyghur journalist Gheyret Niyaz received on July 23, 2010, for “endangering state security.” His “crime” was granting an interview with foreign media after the July 2009 ethnic violence in Xinjiang, said Sophie Richardson, Human Rights Watch and also mentioned by Sen. Dorgan. Niyaz was sentenced 15 years in prison even though in the interview, he cited outside instigators in the unrest, which is the regime’s line as well.

Raising Individual Cases

Richardson said that “all senior Obama administration officials should commit to raising at least one individual case in each meeting with their Chinese counterparts.”

Rosenzweig said that the U.S. government needs to hold China accountable for responding to requests for information about prisoners “in a sincere and timely manner.”

The Dui Hua Foundation maintains a prisoner database of persons imprisoned for the nonviolent expression of their political and religious beliefs. Currently, Rosenzweig said that 5,800 are placed in an “active registry,” from which his organization raises individual cases to the Chinese regime to request humane treatment and early release.

The Dui Hui database forms the basis of the CECC’s political prisoner database. Members of Congress need to take better advantage of the Commission’s political prisoner database, said Rosenzweig. Members of Congress should hand over lists derived from the CECC database to Chinese officials, which was done for the very first time in 2008 by Reps. Chris Smith (R-N.J.) and Frank Wolf (R-Va.).

To mix things up, we want to share an article published in Newsweek about China’s economy. This article addresses “facts”, something that we discussed in a previous post. It also has some interesting figures, such as; there are 50 million officials in modern China, which equates to about one official for every 27 people.

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Written by John Lee – July 30, 2010

Deng Xiaoping’s oft-repeated aphorism for the Chinese Communist Party is to “seek truth from facts.” As the recently released second-quarter GDP growth figure of 10.3 percent reminds us, this is difficult to do when it comes to the Middle Kingdom. Amazingly, the figure represents a “policy-engineered” slowdown; seasoned China analysts are already second-guessing it. But the fraught process of how these figures are arrived at should tell us as much about how China is really faring as the accurate growth number itself.

First things first: why is there so much skepticism? Every quarter, the National Bureau of Statistics goes through the same ritual. Statistics come in from all over the country. The provinces compile them with impossible speed—around two weeks, or three times as fast as many developed economies with much more efficient processes of data collection.

The NBS sorts through them, “consults” with senior CCP officials, applies a mysterious methodology to trim them into shape, and then spits out a figure that is uncannily well aligned with the targets set by political masters in Beijing. After several years, provincial historical data is tediously retrieved and analyzed by Chinese economists, and official figures are revised. Significant discrepancies are discovered and condemned, ending with Beijing promising to meticulously address the “structural flaws” in the statistical gathering process.

While historical data shows that official figures can sometimes be close to the mark, the quarterly statistical ritual offers insight into how modern China is actually run and into a fundamental weakness of Chinese “market socialism.” During the Tang Dynasty (A.D. 618–907), there was one official for every 2,927 people. During the more recent Qin Dynasty (1644–1911), there was one official for every 299 people. But in modern China, there are up to 50 million officials, amounting to about one official for every 27 people. Its bureaucracy certainly cannot complain about being understaffed.

Yet, while modern China is the most overgoverned land in Asia, it is also one of the worst governed. Even as China has decentralized and officials have multiplied, the country is not building the institutions needed for better transparency and accountability. CCP’s influence over courts, bureaucracies, media, research institutions, and state-controlled enterprises are well known. It’s difficult to make CCP’s local officials accountable when Beijing relies on them to maintain the party’s hold on power in far-flung places.

There is also another problem. The state remains a significant player in the Chinese economy. State businesses receive more than three quarters of the country’s capital. The state owns more than 65 percent of the country’s fixed assets. This means local officials—who make more than three quarters of all state investment decisions—have an overwhelming influence on running these state businesses. They control the dispensation of capital, land, and sometimes even labor. Climbing the greasy ladder of status, power, and wealth within China’s vast political and bureaucratic network depends on results. And results are usually defined by whether the dominant state-controlled sectors in one’s township, city, or county are meeting centrally mandated targets.

This brings us back to the official numbers, which are derived from reporting by local officials. These officials have massive incentives to tell Beijing what it wants to hear as regards hitting central targets—whether it be breakneck growth or an engineered slowdown. It is the basis for their promotion. While the upside for dishonesty is obvious, there is usually little downside, as it’s unlikely they will be caught, let alone punished, for fudging figures.

Dodgy statistics is not in itself the most serious problem. In China’s state-dominated approach, the incapacity to effectively govern such a vast country is the real and pressing issue. The common Western view of “market socialism” as a ruthlessly efficient system, when it comes to top-down policy implementation, ignores the reality that proper verification of any official number is almost impossible. Seeking truth from facts is a wise and pragmatic piece of advice for reforming China. But getting the facts first could be the hard part.

I stumbled across this paper that I wrote as an undergrad on the religious persecution of the Uyghurs. While it may be primitive, I personally think I have the start to a good research paper! **Warning — Very Long**

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Problem

Freedom of religion is a fundamental human right that the majority of people throughout the world are entitled to by international, federal or state law. The Uyghurs (pronounced wē’gŏŏr), who reside in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region (XUAR) of China, have reportedly been denied the freedom of religion. There are reports that make this accusation against People’s Republic of China (PRC), two of which are the U.S. State Department International Religious Freedom Report, 2007, and the Congressional – Executive Commission on China, 2007.

The Constitution of the People’s Republic of China gives all of its citizens religious rights. Article 36 of the Chinese Constitution reads, “Citizens of the People’s Republic of China enjoy freedom of religious belief. No state organ, public organization or individual may compel citizens to believe in, or not to believe in, any religion; nor may they discriminate against citizens who believe in, or do not believe in, any religion. The state protects normal religious activities” (Constitution). The flaw is within the wording of the constitution because it does not clearly define what “normal religious activities” are. Moreover, if a religious activity is not deemed to be “normal”, i.e. using the unedited version of the Holy Quran, it receives no constitutional protection, and can then be subject to state scrutiny.

The Chinese Constitution has received various amendments. These amendments have been increasingly restrictive on religious freedoms. Human Rights Watch reports, “In July 2001, a series of comprehensive amendments to the 1994 Regulations was adopted by the Chairmen’s Committee of the Xinjiang People’s Regional Congress and submitted for deliberation to the Standing Committee” (Human Rights Watch, 2005). The new language reads, “These regulations are formulated to protect the citizens’ freedom of religious belief, regulate religious activities according to law, strengthen the management of religious affairs, and guide religion in such a way that it adapts to socialist society” (Human Rights Watch, 2005). Domestically, China’s persecution of religious freedoms falls within the realms of what is permitted by the constitution. For this reason, China must be held accountable to the international human rights instruments that they have signed.

The constitution enables China to legally confine religious activities in the interest of public order, health, education, and the ultimate assumed security of the nation. The Chinese Constitution says, “No one may make use of religion to engage in activities that disrupt public order, impair the health of citizens or interfere with the educational system of the state.” In regards to the PRC’s national security, “the prevailing perception of the linkages between terrorism and separatism, the general regional reluctance to condone ethnic separatism, and the global concern that religion is mixing with both terrorism and separatism contribute to making the use of domestic force possible” (Davis, 2008). Current Chinese President Hu Jintao has said, “We have to fight against the three evils of separatism, extremism and terrorism.” This fight, by way of the international law listed below, can not jeopardize the religious freedom of the Uyghurs.

The most withstanding human rights instrument that China is liable to is the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR). The UDHR was adopted by the United Nations General Assembly on December 10, 1948. Article 18 of the UDHR states that, “Everyone has the right to freedom of thought, conscience and religion; this right includes freedom to change his religion or belief, and freedom, either alone or in community with others and in public or private, to manifest his religion or belief in teaching, practice, worship and observance” (Universal). As a member of the United Nations, China is obligated by law to respect the rights and freedoms stated within the UDHR.

China also ratified the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR) on March 27, 2001. This ratification came three and a half years after becoming a signatory to the ICESCR. Article 1 of the ICESCR states that, “All peoples have the right of self-determination. By virtue of that right they freely determine their political status and freely pursue their economic, social and cultural development” (International). Religion would fall within the development stated in Article 1 of the ICESCR.

The tensions that exist within the XUAR would be scaled down if the PRC Constitution, the UDHR and the ICESCR were being observed by the PRC government. In addition to this, it would be a show of good faith by the PRC to let the Uyghurs pursue autonomy.

The United States has no legal avenues in regards to the adherence of the PRC Constitution, but the U.S. is capable of applying pressure to see that China upholds its obligation to the signed international commitments. The U.S. is technically able to apply this pressure, yet, the United States government has been hesitant because of the complex economic relationship with China.

Currently, China has become the largest debt holder of the United States. As the U.S. economy continues to flounder, the reliance on funds from Beijing continues to grow. China has invested $867 billion (http://www.treas.gov/tic/mfh.txt) in U.S. Treasury Bonds. This research paper will ask what the United States can do to bring attention to the Uyghur people, and stop the alleged human rights abuses that are occurring in the XUAR.

Background

The current size of the XUAR (previously known as the East Turkestan Republic) is 1.65 million square kilometers, and it is bordered by Mongolia and Russia to the north, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Afghanistan, Pakistan and India to the west, and Tibet to the south. The total population of the XUAR is over 20 million, with roughly 45% of that being the Uyghurs. The Capital and largest city of the XUAR is Urumqi (Asia Times, 2005).

The XUAR was incorporated into the Chinese empire by the Qing dynasty in 1884. Shortly after, the Qing Empire fell in 1911, leaving the XUAR in the hands of competing warlords. In 1944, the Soviet Union backed the independent East Turkestan Republic (ETR), but as the Communist Party began to win the civil war with the Kuomintang, there was pressure to incorporate the ETR into the PRC. In 1949, the East Turkestan Republic became the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region (Hilton, 2004).

Because of the history of XUAR, there is still a distinct political and administrative identity that exists. The relationship between the Uyghurs and the PRC government deteriorated dramatically at the beginning of the Cultural Revolution. The events that took place in China during the Cultural Revolution (1966-76) were an extreme example of what can happen during a Communist regime that has a leader as powerful as Mao Zedong, who was Chairman up until 1976. During this time, “religion was especially suppressed, but so was ethnic language, cultural cuisine, and garb. The Uyghur in Xinjiang, like other Muslim minorities throughout China, saw their religious texts and mosques destroyed, their religious leaders persecuted, and individual adherents punished” (Davis, 2008).

The Uyghurs are one of the largest Muslim populations on Earth, and they practice a moderate traditional form of Sunni Islam. Uyghur women have had a long history of freedoms, ranging from the right to initiate divorce, to running their own business (Human Rights Watch, 2005). Before Islam, the Uyghurs believed in various religions, such as: Shamanism, Buddhism and Manichaeism. It is said that it was actually the Uyghurs who spread Buddhism into Central Asia (Uyghur American Association, 2008).

The 2000 year history of the Uyghur’s Islamic faith is complex. The Uyghur American Association explains in great detail the advancements of the Islamic faith during the early 8^th century,

“The Uighurs embraced Islam in 934, during the reign of Satuk Bughra Khan. He was the first Turkic ruler who embraced Islam in Central Asia. At this time instead of temples, mosques were built. Almost 300 mosques were built only in the city of Kashgar. Among them, most famous are Ihe Azna Mosque, built in 12th century, Idgah Mosque built in 15th century and Appak Khoja Mosque, built in the 18th century. The Idgah mosque can accommodate 5000 Muslims. In the city of Kashgar alone there were 6 big Madrasahs. The Mesudi Library, built in the 15th century, had a collection of almost 200,000 books. Hundreds of Muslim students from various parts of the Islamic World came to Kashgar to study.”

For the next 1000 years, the Uyghurs experienced great advancements as the Islamic institutions taught the children both of faith, and core academic subjects. It was not until the takeover of the People’s Liberation Army in 1949 that Uyghur mosques and schools were closed down (Uyghur American Association, 2008). After the takeover by the People’s Liberation Army and Communist China, the Uyghurs were persecuted while their culture and civilization were decimated. As noted above, recent reports indicate that the Uyghurs are still being persecuted because of their Islamic faith.

Research Question

The Uyghurs live in a country that has been charged with suppressing religion and committing human rights violations. The U.S. State Department says, “the government’s human rights record remained poor, and controls were tightened in some areas, such as religious freedom in Tibetan areas and in the Xinjiang Uighur Autonomous Region…” (U.S. Department of State, 2007). China is not the only country guilty of committing human rights abuses, as there are human rights violations happening throughout the world. However, there are reasons for choosing to research the alleged human rights abuses happening in China.

One of the reasons is that China has been accused of a wide range of human rights abuses that vary from torture, to forced abortion, to the suppression and persecution of religious rights. Another reason for researching China is that the largest amount of good could potentially come from a change in both its policies and actions. With a population of 1.3 billion people, China has the largest population in the world, meaning its alleged human rights violations have the possibility of effecting the largest population in the world.

Literature Review

China 

The PRC argues that terrorism is a large threat to the public today, and that it poses a risk to both its peace and security. China’s Information Office of State Council reported that, “Over a long period of time-especially since the 1990s-the ‘East Turkistan’ forces inside and outside Chinese territory have planned and organized a series of violent incidents in the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region of China and some other countries, including explosions, assassinations, arsons, poisonings, and assaults, with the objective of founding a so-called state of ‘East Turkistan.’ These terrorist incidents have seriously jeopardized the lives and property of people of all ethnic groups as well as social stability in China, and even threatened the security and stability of related countries and regions (Permanent Mission, 2002).

As a nation, China is legally able to protect its citizens against individuals or organizations attempting to do harm. These forces include, but are not limited to, Islamic terrorist groups. As stated in the Chinese Constitution, “No one may make use of religion to engage in activities that disrupt public order, impair the health of citizens or interfere with the educational system of the state.” In regards to terrorism, Zhang Xiuming, the deputy secretary of the XUAR Committee of the Chinese Communist Party says, “We need to take the initiative and go on the offensive, crack down on gangs as soon as they surface and strike the first blow. We must absolutely not permit the three vicious forces to build organizations, have ringleaders, control weapons and develop an atmosphere. We need to destroy them one by one as we discover them and absolutely not allow them to build up momentum” (Davis, 2008). The “three vicious forces” Mr. Xiuming references are separatism, extremism, and terrorism.

China released an official statement naming groups that are “East Turkestan terrorists.” This list, published in 2002, included the groups: the East Turkistan Islamic Movement (ETIM), the East Turkistan Liberation Organization (ETLO), the Islamic Reformist Part, the East Turkestan Islamic Party, the East Turkestan Opposition Party, the East Turkestan Islamic Party of Allah, the Uyghur Liberation Organization, the Islamic Holy Warriors, and the East Turkestan International Committee (Davis, 2008). China has tied each one of these groups to alleged violence.

Out of the groups named above, the East Turkistan Islamic Movement is one of the predominate groups named by China as a terrorist threat. China is not alone in this as the United States has also named the ETIM a terrorist organization in 2002. The ETIM is described as a small Uyghur-founded group of militant Muslims that seek independence, and are based in the XUAR (Bajoria, 2008).

The U.S. State Department reports that the ETIM has received training and funding from Osama bin Laden’s terror network, and that the ETIM has fought with al-Qaeda against the U.S. in Operation Enduring Freedom. However, the listing of the ETIM as a terrorist group occurred when the U.S sought China’s approval and support in the “War on Terror” in Iraq and has been argued by some as a trade off.

Along with these claims, China released a report stating that the ETIM has received money, weapons, and support from al-Qaeda (Bajoria, 2008). Abc News also reported that, “the Chinese government said it raided a terrorist camp run by the East Turkestan Islamic Movement in Xinjiang, seizing grenades, other explosives and cash. Chinese police killed 18 and arrested 17, according to state media” (Schecter, 2008). China has reported acts of aggression by “East Turkistan terrorists,” ranging in destructiveness and complexity. There have been Chinese produced statistics that show that between 1990 and 2001, “East Turkistan terrorists” have been responsible for over 200 incidents in Xinjiang that have taken the lives of 162 and injured 440 people (Permanent Mission, 2002).

With the violence stemming from the “East Turkistan terrorist” groups, China has had to take drastic measures to insure the safety and well being of its citizens. China’s Information of State Council says that, “in order to protect the lives and property and common interests of the people of various ethnic groups, maintain the stability of China’s Xinjiang and the surrounding regions, safeguard national unity, social stability and the smooth progress of the modernization drive, the Chinese government has resolutely cracked down on the violent activities of the ‘East Turkistan’ terrorist forces in accordance with the law (Permanent Mission, 2002). China’s argument is that it is not acting against the guidelines of the Constitution, and violating human rights, but rather, it is doing what is necessary to fight terrorism, separatism, and extremism.

Uyghurs

The Uyghurs claim that they are being religiously persecuted by the PRC. The claims include different acts, such as the continued arrest and detainment of religious believers, the closing of religious sites, the imposed restrictions on movement, the raiding of religious meetings, the “re-education” of religious leaders, and the censoring of publications (Human Rights Watch, 2006). The Uyghurs argue that the PRC is camouflaging these human rights abuses as necessary steps in stopping terrorism.

Henry Szadziewski from the Uyghur Human Rights Projects (UHRP) says, “No evidence has been provided to link Uyghurs to global terror, and even the present existence of the East Turkestan Islamic Movement is questioned. ETIM has been blamed by the PRC for recent attacks and is considered by the PRC as linked to Al-Qaeda. Uyghurs use peaceful means to put across their message of human rights, freedom and democracy for East Turkestan” (2008). Uyghur groups, such as the Uyghur American Association and the World Uyghur Congress, claim that the “evidence” of terrorism is falsified propaganda.

The leading human rights activist, and exiled Uyghur, Rebiya Kadeer is an outspoken critic of the PRC government. She spent six years in Chinese prison for “separatist” activities, and two of her children remain in Chinese custody. Ms. Kadeer was nominated for a Nobel peace prize in 2006, 2007, and 2008, because of her work on behalf of the Uyghur’s human rights. Facing possible execution if she returns to “East Turkestan”, Ms. Kadeer works tirelessly advocating for change in the XUAR (Uyghur American, 2008). Ms. Kadeer says, “Uighurs have suffered for decades under a regime that seeks to eliminate a unique culture to placate paranoid leaders in Beijing. Our religion, a moderate form of Sunni Islam is vital to Uighur ethnic identity, has been fiercely repressed” (Kadeer, 2008). She also says that, “The government sees Islam as a threat. So they are strictly restricting the practice of the religion in order to make our people faithless.” (Kadeer, 2006). In regards to her opinion of the way Uyghurs in the XUAR protest, she says, “We abhor all forms of violence. The Uyghur people’s response to the ongoing brutality of the PRC government has always been peaceful” (Uyghur American, 2008). Ms. Kadeer does not speak on behalf of all Uyghurs, but as one of the identified leaders, her message of peace and patience indicates an opposing message to what the PRC has suggested of the Uyghur’s “terrorist” actions.

The Uyghur American Association (UAA) is one of the largest U.S. based Uyghur advocacy groups. Its goal is to promote and preserve a rich, humanistic, diverse Uyghur culture. The UAA is also in support of the Uyghurs using a peaceful and democratic means to determine their own future. In its text, the UAA says, “It has become apparent that the communist Chinese government is currently carrying out a deliberate policy of cultural genocide in Eastern Turkistan (Uyghurstan)… The violations of Uyghurs human rights and the abuses of Uyghurs religious freedoms have a distinct character, and are aimed at preventing Uyghurs as a people from asserting their own identity and culture and their wish to preserve it” (Uyghur American Association, 2008). Below is a portion of a press release that the UAA put out in September, 2008.

“East Turkestan in the post-Olympic period is witnessing a fierce crackdown as regional and central authorities move to commit further violations of Uyghur human rights in the name of security. Recent activity by Chinese security forces, unreported by Chinese media, has included:

• The mobilization of 200,000 public security officers and armed police in East Turkestan to “prevent terrorist attacks” on China’s National Day, observed on October 1.
• The arrest of 160 Uyghur children, aged 8 to 14 years old, for participating in “illegal” religious activities. The children were brought to Bajiahu Prison in the regional capital of Urumchi, and their parents were asked for 20,000 yuan for the release of each child.
• The arrests of more than 1,000 individuals in post-attack security sweeps in Kucha and Kashgar” (Uyghur American, 2008).

The PRC is resolute in its actions. The Uyghurs feel they are being persecuted because of both their heritage and their religion. In defense of the Uyghur’s claims, Chinese History Professor Alan Wood says, “Their (China’s) power is not legitimate, they are extraordinarily sensitive to any group in China that is outside their control, and the Uyghurs fill that definition. The government is likely to crush any opposition, regardless of where it comes from” (2008).

United States

The United States has taken a firm stance in support of human rights in China, which they feel encompasses the Uyghurs in the XUAR. The U.S. Department of State’s 2007 Report on International Religious Freedom of China says that, “Xinjiang authorities continued to use combating terrorism to justify placing restrictions on peaceful religious practices of Uighur Muslims…” (2007). The United States has not only published reports that reprimand China for their alleged human rights abuses, but they have also taken congressional steps to ensure political awareness of the situation in the XUAR.

The House of Representatives voted to adopt H. Res. 1370 on July 30^th, 2008. The resolution passed with 419 Yeas and 1 Nay. The resolution calls on the government of the People’s Republic of China to “end abuses of the human rights of its citizens, cease repression of Tibetan and Uighur people.” H. Res. 1370 also called on President George W. Bush to make strong public statements on China’s human rights situation, and to also seek a visit to both Tibet and Xinjiang. The United States has clearly made the argument that China is not upholding its obligation to protect its citizen’s human rights, including the freedom of religion.

The United States Congressional-Executive Commission on China (CECC) was created in 2000 to monitor human rights and the development of the rule of law. The 2007 CECC report says, “Within the XUAR, the government restricts access to mosques, imprisons citizens for religious activity determined to be ‘‘extremist,’’ has detained people for possession of unauthorized texts, and most recently has confiscated Muslims’ passports (Congressional, 2007). This report continues in detail on the religious persecution of the Muslims in the XUAR, and compares that persecution to the international agreements in which the PRC has signed. This Commission, made up of nine Senators and nine House of Representatives, has observed the human rights abuses that have been alleged against China by different individuals, groups, and organizations.

Results

This research has found that the PRC has been committing human rights violations within its borders. The exact extent of the human rights abuses happening to the Uyghurs is not fully known, as information is not readily available. However, research does indicate that there have been numerous cases where the PRC can be found guilty of its own “separatism, extremism, and terrorism.” Below are examples of specific cases where the PRC government is committing religious persecution of the Uyghur people.

The highest political authority in Xinjiang, the Study Group of the Xinjiang CCP Committee, released a document that gave a specific example of what constitutes “separatism.” The example that the Study Group reported was of an imam’s Friday prayer in the Sidituwei mosque in July 1999. The imam said, “Because they are unemployed, Uighur women and youngsters have turned into prostitutes and vagrants. Pray Allah to save their souls, to give them jobs. Let the sound of our tears move Allah. A crowd of one thousand were thus led to cry loudly” (Human Rights Watch, 2005).

The Friday prayer quoted above was explained as raising hot social issues and spurring feelings of dissatisfaction, which was deemed equivalent to separatism. The issue is that because this was officially reported as separatism, it laid the foundation, the example, for all other State officials such as judges, prosecutors, and government cadres to make decisions on Uyghur court cases. With official documents listing this as a sample case, it allows for the prosecution of Uyghurs for various religious actions or activities. This is just one clear example of the PRC’s standards that lead to the religious persecution of the Uyghurs.

The 2007 International Religious Report gave a specific documented example of the PRC persecuting a Uyghur person based on religion. The Report indicates that, “In August of 2006 the Government sentenced Huseyin Celil to life imprisonment for “separatist activities.” Celil was a popular Uighur Muslim imam in Kashgar before emigrating to Canada in 2001. Celil reportedly spoke about religious freedom and nonviolent struggle against human rights violations during his sermons and used a megaphone to amplify his call to prayers from the mosque” (2007). The Uzbek authorities arrested Celil while visiting Tashkent, and then quickly deported him to China. Nongovernmental organizations have also claimed that the PRC government violated many of Celil’s rights in regards to due process (2007). There still remains no evidence against Celil, which indicates that the PRC government is holding him solely based on his Islamic religious background.

It has been established, with evidence, by numerous non-affiliated organizations that the PRC government has committed religious persecution. This research does not suggest, however, that the PRC is committing these acts out of sheer malice. The actions have specific intention to serve the Han Chinese. While the PRC government may favor the Han Chinese, they refuse to tolerate conversations about an independent Taiwan or Tibet. The reason for the persecution of the Uyghurs is because the PRC is concerned that the Uyghurs will try to become an independent state.

 The XUAR and Tibet are the only regions of China where the Han Chinese are in place outnumber. This research paper claims that there are two main reasons why the PRC is afraid of an independent XUAR. These reasons also explain why the PRC continues to encourage massive migrations of Han Chinese into the XUAR, and why it continues the oppression of the Uyghur people.

The first reason has to do with national security. The PRC government fears that if the Uyghurs are allowed to practice religion the way they want, educate the way they want, speak the way they want, and travel the way they want, there will be a rejuvenated sense of pride throughout the Uyghur community. The Chinese understand that oppressed people rarely have the ability to organize and effectively revolt against a reigning power. The religious persecution is just one small part, but it is the spiritual deprivation that will most effectively drive a people into passivity. The PRC has no choice but to default to this method because the country does not have a functional rule of law (http://www.carnegieendowment.org/publications/index.cfm?fa=view&id=17073) .

Due to the fact that China is unable to maintain peace and power through law, the only other option besides oppression would be to allow the Uyghurs to grow and develop their culture and independent identity. As opposed to the oppressed, the free tend to follow the demand of the people, which could result in an independent XUAR. The Chinese feel that an independent, predominately Muslim, XUAR, would be a national security threat because the Uyghurs would ultimately align themselves with other Middle Eastern Islamic countries. China has already claimed that Uyghur groups seeking independence have allied themselves with terrorist organizations such as al-Qaeda.

As a Turkic people, it would be more likely that an independent Uyghur state would look similar to Kazakhstan, with open elections and attempted equality, as opposed to Afghanistan, with feudal lords and a closed society. This model is clearly hypothetical, but it does show that the PRC has options other than oppression and persecution. If the PRC decided to cast away the controlling, secretive Communist government, and adopted a more transparent form of governing, with a clear vision and democratic principles, the global community could finally welcome China as an equal partner. Marjorie Lightman, from the Women’s Research and Education Institute said,  “Change has to happen in the Chinese understanding of what it means to be Chinese” (2008). There is hope, in regards to what Ms. Lightman said. When the younger generation starts to form the leadership in the PRC, it is perceivable that they will have a different understanding of what it means to be Chinese, and the needed change will come.

The second noted issue is that the XUAR serves as one of the leading suppliers of China’s non-renewable natural resources. This is both an economic and national security threat. Recently, an underground coalfield was discovered in the XUAR that contains approximately 23 billion tons of coal reserves. The XUAR accounts for 40% of China’s reserves, which is important as the annual demand for coal is to quickly reach three billion tons (UPI, 2008). Along with coal, the XUAR holds 25.5% of China’s inland oil resources, and 27.9% of the countries inland gas resources (Asia Times, 2005).

China has reached an economic level that it has yet to experience in the past. It is burning more coal, using more fuel, and needing more natural gas for heat than ever before. With a rising population, and a rising living standard, China’s need for non-renewable fossil fuels is a top priority. The perceived threat is that if the XUAR became an independent nation, they would then lay claim to the abundance of natural resources underneath their land. The situation parallels the actions of the United States, and what they are willing to do to ensure that its oil needs are met. The PRC has developed a “take no chances” approach with the Uyghurs, and continue their oppression to ensure that no legitimate uprising will occur and jeopardize their natural resources.

As a nation that will soon surpass the United States as having the largest economy, China must find a solution to a limited energy supply. This must be done with care, because the results of finding alternate energy can also have a negative impact on the population’s quality of life. An example of this in China would be the Three Gorges Dam than spans the Yangtze River. The dam is providing large amounts of renewable hydroelectricity, but when China erected the dam, it caused major flooding upstream. This displaced over one million citizens, and caused hardship. If the PRC can find alternatives to oil, such as electric cars, nuclear power, and well placed dams, it would lessen the need to have such tight control on the XUAR. There are no easy answers in the pursuit of weaning industrial countries off of fossil fuels, but if the PRC is able to start, it will a benefit to the environment, and may be a start to the restoration of the Uyghurs human rights. 

An attempt to restore the Uyghurs human rights can also come from the United States’ foreign policy. These changes will not be immediate, nor will they come easy. However, if the United States diligently pursues the recommend courses of action below, it is possible that the influence will be seen within the PRC.

China, however condemnable their acts may be, always tries to present a positive image to the global community. It is because of this, the United States foreign policy can “shame” China into correcting their actions.  Tom Malinowski, the Human Rights Watch Director of Washington Advocacy says, “China cannot be transformed, but it can be changed. If the United States brightens the spotlight on the Uyghurs, it will eventually change the action of the Chinese (2008). In doing this research, the same message was heard over and over. The United States foreign policy needs to repeatedly “call out” China on documented reports of human rights abuses, and require that they change their actions.

There already exist two great examples of how the United States can work to spotlight China’s human rights abuses. The first example is when President Bush met twice with Rebiya Kadeer, once in June of 2007 and then again in July of 2008. During these meetings, President Bush publicly called Ms. Kadeer a human rights defender, and a person that has struggled for freedom, democracy, and human rights in the face of tyranny (World Uyghur Congress, 2005). The second example is the passage of previously noted H. Res. 1370. This resolution, “calls on the Government of the People’s Republic of China to immediately end abuses of the human rights of its citizens, to cease repression of Tibetan and Uighur citizens.” Although these actions have taken place, it will be more effective if the United States government uses the U.S. State Department to put permanent public pressure on the PRC.

Putting public pressure on China is necessary, but without legal reasoning, it is meaningless. The United States must use the fact that China is obligated to the International Covenant of Economic, Social and Cultural Rights as well as the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, and their own Constitution. In combination, the United States must use the United Nations as a multi-lateral mechanism to ensure that China is upholding their human rights obligations.

The outlook for the Uyghurs is optimistic. As China continues to grow in population, education, and leadership, it is likely that there will be an institutional change within the PRC government. That change is more likely to come if China establishes a rule of law, an alternate form of energy, and if the United States continues to pressure China to make the leap from the 20^th century of old into the 21^st century.

After an unpleasant exchange with a woman from Beijing, I have been encouraged to write a piece about being human.

It’s this idea, the simple understanding that no matter how different two people are or how much they are supposed to hate one another, at the end of the day they are still bound by the same fundamental laws of nature, they are human. They eat, they breathe, they sleep and they die. They feel love, and pain, and joy and sorrow. They experience jealousy, envy and torment as well as pleasure, comfort and fulfillment. The journey that they are on is not an easy one, and it is often made more difficult by the decisions that they make.

Confucius said that men’s natures are alike, but it is their habits that separate them. When cut on the hand, we all bleed red. When losing a loved one, we all feel pain. When breathing our last breathes, we all pass away. Our choices (or habits) are what create barriers between us. This is what blocks our ability to come together as humans, to form a basic brotherhood that is our birthright.

The conversation that I had with the woman wasn’t groundbreaking, but it drove home a point. There is an innate dislike amongst the Chinese and the Uyghurs. In addition to my conversation, I read an article that same day which referred to the Uyghurs as terrorists. It never once mentioned the other 99.99% of the population nor what they meant to the situation in Xinjiang. The article made such sweeping generalizations, I had a hard time finishing it. Both of these experiences in one day made me start asking questions.

Why do the Chinese distrust the Uyghurs? Why do the Uyghurs feel disrespected by the Chinese? Why was there enough anger on July 5^th of 2009 to have two different groups of people willing to kill one another? It is beyond me because I am a third party and I haven’t experienced what they’ve experienced. I don’t want to assume, and I don’t want to pretend that I know what it is like being in their shoes, but what I can do is take the time to step back and realize that with political tension, there are no easy or clear answers.

Over the past month, half of my blog’s viewership has come from China. These visitors have ranged from Guangzhou to Changchun to Changji. This piece will hopefully be read by hundreds, if not thousands of Chinese and Uyghurs, and I want one message to come through: try to love one another. If you can’t do that, try to tolerate one another. If you can’t do that, try to learn more about one another, and start all over again. We are all human. The Quran says, “Let not the enmity and hatred of others make you avoid justice, Be just, that is nearer to piety” (5:8).

The Uyghur Blog doesn’t advocate for the independence of Xinjiang. We also don’t question the everyday feelings or thoughts of the Han Chinese. That is not what we are concerned with. Our intention, our focus, is to question a government that overlooks justice and only gives lip service to human rights.

By not questioning “common knowledge”, you too work to hamper the development of human rights. We urge you to second guess what you read in the paper or what you hear in the market. Take facts with a grain of salt, as Aldous Huxley said, “Facts are ventriloquists dummies. Sitting on a wise man’s knee they may be made to utter words of wisdom; elsewhere, they say nothing, or talk nonsense, or indulge in sheer diabolism.” Even when the facts suggest someone is your enemy, take the time to understand where they are coming from. Try not to generalize an entire population based off the acts of a few, or the decisions of one’s government. We are all individuals, with our own intentions and beliefs. We are humans. Let us come together, let us love one another, let us stop fighting, whether it’s in Xinjiang, Beijing or Washington.

Often times, articles that are written about the Uyghurs are surface level regurgitations of information that already exists. With my location in Seattle and my constant struggle to contact primary sources, my blog posts often wind up being regurgitations of regurgitated info that gets, well, you get the point.

To celebrate this (insert chuckle here), I want to repost an article that was recently published by The Washington Post. This piece by Ms. Lauren Keane looks to draw attention on what’s been happening in Xinjiang post July 5 and does a good job obtaining quotes. These quotes are something that the Uyghur Blog has a difficult time gaining, so I want to repost the article and highlight some of the things being said in Xinjiang.

You tell me if China is doing a good job of healing the hurt felt by both Uyghur and Han?

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URUMQI, CHINA — A hulking shell of a department store towers over this city’s Uighur quarter, a reminder of what can be lost here by speaking up.

For years, it was the flagship of the business empire of Rebiya Kadeer, an exiled leader and matriarch of the Uighur people. If Chinese government accounts are accurate, she helped instigate fierce ethnic riots that killed hundreds and injured thousands here last July — an accusation she vehemently denies.

Still a prominent landmark even in its ruin, the Rebiya Kadeer Trade Center was partially confiscated by the government in 2006 when Kadeer’s son was charged with tax evasion, although tenants were allowed to stay. After the riots, it was shuttered and slated for destruction. The government said the building had failed fire inspections, but it seems in no hurry to set a demolition date.

The forsaken structure makes for an effective deterrent. Last summer’s chaos has been replaced with a level of fear that is striking even for one of China’s most repressed regions. Residents are afraid of attracting any attention, afraid of being in the wrong place at the wrong time. But they seem most terrified of talking.

“Every single family on this block is missing someone,” said Hasiya, a 33-year-old Uighur who asked that her full name not be used. Her younger brother is serving a 20-year prison sentence for stealing a carton of cigarettes during the riots. “Talking about our sorrow might just increase it. So we swallow it up inside.”

Fear is not unwarranted here. For years now, those caught talking to journalists have been questioned, monitored and sometimes detained indefinitely. More striking is that residents now say they cannot talk even with one another.

The Turkic-speaking Muslim Uighurs consider Xinjiang their homeland but now make up only 46 percent of the region’s population, after decades of government-sponsored migration by China’s Han ethnic majority.

The riots started as a Uighur protest over a government investigation into a Uighur-Han brawl at a southern Chinese factory. Several days of violence brought the official death toll to 197, with 1,700 injured, though observers suspect the casualty count was much higher. Most of the dead were Han, according to authorities. The government officially acknowledged detaining nearly 1,500 people after the riots. As of early March, Xinjiang had officially sentenced 198 people, with 25 death sentences. Of those 25, 23 were Uighur.

The events forced China’s national and regional governments to address, at least superficially, taboo issues of ethnic conflict, discrimination and socioeconomic inequality. The central government in April named a different Communist Party secretary for Xinjiang, Zhang Chunxian, who promptly announced that he had “deeply fallen in love with this land.” In May, the government announced a new development strategy to pour $1.5 billion into the region. It also restored full Internet and text-messaging access to the region after limiting or blocking it entirely for 10 months.

The riots “left a huge psychic trauma on the minds of many people of all ethnicities. This fully reflects the great harm done to the Chinese autonomous region by ‘splittist’ forces,” said Wang Baodong, a spokesman for the Chinese Embassy in the United States.

The ability to confront what happened last July, and why, still eludes people of all ethnic groups in Xinjiang. White-knuckled, they hold their spoons above steaming bowls of mutton stew, poking nervously at the oily surface. They fiddle with their watchbands until they break. They repeat questions rather than answer them. They glance through doorways, distracted, and shift side to side in their chairs. Summer’s full swelter has yet to arrive, but everyone starting to speak to a reporter begins to sweat. One man leaves the table six times in half an hour to rinse the perspiration from his face. He returns unrefreshed.

When asked what changes the riots had brought, Mehmet, a former schoolteacher who resigned last year because he opposed requirements that he teach his Uighur students primarily in Chinese, took a long glance around the room before pointing halfheartedly out the door. “They built a new highway overpass,” he said.

Suspicion of fellow citizens is still common throughout China but seems especially acute here. Academics accept interviews only if they can avoid discussing the conflict’s lingering effects. An apologetic professor backed out of a planned meeting after his supervisor discovered his plan, called him and threatened his job. A businessman said that he believed government security agents often trained as journalists, and asked how he could be sure that he would not be turned in.

“We’re seeing increasingly intrusive modes of control over religious and cultural expression,” said Nicholas Bequelin, a Hong Kong-based senior researcher at Human Rights Watch. “They live in fear of being overheard.”

The Kadeer Trade Center is at the center of a protracted conflict. The Urumqi government said that compensation talks with tenants were still ongoing, and that it had moved the tenants to a nearby location. A spokesman for Kadeer, who now lives in Fairfax, said she had not been offered compensation.

Although the government says it is striving for stability, getting there is uncomfortable. On a single street near this city’s main bazaar, four types of uniformed police were on patrol one recent day — not counting, of course, an unknown number of plainclothes security guards. They marched haphazardly along the sidewalks, the different units so numerous that they sometimes collided. Late into the evening, they perched on rickety school desk chairs placed throughout the bazaar, watching. On the corner outside Xinjiang Medical University, armed police in riot gear peered out the windows of an olive green humvee or leaned on riot shields under the afternoon sun.

“It’s quiet here on the surface,” said Yu Xinqing, 35, a lifelong Han resident of Urumqi whose brother was killed by Uighurs during the riots. He now carries a knife with him everywhere, avoids Uighur businesses and rarely speaks with Uighur neighbors he previously considered friends. He says he is saving money to leave Xinjiang behind for good.

“We don’t talk about these things, even within our families,” he said. “But our hearts are overwhelmed; we hold back rivers and overturn the seas.”

Still, every once in a while, when a resident is safely alone with a neutral observer, months’ worth of stifled thinking tumbles out. That was the case for Ablat, a Uighur businessman who sells clothing near the main bazaar; he would not allow his last name to be mentioned. Ablat had been speaking in vague, evasive terms for three hours, and then — ensconced in his car, speeding north out of town — something finally released.

“Give us jobs, stop holding our passports hostage, and let us worship the way we want to,” he said. “That would solve these problems. That is all it would take.”

Our friend Josh, over at the Far West China Blog, continues to put out fantastic blogs about life in Xinjiang. Today, Josh wrote up a great read about Xinjiang BBQ. You can check out the article on Josh’s site, or you can read below on how the Uyghurs have perfected the lamb kebab.

Being located on the West Coast of the United States, we don’t feel like we have an opportunity for very good barbequed lamb. Are we missing something? Do you have a favorite Kebab hotspot in the States?

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About this time last year I was invited by a good Uyghur friend to take part in one of Xinjiang’s most popular pastimes: the BBQ.  Having spent part of his life behind a Xinjiang kebab stand outside the province my friend shared with me the secrets that make the kebabs in Xinjiang that much better than those beyond the provincial borders.

Because I was born and raised in the great state of Texas, the term “BBQ” carries a baggage of memories that I had to completely redefine while living in Xinjiang.  The meat of choice would be lamb, not pork ribs, and unless you’ve had the privilege of traveling to Xinjiang you won’t understand just how delicious that can be.

Secret #1: The Type of Fire

When my wife and I arrived at our friends’ home early one Saturday we were each given specific tasks.  It was my job to head to the basement and grab the grill.  Expecting a large setup not unlike what I might find along the streets, I was surprised to encounter a grill no bigger than a half a meter.  “This will make the grilling faster” my friend explained.

Throughout our travels in China, my wife and I have seen kebabs cooked in all sorts of ways, my favorite being those I saw in Beijing cooked with a hair dryer.  A few kebabs were fried, some at the fast food restaurants were just heated on an electric stove, but my Uyghur friend explained that today we would be doing kebabs the “authentic way”.

Translation: We wouldn’t be burning the ever-abundant coal often used throughout China and northern Xinjiang – we would be using wood more popular in the south of the province.  Apparently this wood was a valuable commodity in our desert area and he had to pay a high price to get some for us.

“People use coal because it’s cheaper, but if you want a really good kebab, you have to use wood.”  Coal is also preferred because it cooks faster than wood he explained, but it would give the meat a better flavor.

Secret #2: The Type of Meat

It makes sense that not all lamb meat is created equal, just like all steaks aren’t the same.  Apparently most kebab stands cut costs by using the less-desirable meat and cutting it into incredibly small pieces that grill quickly.

Prior to our arrival my Uyghur friend had already gone to the market to select the perfect slab of lamb with a balanced combination of meat and fat.  It had been cut into medium-sized chunks and was being marinated in a large bowl – something that most street vendors fail to do.

“My secret to the perfect kebab is the marinade” he told me, although he never revealed the exact ingredients to his marinade.  After only an hour in the bowl both our wives sat down to the task of preparing the skewers.  Meat – fat – meat – fat – meat – fat.

“Most restaurants offer a variety of kebabs” my friend said.  “It’s a mistake to buy the cheapest ones because those are usually made with the lesser meat.  The good kebabs are usually thick, prime and a bit more expensive.”  Try almost 2-3 times as expensive.  A regular kebab in Xinjiang usually costs about 1-3 RMB, but the better quality skewers run upwards of 6-8 RMB.

Secret #3: Quality Matters, not Quantity

At first I thought it had something to do with our small grill, but my Uyghur friend refused to

cook more than 8 kebabs at one time.  He insisted that creating an even heat distribution was key to a perfect kebab.  “People who really know what they’re doing might be able to cook 20 or 30 at a time, but often they end up sacrificing taste for time.”

Our thick kebabs, skillfully prepared by our wives, sat on the grill for at least 10 minutes per group of eight.  Every couple of minutes they would be turned and sprinkled with generous portions of cumin and ground peppers.

I could tell my friend was a kebab master just by the way he handled the skewers.  Instead of turning them one-by-one he was able to grab the whole lot and turn them in one swoop.  It sounds (and looks) simple, but I can share from experience that amateurs will either drop one in the fire or end up having to turn them individually anyway after their failed attempt.

Secret #4: Always Request the Bread

Lamb meat is naturally greasy and there is no better use for that grease than on a piece of Uyghur bread.  “I always ask for the bread” my friend said.  Usually kebabs are served alone on a plate, but by requesting bread the grease from the kebabs will be used to soften and flavor the bread.

Every Uyghur restaurant in Xinjiang will either have bread on hand or have somebody run down to the nearest bread stand, which usually isn’t far.  Since kebab makers outside Xinjiang don’t have the same luxury most people miss out on this incredible food pairing.

 

Secret #5: Kebabs are Meant to be Eaten Outside

I believe it’s not just the food, it’s also the atmosphere.  While BBQing with our friends we laid out a blanket in the grass and enjoyed the breeze.  If I’m going to a restaurant I don’t even hesitate to request outdoor seating.

Because we only grilled 8 kebabs at a time, our meal was stretched out for hours as we leisurely conversed and downed cold beverages.  Even thinking about it today makes me want to pull out my grill but I have no doubt that any kebabs I made just wouldn’t compare to those of my Uyghur friend.

I’m convinced that even though Uyghurs may not have invented lamb kebabs, they have perfected the art of cooking them.