Who Are The Uyghur People? : ThroughlineOver one million Uyghur people have been detained in camps in China, according to estimates, subjected to torture, forced labor, religious restrictions, and even forced sterilization. The vast majority of this minority ethnic group is Muslim, living for centuries at a crossroads of culture and empire along what was once the Silk Road. This week, we explore who the Uyghur people are, their land, their customs, their music and why they've become the target of what many are calling a genocide.
A Uyghur woman protests the 2009 detainment of Uyghur citizens following ethnic unrest in the Xinjiang region, China.
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A Uyghur family pray at the grave of a loved one in the western Xinjiang province, China.The Corban festival, known to Muslims worldwide as Eid al-Adha or 'feast of the sacrifice', is celebrated by ethnic Uyghurs across Xinjiang. Ethnic Uyghurs have been subjected to restrictions on religious and cultural practices for decades by the China's Communist Party.
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The Cultural Revolution marked a turning point between ethnic Uyghurs and Han Chinese when the Uyghur people were targeted by the Red Guard. The Guard hoped to turn the Uyghur people into Maoists, but what followed were years of violence and oppression against the Uyghurs.
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This photo taken on June 2, 2019 shows a facility believed to be a re-education camp where mostly Muslim ethnic minorities are detained, in Artux, north of Kashgar in China's western Xinjiang region.
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Over one million Uyghur people have been detained in camps in China, according to estimates, subjected to torture, forced labor, religious restrictions, and even forced sterilization. The vast majority of this minority ethnic group is Muslim, living for centuries at a crossroads of culture and empire along what was once the Silk Road. This week, we explore who the Uyghur people are, their land, their customs, their music and why they've become the target of what many are calling a genocide.
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