As the sacred day of Eid al-Adha approaches, Campaign for Uyghurs (CFU) highlights the ongoing genocide suffered by Uyghur Muslims in East Turkistan. The Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP) institutionalized Islamophobia and criminalization of every Islamic practice have stripped Uyghurs of their ability to celebrate this significant religious holiday. CFU urgently calls upon the international community to advocate for the religious freedoms and human rights of the Uyghur people.

Eid al-Adha, the Festival of Sacrifice, commemorates the willingness of the Prophet Abraham to engage in sacrifice in an act of obedience to God. It exemplifies spiritual reflection, altruism, and communal unity—crucial values that are undermined by the Chinese government’s severe infringement on religious freedom. Amidst the ongoing Uyghur genocide, fasting, praying, and observing religious rituals have been banned. Approximately 16,000 mosques have been damaged or destroyed and 8,450 have been entirely demolished.

The CCP has undergone a campaign to rewrite Islamic teachings to be more in line with Han-Chinese culture and CCP ideology. In March 2024, a CCP Party official remarked that Islam in the Uyghur region must be “Sinicised.” A similar resolution was made in May 2024 by the Secretary of the Central Political and Legal Affairs Commission, who stressed that the CCP’s counterterrorism policies in the region must be “normalized.” These statements underscore the CCP’s determination to continue and even escalate current genocidal policies aimed at destroying the religious and ethnic identities of the Uyghur people.

Rushan Abbas, Executive Director of CFU, states: “The joy of Eid al-Adha is not complete while the Uyghurs in East Turkistan continue to suffer persecution for their faith. This holy day used to bring the Uyghur community together to celebrate family bonds, reflect on their spirituality, and extend generosity to those in need. Now, it is overshadowed by repression and anxiety, stripping away the essence of this tradition. I implore the global community, especially the Muslim world, to stand firm and united, utilizing both collective and individual efforts to advocate for the Uyghurs’ rights to religious freedom.”

CFU urges organizations, leaders, and individuals across the globe to speak out this Eid al-Adha and advocate for the Uyghur people with diplomatic measures and supporting international investigations into human rights abuses and attacks on religious freedom. Concrete action is needed to end the ongoing genocide suffered by the people of East Turkistan.