“I will praise you, LORD, among the nations; I will sing the praises of your name.”
In China’s Xinjiang region, after the government expelled all foreign missionaries, the already small number of Uyghur Christians have been left vulnerable. They now face two layers of persecution—one from the Chinese Communist Party and the other from their own Muslim community.
From 2017 to 2019, reports revealed that nearly 3 million Uyghurs were detained in modern-day “reeducation camps,” shaking the global community. Following strong international criticism, the Chinese government appeared to close many of these camps, but some still remain in operation. According to Dr. Bob Fu of Voice of the Martyrs Canada, over 16,000 Uyghurs are still held in the camps today.
Though officially called “Vocational Education and Training Centers,” these facilities are known for forced “Sinicization”—pressuring detainees to renounce their religion, embrace communist ideology, and abandon their cultural identity. Speaking Uyghur is banned, and even possessing religious books like the Bible can lead to punishment. Some inmates are also subjected to forced labor.
Uyghur Christians make up only a small minority among their people, and most heard the gospel through foreign missionaries. These missionaries not only preached the gospel but also helped the poor, supported the local economy, wrote worship songs in the Uyghur language, and translated parts of the Bible. After their expulsion, local believers were left without support and became targets of “double persecution.”
First, the Communist Party persecutes them for both their ethnic identity and Christian faith. Second, Muslim Uyghurs often see conversion to Christianity as a betrayal of their ethnic and religious roots, leading to rejection, discrimination, and isolation from family and community.
A well-known example is Pastor Alimujiang Yimiti, who shared with an American missionary that he was being watched by Chinese state security. For this, he was accused of leaking state secrets and sentenced to 15 years in prison. Dr. Fu noted that “the only so-called secret was that he was under surveillance.”
In another case, a believer was re-arrested and sentenced to 12 more years just days after being released. Dr. Fu described this as “lawless and arbitrary,” calling it “religious persecution in its cruelest form.”
Voice of the Martyrs calls on Christians around the world to pray for the release of imprisoned Uyghur believers and for comfort and strength for those still suffering inside and outside the camps. (Source: Gospel Prayer Newspaper, Edited version)
Who saves me from my enemies. You exalted me above my foes; from a violent man you rescued me. Therefore I will praise you, LORD, among the nations; I will sing the praises of your name. (Psalms 18:48-49,NIV)
God, we lift up the Uyghur Christians who suffer under the heavy hand of Communist oppression and rejection by their own people. Rebuke those who trample on human rights, imprison without cause, and seek to extinguish faith. Deliver Your people from the hands of the wicked. May the gospel they received through faithful missionaries become a song of glory that rises above persecution. Strengthen Your Church with truth, so even their persecutors may turn to Your salvation and give thanks.
Prayer 24·365
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