The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), the nation’s largest Muslim civil rights and advocacy organization, today condemned the reported re-sentencing of a Uyghur Muslim woman to 14 years in prison for teaching the Quran to teenagers.
Human rights groups say Chinese authorities frequently punish Uyghurs in Xinjiang for their religious practices.
“Teaching the Quran to children should never be a punishable offense, in fact it is worthy of praise,” said CAIR National Communications Director Ibrahim Hooper. “The international community must stop ignoring the Chinese government’s abuses of minority communities.”
He cited a tradition (hadith) of Islam’s Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) in which he said: “The best of you are those who learn the Quran and teach it.” Bukhari
Yesterday, CAIR condemned an ongoing attempt by Chinese authorities in Xinjiang to “erase” Uyghur culture by systematically changing hundreds of Uyghur village names to ones reflecting Chinese Communist Party ideology.
Hooper noted that earlier this week, CAIR condemned the Chinese government’s removal of a dome from a mosque in China’s Yunnan Province. CAIR also condemned the Chinese government’s crackdown on Eid al-Adha celebrations and halal products in the Uyghur region.
He noted that CAIR previously condemned the Chinese Communist Party’s forced “sinicization” of Islam in the Uyghur region.
SEE: CAIR Condemns Chinese Communist Party’s Forced ‘Sinicization’ of Islam in Uyghur Region
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CONTACT: CAIR National Deputy Director Edward Ahmed Mitchell, 404-285-9530, e-Mitchell@cair.com; CAIR National Communications Director Ibrahim Hooper, 202-744-7726, ihooper@cair.com; CAIR National Communications Manager Ismail Allison, 202-770-6280, iallison@cair.com