Article 36 of the Constitution of the People’s Republic of China states, “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 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. 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.”
The provision in the Chinese constitution is not only contained in words but clearly seen in the living conditions of the people living in the northwestern part of China.
A recent visit to the Islamic Institute, located in Urumqi, the capital of northwest China’s Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, facilitated by the Xinhua News Agency and the local government, provided first-hand information to international journalists from over 30 countries on how people of diverse backgrounds were living peacefully.
Abudurehep Turmniaz, Dean of the Institute, who took the journalist around the facility, said the Chinese government heavily funded the construction of the new site as well as offered them a place where they buried their dead in accordance with Islamic practice.
He emphasized that the Muslims were living peacefully with other religious groups in Xinjiang and that they do not face any discrimination because of their religion.
“The Chinese government has been very supportive of our activities here as Muslims. The government supported us in the construction of our new site, which is five times bigger than the old one. Besides, the government has allocated land for us to bury our people when they die,” added Turmniaz.
The journalists praised China for the religious diversity and high level of tolerance exhibited by the local people.
Director of Training Center for the Jordan News Agency, Jamil Ghadaireh, expressed satisfaction at freedom and the various measures put in place by the Institute to train youngmen in the Islamic faith to graduate to become Imams in their local communities, a situation he says will help to spread the religion.
“It is quite refreshing to witness first-hand the freedom with which the Islamic Institute operates without any form of control, which is contrary to western negative propaganda against China,” said Ghadaireh.
Representative of the Zambia News and Information Services (ZANIS), Rosaria Lubumbashi Simengwa, praised the Chinese government for allowing various religions, including Buddhists, Christians, Muslims, and others, to co-exist peacefully.
She said, “It is beautiful to see this building put up by the government for the Muslims here. It is also nice to see that the five main religions in Xinjiang are living peacefully in this cosmopolitan city.”
“Religious intolerance has divided some people in other parts of the globe, but the reverse is what we find here in Urumqi. This demonstrates the good work done by the Chinese government and the local government,” added Simegwa.
A Sub-Editor with News Ghana, Francis Kobena Tandoh, who represented his organization at the 6th World Media Summit, said bringing people of diverse backgrounds to be trained in the Islamic Institute demonstrates how tolerant the people are.
He said, “Contrary to persecution of the Chinese people by their government, I have seen that all those stories we used to hear were propaganda by western powers. I can report that the way the Muslims are living at peace with other religious groups in Urumqi is incredible.”
The Xinjiang Islam Academy, situated on Yan’an St. in Urumqi, was originally built in 1987, jointly funded by the World Islamic Development Bank and the central government.
In September 2017, a new campus, 5.7 times the size of the old one in downtown Urumqi, was put to use in the suburban part of the capital.
The new campus cost 279 million yuan or 41 million U.S. dollars.With a spacious worship hall, a stadium, and a football court, it can accommodate 1,100 students. The institute is one of 10 Islamic faculties of theology in the country and the only one that teaches in the Uighur language.
About 70 percent of the courses at the institute are related to Islam, including recitation and interpretation of the Quran and Arabic, and the remaining 30 percent teaches students Uighur literature, Mandarin, geography, and computer skills.
National surveys conducted during the early 21st century reported that an estimated 80 percent of the Chinese population practice some form of folk religion, for a total of over 1 billion people.
The report said 13–16 percent of the population are Buddhists, 10 percent are Taoists, 2.53 percent are Christians, and 0.83 percent are Muslims.
According to official statistics, there are 30 million Muslims in China, and almost half of them live in the Xinjiang Uighur Autonomous Region.
The Uighur’s are the biggest ethnic Muslim group, with about 10 million people who live mainly in Xinjiang but can be found in many Chinese cities.
The second biggest group is the Kazakhs. About 2 million of them live mainly in Xinjiang. The Hui are another main Muslim ethnic group that lives throughout all of China.
