Weeping for Uyghurs
Hump Day - Day of Prayer for the Muslim World Vol. 232
"He does not ignore the cry of the afflicted."
Psalm 9:12
Muhemmet is Uyghur, and he has been attending a college in Almaty, Kazakhstan where he and his family had escaped from China 5 years earlier. When Muhemmet learned of the difficulties facing dear relatives back in China, he knew he had to do something.
Like many Uyghurs living in Kazakhstan, it is not unusual for them to smuggle essential goods back into China when circumstances dictate it. Muhemmet's role is considered very important for Uyghurs OUTSIDE of China, as his aid helps Uyghurs INSIDE of China find a way to escape persecution.
For Muhemmet to succeed in his smuggling role, he would have to move with stealth as he made his way to the Chinese border from Almaty. If caught by the Kazakh border patrol, he would likely be sent back to China with the potential of being sent to a re-education camp. Once across the border, Muhemmet would then have to avoid Chinese officials. If caught by them, he most certainly would be sent to a re-education camp.
If Muhemmet could safely trek across the Chinese border, he would need to find a train to board that would take him along the steppes of the Tian Shan Mountain range to the village where his relatives live near Urumqi, the capital of Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region. Most Uyghurs live in this Chinese province. Upon his return to Almaty, Muhemmet would face the same dangers over again.
Re-Education Camps - What Are They?
Though not exclusively for the Uyghur population, the "Re-Education Camps" are over running with Uyghurs! China has some goals at these camps:
- Eventually, China would like ALL Chinese people to speak Mandarin - the dominant language of China. Uyghur detainees are receiving language training in Mandarin in the re-education camps to make them conform to Chinese society.
- Additionally, re-education detainees are basically brainwashed with Communist doctrine in the camps.
Some Goals of Re-Education Camps are Specific to the Uyghurs - Why?
- The camps are allegedly one way the Chinese seek to prevent Islamic extremism. The Chinese blame the Uyghurs for any and all terrorism that takes place in China.
- Uyghurs are Muslim. They are of Turkic ancestry, and they are NOT Chinese. They have their own culture, their own dietary features, and they have their own language. Being Turk, they look different and talk different than the Chinese. In short, all of these qualities make the Uyghurs targets for hate and prejudice for those who would respond to the Devil's evil voice. The Chinese government has been listening to that voice!
- Basically, China wants to completely erase every single characteristic of the Uyghur people and their culture to make them uniformly like all Chinese. The Chinese are attempting to systematically strip the Uyghurs of their identity and heritage in these re-education camps through forced assimilation.
What Uyghurs Experience in Re-Education Camps
In addition to what has been mentioned above, the following are other experiences Uyghurs have in Chinese re-education camps.
- Sexual abuse and rape
- Forced labor
- Torture
- Forced sterilization
- Drug experimentation
Prayer Focus Today - Uyghurs of Kazakhstan
Today we have mentioned the Uyghur people group as they pertain to both China and Kazakhstan though Uyghur diaspora can be found in other countries too. The vast majority of Uyghurs reside in China, but today we want to focus our prayers specifically on the Uyghur population of Kazakhstan.
- Uyghur Population in Kazakhstan - approximately 350,000
- Religion - 99.99% Sunni Muslim
- Followers of Jesus - 0.01%
Prayer Needs
- Pray for the few followers of Jesus found among the Uyghurs of Kazakhstan. Overall, Kazakhstan is probably a better place for Uyghur believers to be trained for going into the harvest.
- Many Uyghurs who have escaped China to migrate to Kazakhstan, are furthering their education in colleges. Pray for the salvation of Uyghur students, and that they would catch a vision to reach their schools with the gospel. Pray the LORD would hear the cry of the afflicted. (Psalm 9:12)
- Pray for the few believing Uyghurs in Kazakhstan - that they would be trained and catch a vision for reaching Uyghur Muslims in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region of China.
- Pray for e3 teams who are taking the gospel into Kazakhstan - doing evangelism and trauma healing training among the Uyghurs.
- Pray the church would become more aware of the Uyghurs, their plight and begin to pray. Surprisingly, some key Muslim nations have sided with China over the Uyghur's situation!
Update on Jay
As of today, Jay has 12 more proton therapy treatments remaining. After this Friday's chemotherapy, he will have 2 more treatments to do. He had a slight fever for two days, and he was put on antibiotics. The cough persists, and sleep continues to be hard to come by as a result. Overall, any side effects have been more than tolerable. Praise God for that! Continued prayers appreciated.
Dream so big only Jesus can make it happen!
Jay & Marsha Crenshaw
e3 Partners
Strategy Coordinators MECANA/USA
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