Uyghur in China


Population
Main Language
Largest Religion
Christian
Evangelical
Progress
Progress Gauge

Introduction / History

Before 1921 the various Turkic groups in Xinjiang called themselves by the name of the oasis near which they lived. When Turkic leaders met in Tashkent in 1921, they chose the name Uygur as the mark of their identity. Uygur means "unity" or "alliance."

Uyghur is a Turkic language, related to Uzbek, Kazak, and Kirgiz. It also contains loanwords from Chinese, Arabic, Persian, Russian, and Mongolian.

Today over one million Uyghurs are being detained and placed in internment camps facing imprisonment, torture and brainwashing, children in orphanages are given new identities, and women are forced to marry Chinese men against their will. Uyghur leaders say the aim of these re-education centers is to wipe out Uyghur culture and say detainees are being forced "to renounce their religion, renounce their culture, renounce their identity, force them to speak Mandarin" and pledge allegiance to the Communist Party.


Where Are they Located?

In the mid-eighth century the Uyghur inhabited part of present-day Mongolia. Around AD 840 they were attacked from the north by the Kirgiz and fled southwest to their current homeland.

Most Uyghur live in Xinjiang province in western China. Xinjiang is now a police state and has been turned into "something resembling a massive internment camp that is shrouded in secrecy, a sort of no-rights zone."


What Are Their Lives Like?

Many Uyghur raise cotton, grapes, melons, and fruit trees through an ingenious irrigation system which pipes mountain water into the desert oases.


What Are Their Beliefs?

Most Uyghur follow a folk Islam mixed with superstition. Islam is stronger in southern Xinjiang than in the north. Today, although almost all Uyghurs profess to be Muslims, few are aware of the time in history when the majority of Uyghurs were Christians.


What Are Their Needs?

Nestorian missionaries first appeared in China in 635 AD, after they had already been working in Central Asia for a century. One of the forerunners of today's Uyghur were the Turkic Keirat tribe.

By 1009, 200,000 Keirat had been baptized. During the twelfth and thirteenth centuries "the whole tribe were considered Christian." In the fourteenth century Christianity disappeared from among the Uygur for 500 years, and they converted to Islam.

The Swedish Missionary Society recommenced work among the Uyghur in 1892. By the 1930s more than 300 Uyghurs had found the blessing of God in Jesus Christ, primarily in Kashgar. When Abdullah Khan came to Yarkant in 1933 he expelled the missionaries and eliminated the Uygur believers in a mass execution.

Uyghurs struggle for the survival of their culture, language, and religion in China due to severe and systematic oppression by the Chinese authorities.


Prayer Points

Pray that the millions of Uyghurs who have been detained and placed in internment camps would be treated as ones made in God's image.
Pray that Han Chinese believers would lead the way and demonstrate the compassion of Christ towards the Uyghurs.
Pray that Uyghur believers would be strengthened in the Lord as they suffer
Pray that a movement would begin of Uyghurs finding Jesus in their place of pain, that God would use this very suffering to lead them to the Kingdom.


Scripture Prayers for the Uyghur in China.


Profile Source:   Operation China, Asia Harvest, et al  Copyrighted ©   Used with permission  

The Waiting World - The Uighur

Source:  The Waiting World      Download

People Name General Uyghur
People Name in Country Uyghur
Pronunciation WEE-gur
Alternate Names Huihe; Kashgar; Kashgar Turki; Kashgar-Yarkand; Taranchi; Uigher; Uighuir; Uighur; Uiguir; Uigur; Uygher; Weiwuer; Yuanhe; उयघुर
Population this Country 11,768,000
Population all Countries 12,315,000
Total Countries 17
Indigenous Yes
Progress Scale 1
Unreached Yes
Frontier People Group Yes
GSEC 1  (per PeopleGroups.org)
Pioneer Workers Needed 235
People ID 15755
ROP3 Code 110469
ROP25 Code 308518
ROP25 Name Uyghur
Country China
Region Asia, Northeast
Continent Asia
10/40 Window Yes
National Bible Society Website
Persecution Rank 19  (Open Doors top 50 rank, 1 = highest persecution ranking)
Location in Country More than ten million Uygurs live in the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region in northwest China. In 1876 Eastern Turkestan was invaded by the ruling Manchu army, and its name changed to Xinjiang, which means "new dominion." Since the 1950s millions of Chinese have migrated into Xinjiang and, by their sheer numbers, have put an end to the Uygur's hope for an independent homeland. Two thousand Uygur live in Hunan Province. In addition, approximately 20,000 Uygur have recently migrated to Guangzhou in southern China.   Source:  Operation China, 2000
Country China
Region Asia, Northeast
Continent Asia
10/40 Window Yes
National Bible Society Website
Persecution Rank 19  (Open Doors top 50 rank, 1 = highest persecution ranking)
Location in Country More than ten million Uygurs live in the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region in northwest China. In 1876 Eastern Turkestan was invaded by the ruling Manchu army, and its name changed to Xinjiang, which means "new dominion." Since the 1950s millions of Chinese have migrated into Xinjiang and, by their sheer numbers, have put an end to the Uygur's hope for an independent homeland. Two thousand Uygur live in Hunan Province. In addition, approximately 20,000 Uygur have recently migrated to Guangzhou in southern China..   Source:  Operation China, 2000
Map of Uyghur in China Ethnolinguistic map or other map

Primary Religion: Islam
Religion Subdivision: Sunni
Major Religion Percent
Buddhism
0.00 %
Christianity  (Evangelical 0.01 %)
0.01 %
Ethnic Religions
0.00 %
Hinduism
0.00 %
Islam
99.99 %
Non-Religious
0.00 %
Other / Small
0.00 %
Unknown
0.00 %
Primary Language Uyghur (11,768,000 speakers)
Language Code uig   Ethnologue Listing
Language Written Yes   ScriptSource Listing
Total Languages 1
Primary Language Uyghur (11,768,000 speakers)
Language Code uig   Ethnologue Listing
Total Languages 1
People Groups Speaking Uyghur

Primary Language:  Uyghur

Bible Translation Status  (Years)
Bible-Portions Yes  (1898-1995)
Bible-New Testament Yes  (1914-2005)
Bible-Complete Yes  (1950-2022)
FCBH NT (www.bible.is) Online
YouVersion NT (www.bible.com) Online
Possible Print Bibles
Amazon
World Bibles
Forum Bible Agencies
National Bible Societies
World Bible Finder
Virtual Storehouse
Resource Type Resource Name Source
Audio Recordings Audio Bible teaching Global Recordings Network
Audio Recordings Story of Jesus audio Jesus Film Project
Audio Recordings Xush Hewer Uyghur audio Bible General / Other
Film / Video God's Story video God's Story
Film / Video Indigitube.tv Video / Animation Create International
Film / Video Jesus Film: view in Uyghur Jesus Film Project
Film / Video LUMO film of Gospels Bible Media Group/LUMO
Film / Video My Last Day video, anime Jesus Film Project
Film / Video World Christian Videos World Christian Videos
General Bible for Children Bible for Children
General Biblical answers to your questions Got Questions Ministry
General Faith Comes By Hearing - Bible in text or audio or video Faith Comes by Hearing
General Faith Comes By Hearing - Bible in text or audio or video Faith Comes by Hearing
General Gospel resources links Scripture Earth
General YouVersion Bible versions in text and/or audio YouVersion Bibles
Mobile App Android Bible app: Uyghur YouVersion Bibles
Mobile App iOS Bible app: Uyghur YouVersion Bibles
Text / Printed Matter Download scripture in this language eBible.org
Text / Printed Matter Uyghurche Muqeddes Kitab Jemiyiti General / Other
Photo Source EnricX - Flickr  Creative Commons 
Map Source People Group location: IMB. Map geography: ESRI / GMI. Map design: Joshua Project.  
Video Source The Waiting World
Profile Source Operation China, Asia Harvest, et al  Copyrighted ©  Used with permission 
Data Sources Data is compiled from various sources. Learn more.



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