<p></p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image"><img src="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/5b4d76cc062a6b26008b4c4b-2000/gettyimages-452965380.jpg" border="0" alt="Xinjiang" data-mce-source="Getty Images/Getty Images" data-mce-caption="An Uighur man and his son look at photos as women stand in front of the Id Kah Mosque, China's largest mosque, on July 31, 2014 in Kashgar, Xinjiang Uighur Autonomous Region, China."><p class="source"><span>Getty Images/Getty Images</span></p><p class="caption">The Id Kah Mosque, China's largest mosque in Kashgar, Xinjiang Uighur Autonomous Region.</p></img></div><p></p></div></div><ul><li><strong>Uighur women in China's Xinjiang province have had their dresses cut by police in public, photos appear to show.</strong></li><li><strong>China subjects Uighurs to extreme rules in an effort to crack down on religious extremism.</strong></li><li><strong>Hundreds of thousands, if not one million, Uighurs are currently being held in "re-education centers"&#xa0;</strong><strong><span>to indoctrinate them with the will of the Chinese Communist Party and abandon their traditional Muslim beliefs.</span></strong></li><li><strong>Surveillance is also pervasive with tens of thousands of facial recognition cameras and biometric data used to monitor residents.</strong></li></ul><hr><p><br>Women in China's Xinjiang province have reportedly had their long tops and dresses cut by police in a continued campaign targeting ethnic Uighurs.</br></p><p><span>In an attempt to crack down on religious extremism, authorities in Xinjiang have targeted almost any form of religious expression by Uighur Muslims.&#xa0;</span></p><p><span>Women have been banned from wearing long skirts and&#xa0;<a href="http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/asia/china-burqa-abnormal-beards-ban-muslim-province-xinjiang-veils-province-extremism-crackdown-freedom-a7657826.html">burqas</a>&#xa0;and residents barred from&#xa0;<a href="http://www.aljazeera.com/news/2015/06/china-bans-ramadan-fasting-muslim-region-150618070016245.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">fasting during Ramadan</a>, while hundreds of thousands&#xa0;- and <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/how-many-people-are-imprisoned-in-xinjiang-china-government-documents-2018-5">possibly even 1 million</a>&#xa0;- people have been sent to extrajudicial "re-education centers" for infringements like growing a beard, calling a loved one overseas or, in some cases, no apparent reason at all.</span></p><p><span>Now images on social media appear to show police stopping women and cutting their long skirts and dresses in the middle of the street, despite some women choosing to wear these for comfort rather than religion. One woman in the photos still has her helmet on, looking as though police may have pulled her over while she was riding her scooter.</span></p><p>Although not all scissor-wielders in the photos are dressed like local police it appears they are all attempting to cut long dresses to sit around the hips.</p><p>Business Insider has not been able to independently verify these images, but&#xa0;<span>Dilxat Raxit, spokesman for the World Uyghur Congress, told Radio Free Asia that this is an "attack on Uighur women."</span></p><p>"Nowhere in the world does a government keep itself busy with cutting off women's dresses below their waist. This is absolutely ridiculous," said Raxit.</p><p>"The international community should not allow China to humiliate Uighur women in such a way," he said.</p><p>Women and men Uighurs around Xinjiang are also faced with extensive surveillance.</p><p>Authorities have installed surveillance apps on residents' phones and<span>&#xa0;</span><a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/china-collects-dna-fingerprints-biometrics-from-residents-human-rights-watch-2017-12">begun collecting DNA samples</a>, fingerprints, iris scans, and blood types from residents aged between 12 and 65. They have also collected voice samples that may be used to identify who is speaking on tapped phone calls.</p><p>There's also<span>&#xa0;</span><a href="https://www.buzzfeed.com/meghara/the-police-state-of-the-future-is-already-here?utm_term=.prX2XROaV#.vjVnM3q0a">40,000 facial-recognition cameras</a><span>&#xa0;</span>that are being used to track, and block, the movement of Uighurs in the region and AFP recently reported that 967 mosques in one Xinjiang county are getting security cameras to ensure&#xa0;<span>imams follow a "unified" government script.</span></p><div><blockquote class="twitter-tweet" lang="en"><p>Forced Assimilation: Chinese authorities in <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/EastTurkestan?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#EastTurkestan</a> are cutting dresses of Uyghur Muslim women because they are too long. <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Uyghurs?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Uyghurs</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Islam?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Islam</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/China?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#China</a> <a href="https://t.co/nACkRHP6pC">pic.twitter.com/nACkRHP6pC</a></p>- DOAM  (@doamuslims) <a href="https://twitter.com/mims/statuses/1017691347615145985?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">July 13, 2018</a></blockquote><script async="" src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div>    <div class="margin-top">        <h3>NOW WATCH: <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/border-patrol-agents-us-mexico-border-video-2018-7">I spent a day with Border Patrol agents at the US-Mexico border</a></h3>        <div>            <iframe class="bijwplayerclass" data-player="jwplayer" src="https://content.jwplatform.com/players/cix8xBqz-CEZHWCBG.html" width="100%" height="100%" frameborder="0" scrolling="auto" style="margin:0px;" allowfullscreen=""></iframe><script>function receiveMessage(event){ console.log(event.data.fullscreen); Android.fullscreen(event.data.fullscreen); }window.addEventListener("message", receiveMessage, false);</script>        </div>    </div></hr>

Police are reportedly cutting too-long dresses off ethnic minority women in the middle of streets in China

<p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image"><img src="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/5c7f87992628987d4e5688e5-1109/gettyimages-1035862970.jpg" border="0" alt="Nicky Morgan" data-mce-source="Kirsty O'Connor/PA Images via Getty Images" /><p class="source"><span>Kirsty O'Connor/PA Images via Getty Images</span></p><p class="caption">Nicky Morgan.</p></div><p></p></div></div></p><ul class="summary-list"><li>The Conservative party "absolutely" does not have an Islamophobia problem, according to Nicky Morgan.</li><li>The ex-Cabinet minister told Business Insider: "I <span>have a significant Bangladeshi, Muslim population in my local constituency, and never have they said to me they don't feel like the Conservative party is a party they can support..."</span></li><li>The Tories suspended 14 members on Tuesday for discriminatory comments about Muslims posted on Facebook.</li><li>The party's former co-chair, Baroness Warsi, accused Theresa May of ignoring "institutional" Islamophobia.</li><li>Morgan dismissed suggestions that the party is being taken over by extremists, telling BI: <span>"It's just not right."</span></li></ul><p>LONDON -Senior Conservative MP Nicky Morgan has rejected claims that her party has an Islamophobia problem, telling Business Insider that: "<span>I absolutely do not recognise it."</span></p><p>Theresa May's Conservatives have been beset by a race row this week <a href="https://www.buzzfeed.com/alexwickham/the-tory-party-suspended-14-members-over-islamophobia?utm_source=POLITICO.EU&amp;utm_campaign=05c7a7fc13-EMAIL_CAMPAIGN_2019_03_06_06_54&amp;utm_medium=email&amp;utm_term=0_10959edeb5-05c7a7fc13-190121793" target="_blank" rel="noopener">after BuzzFeed reported that 14 party members were suspended</a> on Tuesday for comments posted in a Facebook group dedicated to supporting MP Jacob Rees-Mogg.</p><p>In the page - which is not officially affiliated to the party or Rees-Mogg - one of suspended members said they did not want Home Secretary Sajid Javid to be prime minister as they would "not be voting for Islam to lead this country."</p><p>Another described Muslims as "mussies" and said they would like to "get rid of all mosques," while other comments posted in the group included "Islam must be banned from Europe" and "No Muslim PM for me."</p><p>The former Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson was also embroiled in a race row last year after suggesting that Muslim women who wear the burqa look like "letter boxes" and "bank-robbers."</p><p>Johnson refused to apologise and was investigated by party officials, but <a href="https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/boris-johnson-cleared-burka-niqab-bank-robber-letterboxes-conservative-party-a8693761.html">no action was taken against him.</a> Two other current Conservative MPs, <a href="https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/tory-mp-bob-blackman-islamophobia-facebook-conservative-harrow-east-racism-muslims-a8276101.html">Bob Blackman</a> and <a href="https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/nadine-dorries-islamophobia-muslims-benefits-multiple-wives-muslim-council-britain-mcb-a8541176.html">Nadine Dorries,</a> were also accused last year of sharing Islamophobic messages online.</p><p>The party's former co-chair, Baronessi Warsi, on Tuesday repeated her claim that the Conservatives have an "institutional" Islamophobia problem, <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/islamophobia-scandal-conservative-party-goes-right-up-to-the-top-baroness-warsi-interview-2018-6?r=US&amp;IR=T" target="_blank" rel="noopener">after telling BI last year</a> that the issue went "right up to the top" of the party.</p><p>However, former Cabinet minister Morgan launched a stern defence of her party on Tuesday, dismissing claims that it has a problem with members being discriminatory towards Muslims.</p><p>"No. Not at all. I absolutely do not recognise it," the ex-Education Secretary said.</p><p>"I understand that Sayeeda [Baroness Warsi] feels very passionately about this, and maybe it's that her experiences are different from mine.</p><p>"But I have a significant Bangledeshi, Muslim population in my local constituency, and never have they said to me they don't feel like the Conservative party is a party they can support because of people's views on Islam or because they are Muslims."</p><p>Morgan added: "It's not something I recognise at all."</p><p>Warsi has accused the prime minister of ignoring the issue.</p><p>"She doesn't listen, she fails to acknowledge when there is a problem. It's probably symptomatic of the way in which her leadership has dealt with other matters," Warsi, who served in David Cameron's government, <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-47454993" target="_blank" rel="noopener">told the BBC</a>.</p><p>"Burying your head in the sand is not going to make problems go away."</p><p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image"><img src="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/5c7f91b52628985e4b28d663-2400/baroness warsi islamophobia.jpg" border="0" alt="baroness warsi islamophobia" data-mce-source="Getty" /><p class="source"><span>Getty</span></p><p class="caption">Baroness Warsi.</p></div><p></p></div></div></p><p>Party chairman Brandon Lewis responded to a tweet by Warsi defending the party's handling of cases of alleged Islamophobia, <a href="https://twitter.com/BrandonLewis/status/1102859907588599809" target="_blank" rel="noopener">posting</a>: "...We have a clear process, we deal with all cases &amp; have taken swift action."</p><p><a href="https://twitter.com/Jacob_Rees_Mogg/status/1102965657392611328" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Rees-Mogg MP on Tuesday echoed Lewis, tweeting</a> that his party had acted "swiftly" to suspend members who had posted discriminatory comments about Muslims.</p><p>A Conservative candidate quit the party this week after <a href="https://www.politicshome.com/news/uk/political-parties/conservative-party/news/102280/excl-tories-slammed-after-activist" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Politics Home unearthed comments he made about Muslims.</a></p><p>Peter Lamb, who was due to stand in the upcoming local elections, in 2015 said "Islam like alcoholism... The first step to recovery is admit you have a problem" and "Turkey buys oil from ISIS. Muslims sticking together."</p><p>In her full interview with BI, which will be published on Thursday, Morgan dismissed suggestions that the Conservative party was being taken over by its far-right fringes and former supporters of UKIP.</p><p>"I don't subscribe to this view that the far-right is somehow in control of the Conservative party from top to toe," she said.</p><p>"It's just not right," she said.</p> <p class="tagline">Our Brexit Insider Facebook group is the best place for up-to-date news and analysis about Britain's departure from the EU, direct from Business Insider's political reporters. Join <a href="https://www.facebook.com/groups/267178180471848/">here.</a></p>    <div class="margin-top">        <h3>NOW WATCH: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/alexandria-ocasio-cortez-praised-questioning-michael-cohen-hearing-trump-2019-2">Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez is being praised for her line of questioning at Michael Cohen's hearing - watch it here</a></h3>        <div>            <iframe class="bijwplayerclass" data-player="jwplayer" src="https://content.jwplatform.com/players/BiVoZu1g-CEZHWCBG.html" width="100%" height="100%" frameborder="0" scrolling="auto" style="margin:0px;" allowfullscreen=""></iframe><script>function receiveMessage(event){ console.log(event.data.fullscreen); Android.fullscreen(event.data.fullscreen); }window.addEventListener("message", receiveMessage, false);</script>        </div>    </div>

The Conservative party 'absolutely' does not have an Islamophobia problem, says Nicky Morgan

<p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image"><img src="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/5add56ac19ee86e0458b458d-2000/muslims china.jpg" border="0" alt="muslims china" data-mce-source="Kevin Frayer/Getty Images" data-mce-caption="Chinese Muslims of the Hui ethnic minority pray during Eid Al Fitr prayers marking the end of the holy fasting month of Ramadan at the historic Niujie Mosque on July 18, 2015 in Beijing, China. The Hui Muslim population fast from dawn until dusk during Ramdan and it is believed there are more than 20 million members of the community in the country." /><p class="source"><span>Kevin Frayer/Getty Images</span></p><p class="caption">Chinese Muslims of the Hui ethnic minority pray during Eid Al Fitr prayers marking the end of the holy fasting month of Ramadan.</p></div><p></p></div></div></p><ul><li><strong>Some Chinese Muslims hoping to go on the annual Hajj pilgrimage must first pledge their allegiance to the Communist Party before they will be allowed to exit the country.</strong></li><li><strong><span>Uyghur </span>Muslims from the Xinjiang autonomous region, must create a profile online applying for permission to travel on the Hajj.</strong></li><li><strong><span>China has been cracking down on Uyghurs' freedom, limiting their ability to travel, communicate, and use technology.</span></strong></li></ul><hr /><p><br />Chinese Muslims from the autonomous Xinjiang region hoping to embark on the annual Hajj pilgrimage must first pledge their allegiance to the Chinese Communist Party.</p><p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table float_left"><div><div class="image on-image"><img src="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/5ade6f0719ee8622008b46e5-1740/screenshot of the site.jpg" border="0" alt="hajj Muslims China" data-mce-source="Screenshot/Business Insider" data-mce-caption="A screenshot of the registration site asks users to accept a series of conditions for application for the Hajj. This includes pledging allegiance to the leadership of the Chinese Communist Party, and being of a certain age and income." /><p class="source"><span>Screenshot/Business Insider</span></p><p class="caption">A screenshot of the registration site asks users to accept a series of conditions for application for the Hajj. This includes pledging allegiance to the leadership of the Chinese Communist Party, and being of a certain age and income.</p></div><p></p></div></div></p><p>A government website, operated by the Urumqi City Ethnic and Religious Affairs Committee, requires local Muslims <span>to submit a travel request to attend the Hajj by setting up an online profile. </span></p><p><span>The site asks users to register their age, job, health, and economic status and provides strict guidelines for applicants, who must be aged between </span>50 and 70 and have lived in Urumqi, the region's capital, for at least five years. </p><p>Users must also pledge allegiance to the leadership of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) and national unity.</p><p><span>Registration appears to now be closed but was open between September 1 2017 to November 1 2017. This indicates applicants for the 2018 Hajj, taking place in mid-August, may have been required to make the pledge.</span></p><p>China closely controls and vets applicants for the Hajj each year. Authorities seem to believe that religious travel for minority groups could act as "potential cover for subversive political activity," <a href="https://www.hrw.org/report/2015/07/13/one-passport-two-systems/chinas-restrictions-foreign-travel-tibetans-and-others">Human Rights Watch</a> has reported.</p><p>But while other <a href="http://www.gscjbm.gov.cn/">regional government websites</a> list similar conditions for Hajj applicants, these applications don't appear to require CCP allegiance. This indicates China is more concerned about subversive activity by Uyghurs in particular.</p><h2><span>Uyghurs face strict travel laws and restrictive policies </span></h2><p><span><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image"><img src="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/5435880f6da811490bc2b358-2400/uyghur-1.jpg" border="0" alt="Uyghur" data-mce-source="David Gray/Reuters" data-mce-caption="A local woman on a crutch shouts at Chinese paramilitary police wearing riot gear as a crowd of angry locals confront security forces on a street in the city of Urumqi in China's Xinjiang Autonomous Region on July 7, 2009. " /><p class="source"><span>David Gray/Reuters</span></p><p class="caption">A local woman on a crutch shouts at Chinese paramilitary police wearing riot gear as a crowd of angry locals confront security forces on a street in the city of Urumqi in China's Xinjiang Autonomous Region on July 7, 2009. </p></div><p></p></div></div></span></p><p><span>The Chinese government is increasingly monitoring and restricting travel by Uyghur Muslims in an attempt to crackdown on religious extremism.</span></p><p><span>In 2016, millions of Xinjiang residents were ordered to surrender their passports to local police for an "annual check" and had to seek permission from local authorities to travel abroad. </span></p><p><span>Rights groups said the act deliberately targeted the region's predominant Uyghur group, who make up about 49% of Xinjiang's population, in order to restrict their movements. </span></p><p>Timothy Grose, a China expert at the Rose Hulman Institute of Technology, <a href="https://twitter.com/GroseTimothy/status/986433439816708096">first noticed the Urumqi site last week</a> and told Business Insider that Uyghurs who have traveled abroad are "commonly targeted by authorities" and are forced into "extrajudicial detention centers," commonly referred to as re-education centers.</p><p>"From personal communication with some of my Uyghur friends and contacts, having a member of one's immediate family working or studying in one of the 'blacklisted countries' can also be grounds for arrest," Grose said.</p><p>Earlier this year, <a href="https://www.rfa.org/english/news/uyghur/detentions-01222018171657.html?searchterm:utf8:ustring=uyghur">Radio Free Asia</a> reported that around 120,000 Uyghurs had been sent to these camps in just one region of Xinjiang since April 2017. Many of them have been accused of harboring "extremist" and "politically incorrect" ideologies.</p><p>Less than two weeks ago, former member of China's national youth football team <span>Erfan Hezim</span><span>a was sent to a re-education center. His crime was "visiting foreign countries" while training and playing international football matches, according to <a href="https://www.rfa.org/english/news/uyghur/footballer-04132018162312.html">Radio Free Asia</a>.</span></p><p><span>The US State Department's annual human rights report released last week reported Uyghurs' freedoms worsened over the last year and there are many cases of people who were "disappeared."</span></p><p><span>"</span><span>In many cases individuals were detained upon returning home after studying abroad," the report said.</span></p><h2>The group's religious identity has also been subject to crackdown</h2><p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image"><img src="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/5a31c7c5b0bcd5ea6d8b4639-727/gettyimages-606025432.jpg" border="0" alt="Uyghur men gather for a holiday meal during the Corban Festival on September 13, 2016 in Turpan County, in the far western Xinjiang province, China." data-mce-source="Kevin Frayer/Getty Images" data-mce-caption="Uyghur men gather for a holiday meal during the Corban Festival on September 13, 2016 in Turpan County, in the far western Xinjiang province, China." /><p class="source"><span>Kevin Frayer/Getty Images</span></p><p class="caption">Uyghur men gather for a holiday meal during the Corban Festival on September 13, 2016 in Turpan County, in the far western Xinjiang province, China.</p></div><p></p></div></div></p><p>But barring travel by Uyghurs is just one way the government has closely monitored the minority ethnic group.</p><p>Women have been banned from wearing <a href="http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/asia/china-burqa-abnormal-beards-ban-muslim-province-xinjiang-veils-province-extremism-crackdown-freedom-a7657826.html">burqas and veils</a> and men have been jailed for refusing to shave <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/worldviews/wp/2015/03/30/china-jails-a-muslim-for-six-years-for-refusing-to-shave-his-beard/?utm_term=.734ccf815944">their beards</a>. Authorities have barred Xinjiang residents from <a href="http://www.aljazeera.com/news/2015/06/china-bans-ramadan-fasting-muslim-region-150618070016245.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">fasting during Ramadan</a> and ordered restaurants to stay open despite religious obligations. <span> </span></p><p><a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2017/jun/03/muslim-children-forced-to-drop-religious-names-in-western-china">Last year</a>, <span>Muslim children were forced </span><span>to change overly Islamic names, and adults were coerced into attending rallies which pledged allegiance to the atheist Communist Party. Mosques have also been forced to push propaganda, swapping inscriptions about Muhammad for red banners that declare, "<a href="https://www.rfa.org/english/news/uyghur/mosques-08032017153002.html">Love the Party, Love the Country</a>."</span></p><p><span>Additionally, government surveillance in the region has continued to widen.</span></p><p>Chinese authorities recently <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/china-collects-dna-fingerprints-biometrics-from-residents-human-rights-watch-2017-12">began collecting DNA samples</a>, fingerprints, iris scans, and blood types from all Xinjiang residents aged between 12 and 65. They have also collected voice samples that may be used to identify voices on phone calls.</p><p>Additionally, authorities use an expansive network of <a href="https://www.buzzfeed.com/meghara/the-police-state-of-the-future-is-already-here?utm_term=.prX2XROaV#.vjVnM3q0a">40,000 facial-recognition cameras</a> and have been installing surveillance apps on residents' phones.</p><p>The US State Department has <a href="https://www.state.gov/r/pa/prs/dpb/2018/04/280609.htm">called on China</a> to end these policies.</p>      <div class="margin-top">        <h3>NOW WATCH: <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/violent-video-games-ban-mass-shooting-shootings-2018-3">Stop blaming violent video games for mass shootings</a></h3>        <div>            <iframe class="bijwplayerclass" data-player="jwplayer" src="https://content.jwplatform.com/players/8bYYhdPX-CEZHWCBG.html" width="100%" height="100%" frameborder="0" scrolling="auto" style="margin:0px;" allowfullscreen=""></iframe><script>function receiveMessage(event){ console.log(event.data.fullscreen); Android.fullscreen(event.data.fullscreen); }window.addEventListener("message", receiveMessage, false);</script>        </div>    </div>

Chinese Muslims have to pledge loyalty to the Communist Party before they can leave the country for the journey to Mecca

<p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image"><img src="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/5b03e5161ae66236008b493f-2000/ap17349293994921.jpg" border="0" alt="Xinjiang police" data-mce-source="AP Photo/Ng Han Guan" data-mce-caption="Uighur security personnel patrol near the Id Kah Mosque in Kashgar in western China's Xinjiang region." /><p class="source"><span>AP Photo/Ng Han Guan</span></p><p class="caption">Uighur security personnel patrol near the Id Kah Mosque in Kashgar in western China's Xinjiang region.</p></div><p></p></div></div></p><ul><li><strong>Hundreds of thousands, and potentially more than one million, people have been caught up in China's "re-education camps" over the last year.</strong></li><li><strong>The camps, which operate outside the courts, are designed to indoctrinate ethnic minority Uighurs and force them to reject their religious beliefs.</strong></li><li><strong>Bids for constructing or renovating these centers, as well as staff job ads, provide clear evidence of the purpose and scale of these re-education programs.</strong></li><li><strong>Uighurs face constant surveillance in Xinjiang, which experts consider a testing ground for the a wider surveillance state.</strong></li></ul><hr /><p><br />In the northwest Chinese region of Xinjiang, many locals read endlessly, write often, and sing loudly.</p><p>But not by choice.</p><p>In extrajudicial indoctrination camps around Xinjiang, ethnic Uighur men and women are forced to study Chinese history, write personal reflections, and sing songs like <span>"<a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/what-is-life-like-in-xinjiang-reeducation-camps-china-2018-5">Without the Communist Party, there is no New China</a>." Many are beaten, tortured, and are unable to go home.</span></p><p><span>China considers this process "re-education." It runs outside the court system with people dragged away for infringements like talking to a loved one overseas or having a beard, and there is no course for appeal.</span></p><p><span>A recent estimate put the number of people who have been, or are currently, interned since April 2017 in the hundreds of thousands, or even just over one million.</span></p><p><span>Though the exact total is unknown, </span><span>Adrian Zenz, a social researcher at the European School of Culture and Theology, <a href="https://www.academia.edu/36638456/_Thoroughly_Reforming_them_Toward_a_Healthy_Heart_Attitude_-_Chinas_Political_Re-Education_Campaign_in_Xinjiang">pored over</a> local job ads and government bids to find new evidence of the system's existence and scale.</span></p><p><span><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table float_right"><div><div class="image on-image"><img src="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/5b0e19341ae6624e008b4567-1129/xinjiang kashgar police.jpg" border="0" alt="xinjiang kashgar police" data-mce-source="Kevin Frayer/Getty" data-mce-caption="KASHGAR, CHINA - JUNE 29: Ethnic Uyghur children joke as they taunt a local police officer on June 29, 2017 in the old town of Kashgar, in the far western Xinjiang province, China. Kashgar has long been considered the cultural heart of Xinjiang for the province's nearly 10 million Muslim Uyghurs. At an historic crossroads linking China to Asia, the Middle East, and Europe, the city has changed under Chinese rule with government development, unofficial Han Chinese settlement to the western province, and restrictions imposed by the Communist Party. Beijing says it regards Kashgar's development as an improvement to the local economy, but many Uyghurs consider it a threat that is eroding their language, traditions, and cultural identity. The friction has fuelled a separatist movement that has sometimes turned violent, triggering a crackdown on what China's government considers 'terrorist acts' by religious extremists. Tension has increased with stepped up security in the city and the enforcement of measures including restrictions at mosques. (Photo by Kevin Frayer/Getty Images)" /><p class="source"><span>Kevin Frayer/Getty</span></p><p class="caption">Old town of Kashgar, in the far western Xinjiang province, China.</p></div><p></p></div></div></span></p><p><span>Since 2016, there were government bids to construct or upgrade 73 facilities in Xinjiang that, despite various names, appeared as though they will operate, wholly or at least in part, as re-education centers.</span></p><p><span>Re-education centers are often disguised as vocational training hubs, as many were in these bids, but the details betray their hidden purpose.</span></p><p><span>Together, the facilities required guard rooms, video surveillance, security fences, police equipment, police living quarters, handheld security inspection devices, steel-reinforced concrete walls, and even iron chains.</span></p><p><span>"Many of these facilities are heavily secured, to an extent that they do not just aim to keep potential intruders out, but to keep those inside under tight surveillance." Zenz told Business Insider. </span></p><p>Twenty bids listed new or upgraded monitoring or video surveillance. One bid from January wanted 122 cameras to cover the whole facility without leaving any "dead angles."</p><p><span>One center required security nets, the renovation of a guard room, and "four watchtowers." Another, submitted on 25 April, requested an 86,000 square-foot "underground facility."</span></p><p><span>These security features, according to Zenz, confirm reports that vocation centers frequently function as internment camps, though many facilities likely sit on a continuum.</span></p><p><span>"</span><span>All we know is that a substantial number of facilities, likely capable of holding at least several hundred thousand, are geared more towards the re-education side. Some are explicitly and directly marked as re-education facilities. More than likely, facilities with a stronger vocational training focus can likewise hold several hundred thousands," said Zenz.</span></p><p><span>"Some even specifically state that they are designed to perform 're-education.' An official government notice from April 2017 pertaining to these facilities in a particular prefecture mandated that training topics include military drill, Chinese language, legal knowledge, ethnic unity, religious knowledge and patriotic education."</span></p><h2><span><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image"><img src="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/5b066d591ae6623e008b45e8-2000/ap17349286729047.jpg" border="0" alt="xinjiang re-education center" data-mce-source="Associated Press/Ng Han Guan" data-mce-caption="In this Nov. 2, 2017 photo, a police personnel holding shield and baton guards a security post leading into a center believed to be used for re-education in Korla in western China's Xinjiang region." /><p class="source"><span>Associated Press/Ng Han Guan</span></p><p class="caption">A policeman  holding shield and baton guards a security post leading into a center believed to be used for re-education in Korla in western China's Xinjiang region on Nov. 2, 2017.</p></div><p></p></div></div></span></h2><h2><span>Job ads are also a huge giveaway</span></h2><p><span>As easy as it may be to silently whisk away thousands of people to new re-education centers, skyrocketing prisoner would also require a huge recruitment drive.</span><span></span></p><p><span>According to Zenz, from May 2017, counties with large ethnic minority populations "initiated a wave of recruitments" for so-called education and training centers.</span></p><p><span>But ads for such staff were often listed in the same ads as open police positions, and some </span><span>ads even preferred recruitees with a military or police background.</span></p><p><span>Other job ads conflated the two roles, hiring "training center policing assistants." If the staff were being hired to work at a regular vocation center the high number of security personnel would be "difficult to explain," said Zenz.</span></p><p><span>Ads also frequently lacked required skills or qualifications that would normally be crucial to providing vocational training. Many required only a middle-school education whereas other provinces, where few Uighur would live, usually require at least a bachelor degree.</span></p><p>In one Xinjiang country, where Uighurs make up 95% of the population, 320 jobs available at a "training center" had three criteria: have a middle-school education, be loyal to the Chinese Communist Party, and be part of the ethnic majority Han. </p><p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image"><img src="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/5b06814c1ae6621d008b45e4-1838/gettyimages-88874832.jpg" border="0" alt="n Uighur woman protests in front of policemen at a street on July 7, 2009 in Urumqi, the capital of Xinjiang Uighur autonomous region, China." data-mce-source="Guang Niu/Getty Images" data-mce-caption="n Uighur woman protests in front of policemen at a street on July 7, 2009 in Urumqi, the capital of Xinjiang Uighur autonomous region, China." /><p class="source"><span>Guang Niu/Getty Images</span></p><p class="caption">An Uighur woman protests in front of policemen on July 7, 2009 in Urumqi, the capital of Xinjiang Uighur autonomous region, China.</p></div><p></p></div></div></p><h2>Re-education isn't the only problem Uighurs face</h2><p>In an attempt to crack down on religious extremism, authorities in Xinjiang have targeted almost any form of religious expression by Uighur Muslims.</p><p><span>Women have been banned from wearing </span><a href="http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/asia/china-burqa-abnormal-beards-ban-muslim-province-xinjiang-veils-province-extremism-crackdown-freedom-a7657826.html">burqas and veils</a>. R<span>esidents were barred from </span><a href="http://www.aljazeera.com/news/2015/06/china-bans-ramadan-fasting-muslim-region-150618070016245.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">fasting during Ramadan</a><span> with restaurants ordered to stay open despite religious obligations. And i</span><span>n 2016, millions of Xinjiang residents were ordered to surrender their passports and must seek permission to travel abroad.</span></p><p>Authorities have installed surveillance apps on residents' phones and <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/china-collects-dna-fingerprints-biometrics-from-residents-human-rights-watch-2017-12">begun collecting DNA samples</a>, fingerprints, iris scans, and blood types from all Xinjiang residents aged between 12 and 65. They have also collected voice samples that may be used to identify who is speaking on tapped phone calls.</p><p>There's also <a href="https://www.buzzfeed.com/meghara/the-police-state-of-the-future-is-already-here?utm_term=.prX2XROaV#.vjVnM3q0a">40,000 facial-recognition cameras</a> that are being used to track, and block, the movement of Uighurs in the region.</p><p>Xinjiang is considered by experts to be a testing ground for what the US State Department has described as "<a href="https://www.state.gov/r/pa/prs/dpb/2018/04/280609.htm">unprecedented levels of surveillance</a><span>."</span></p><p><span>The concern is Xinjiang could also be a testing ground for a nationwide re-education system.</span></p>    <div class="margin-top">        <h3>NOW WATCH: <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/what-narcos-sicario-get-wrong-about-drug-cartels-mexico-2018-5">Here's what 'Narcos' and 'Sicario' get right and wrong about drug cartels</a></h3>        <div>            <iframe class="bijwplayerclass" data-player="jwplayer" src="https://content.jwplatform.com/players/vxWLyW6a-CEZHWCBG.html" width="100%" height="100%" frameborder="0" scrolling="auto" style="margin:0px;" allowfullscreen=""></iframe><script>function receiveMessage(event){ console.log(event.data.fullscreen); Android.fullscreen(event.data.fullscreen); }window.addEventListener("message", receiveMessage, false);</script>        </div>    </div>

You Searched For "burqa ban" and got 5 results

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