FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
June 6, 2025, 11:00 AM EST
Contact: contact@campaignforuyghurs.org
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https://campaignforuyghurs.org
CFU Marks Eid al-Adha with a Renewed Call for Uyghur Religious Freedom
Washington, D.C. — As Muslims around the world celebrate Eid al-Adha, Campaign for Uyghurs (CFU) urges the international community not to forget those who are unable to observe this sacred occasion. In East Turkistan, Uyghur Muslims are subjected to brutal restrictions that criminalize their religious identity under China’s ongoing genocide and broader war on Islam.
Eid al-Adha, the Festival of Sacrifice, is a time of reflection, compassion, and unity for Muslims everywhere. But for millions of Uyghurs, it is a day marked by grief and fear. Under the Chinese Communist Party’s repressive policies, even basic religious practices—such as attending Eid prayers, or exchanging Eid greetings—can result in arrest, surveillance, or forced indoctrination. The state’s aggressive “sinicization” of Islam seeks to sever Uyghurs from their beliefs, replacing religious devotion with loyalty to party ideology.
“While Muslims around the world are celebrating Eid, Uyghurs are denied the right to practice their faith,” said Rushan Abbas, Executive Director of Campaign for Uyghurs. “This is more than religious persecution, it is a denial of our very humanity. On this sacred day, I urge people of conscience to stand in solidarity with the Uyghur people.”
CFU urges faith leaders, civil society organizations, and governments to take meaningful action to confront the Chinese government’s crimes through advocacy, policy, and pressure, and to defend the universal right to religious freedom.
