Hui Muslims: “We’re Facing an Unprecedented Crisis of Faith”
Hailed for their loyalty to the CCP for years, the “goodMuslims” are losing their preferential status andbecome victims of persecutions just because of ethnicity and faith.

TheCommunist government has long treated China’stwo largest Muslim groups differently. The Uyghurs, who primarily live in Xinjiang, were presented as “bad”Muslims, separatist and inclined to terrorism, while the Hui, scattered allover the country, but predominantly in its northwestern part, were hailed asthe “good” Muslims, integrated into the official system. Because of that, Hui Muslims have been long spared the kind of persecution that Uyghurs in Xinjiang are subjected to. But the situation has changed dramatically, asthe CCP is tightening its control over Islam as the whole. And with thenewly adopted legislation, promising to“sinicize” all Muslims outside Xinjiang in five years, Hui Muslims also started feeling the heavy handof CCP’s persecution.

More than 40 Muslims from one village arrested

Mostof the residents in a village under the jurisdiction of Jiaozuo city in the central province of Henan are Hui Muslims. These hard-workingpeople enjoyed a life of peace and prosperity; they used to go to a localmosque for prayers every day. However, their pleasant but straightforward lifewas suddenly upended in July 2018, as the authorities started arresting men inthe village.

Thearrests, more than 40 by now, have created an atmosphere of amplified tensionand insecurity in the village.

Accordingto one of the residents, the majority of the arrested Huis acquired criminalrecords for minor misdemeanors, like getting into fights, more than a decadeago, and their cases have been closed for years. Locals believe that byre-arresting Huis now for various unreasonable pretexts, like “picking quarrelsand provoking trouble,” the authorities are “settling old scores” for lettingthem off the hook earlier as the “good” Muslims.

LastOctober, the police detained a Hui man for “gathering crowds to engage in abrawl.” According to locals, the man has always been sincere and well-behaved,so the news about his arrest was unfathomable for the village residents. His detention more than ten years ago for taking partin a fight was a mistake since he was not involved in it, the villagers said.So, the new arrest, after all this time, is simply wrong.

AnotherHui resident has a criminal record from getting into a fight 17 years ago. Thecase has since been closed, and the plaintiff is no longer pursuing the matter– he even wrote a “letter of understanding and forgiveness.”

“Thereis nothing we can do. Because of these arrests, we’ve all been scared out ofour wits,” a Hui resident said guardedly.

Thearrests in the village are still ongoing. “We live in constant fear every day.We don’t dare to speak freely. The tactics that the government uses tooppress the Hui people are so despicable!” commented anotherresident.

Muslims accused of “disturbing others” during Ramadan

Themost important aspect of Islamic culture for devout Muslims is the holy monthof Ramadan. However, just like in Xinjiang, the Ramadan activitiesfor Hui Muslims in other provinces have now also been restricted or prohibited.

AMuslim in the northern province of Shanxi revealed to BitterWinter that he and some Muslim colleagues atwork agreed to go together to their local mosque on the first night of Ramadanthis year. Having learned about their plans, officials from the ReligiousAffairs Bureau prohibited them, saying that worshiping in mosques “disturbs other people.”

Hopingto avoid further persecutions, the men made plans to rent a room in a localhotel for worshiping. On the evening of May 5, the start of Ramadan this year,as he was about to go to the hotel, the man received a phone call from anofficial from the local Religious Affairs Bureau. “Going to a hotel to hold agathering constitutes ‘privately setting up a meeting place.’ The state doesn’tallow that,” the official warned. “If you’re adamant about taking the lead inthis matter, we’ll detain you for one or two months.”

Despitethe threats, the Muslim man replied that regardless of the government’sattempts to control them, not worshipping on Ramadan is not an option to devoutMuslims. He told his colleagues to proceed with the plan but with more caution.That evening, he and more than 30 other Muslims quietly entered the hotel insmall groups of two or three people, with their prayer caps removed.

Overthe next few days afterward, threats from officials continued. The director ofthe local Religious Affairs Bureau repeated that according to nationalpolicies, whoever takes the lead in religious activities, must be arrested.“People in Xinjiang are locked up in transformationthrough education camps due to their faith, andnow, no one even knows where they are. If you’re disobedient, you will sufferthe same consequences as they did,” the official didn’t hold back.

“We’refacing an unprecedented crisis of faith,” the Muslim man commented on theincreasing suppression by the government.

多年来一直忠诚于中共的“好穆斯林”正在失去优先地位，并因民族和信仰而成为迫害的受害者。

长期以来，共产党政府一直对中国最大的两个穆斯林群体区别对待。主要居住在新疆的维吾尔族被视为“坏”穆斯林，是分裂主义者，有恐怖主义倾向；而散居在全国各地但主要集中在西北地区的回族则被誉为“好”穆斯林，已融入官方体系。正因为如此，回族穆斯林长期以来没有遭受新疆维吾尔族所遭受的那种迫害。但随着中共收紧对整个伊斯兰教的控制，情况已发生巨大变化。随着新出台的立法，承诺在五年内将所有新疆以外的穆斯林“中国化”，回族穆斯林也开始感受到中共迫害的沉重打击。
同一村庄 40 多名穆斯林被捕
河南省焦作市某村村民大多为回族穆斯林。勤劳的村民过着安宁富足的生活，每天到当地清真寺做礼拜。然而，2018年7月，随着当局开始抓捕村里的男性，他们原本安逸而简单的生活突然被打破。
截至目前，已有四十多人被捕，这加剧了村庄的紧张和不安全气氛。
据一位居民说，大多数被捕的回民十多年前就因打架等轻微罪行而受到刑事指控，而且他们的案件已经结案多年。当地人认为，当局现在以“寻衅滋事”等各种不合理借口再次逮捕回民，是在“算旧账”，因为之前他们作为“好”穆斯林而逍遥法外。
去年 10 月，警方以“聚众斗殴”罪名拘留了一名回族男子。据当地人说，这名男子一直很诚实、举止得体，因此他被捕的消息让村民们感到难以置信。村民们说，十多年前他因参与斗殴而被拘留是一个错误，因为他并没有参与其中。所以，经过这么长时间再次被捕，简直是错误。
另一名回民因 17 年前打架事件留下犯罪记录。该案现已结案，原告也不再追究此事，甚至还写了一封“谅解函”。“我们什么也做不了。因为这些逮捕，我们都吓坏了。”一名回民谨慎地说道。
村里的抓捕行动仍在继续。“我们每天都生活在恐惧之中。我们不敢自由发言。政府压迫回民的手段太卑鄙了！”另一名村民评论道。
穆斯林被指控在斋月期间“骚扰他人”
对于虔诚的穆斯林来说，伊斯兰文化中最重要的就是斋月，然而，像新疆一样，目前其他省份回族穆斯林的斋月活动也受到了限制或禁止。
山西省一名穆斯林向《寒冬》透露，他和一些穆斯林同​​事约好今年斋月第一天晚上一起去当地清真寺做礼拜。宗教局官员得知后，禁止他们去清真寺做礼拜，称“打扰别人”。
为了避免进一步的迫害，他们计划在当地一家酒店租房聚会。今年斋月开始的5月5日晚上，当他正要去酒店时，当地宗教局的一名官员打来电话。“去酒店聚会是‘私自设立聚会场所’，国家不允许这样做，”该官员警告说。“如果你坚持要带头做这件事，我们会拘留你一两个月。”
尽管受到威胁，这名穆斯林男子仍回答说，无论政府如何试图控制他们，斋月期间不做礼拜对虔诚的穆斯林来说都不是一个选择。他告诉同事们继续执行计划，但要更加谨慎。当晚，他和另外 30 多名穆斯林以两三人为一组，悄悄进入酒店，摘下了祈祷帽。随后几天，官员们的威胁不断。当地宗教局局长重申，按照国家政策，谁带头搞宗教活动，就必须抓。“新疆的人因为信仰被关进教育转化营，现在连他们在哪里都不知道。如果你不听话，你也会和他们一样受罚。”这位官员毫不掩饰。
“我们正面临前所未有的信仰危机，”这位穆斯林男子在评论政府日益严厉的镇压时说道。