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

Uyghur Muslims have faced discriminatory policies targeting their community, and have their travel tightly monitored and restricted by the government.

  • 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.

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.

A government website, operated by the Urumqi City Ethnic and Religious Affairs Committee, requires local Muslims

50 and 70 and have lived in Urumqi, the region's capital, for at least five years.

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Users must also pledge allegiance to the leadership of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) and national unity.

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," Human Rights Watch has reported.

But while other regional government websites 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.

Timothy Grose, a China expert at the Rose Hulman Institute of Technology, first noticed the Urumqi site last week 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.

"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.

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Earlier this year, Radio Free Asia 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.

Less than two weeks ago, former member of China's national youth football team

But barring travel by Uyghurs is just one way the government has closely monitored the minority ethnic group.

Women have been banned from wearing burqas and veils and men have been jailed for refusing to shave their beards. Authorities have barred Xinjiang residents from fasting during Ramadan and ordered restaurants to stay open despite religious obligations.

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Chinese authorities recently began collecting DNA samples, 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.

Additionally, authorities use an expansive network of 40,000 facial-recognition cameras and have been installing surveillance apps on residents' phones.

The US State Department has called on China to end these policies.

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