Strategic Silk Road of the Uyghurs of Kashgar in China

We featured material about the Uyghurs a few years ago in our "China" section. However, we want to encourage you to pray again with a somewhat different focus this year. The Uyghurs are a Turkic people group dwelling in ancient oasis cities ringing the Taklamakan Desert of what is now Xinjiang, China. A population of 10 million, is spread throughout an area the size of France, Germany, Spain and the UK combined, with an estimated 150 followers of Jesus.

A Different Focus on the Uyghurs of Kashgar, Xinjiang

Migration, trade and war over the centuries have spread Uyghurs throughout Central Asia, but Xinjiang is their heartland. Uyghurs were previously Buddhist, but Islam entered around the 11th century, and has been firmly entrenched ever since. However, mystical folk practices are widespread and many people are arguably more concerned with the impact of "jinns" (evil spirits) on their lives than they are with the Creator, the God of Abraham (Ibrahim), Moses (Musa) and Jesus (Isa).

The Uyghurs have a long and proud history of literature and the arts, especially music, and a clear sense of their cultural identity. However, despite periods of independence they have been firmly under Chinese control – political, economic and social –for the past century, and strongly resent it.

There is considerable tension between the Chinese rulers and the Uyghur population, not least because of the atheist Communist attitude towards Islam. The Communist Government describes itself as a ‘liberator’ while the Uyghurs see the Chinese government as ‘the occupier’. Many Uyghurs passionately desire their political independence.

Uyghur is a Turkic language with an Arabic script (Uyghurs in the Central Asian countries use a Cyrillic script).

Key City: Kashgar

A key staging post on the ancient Silk Road, Kashgar sits on the westernmost end of the Taklamakan Desert and is arguably the cultural and religious centre of Uyghur culture.

Kashgar is known for being a hotbed for conservative Islam and Uyghur nationalist and separatist sentiment.

With a population of around 1 million (70% Uyghurs, 30% Chinese and growing), the Kashgar district is a microcosm for the rest of Xinjiang with conservative Muslim and ‘modern’ atheist values clashing head-on.

Kashgar is a strategic city. It boasts one of the largest weekly bazaars in Central Asia with tens of thousands of people – almost entirely Muslims – coming to trade from the surrounding countryside, and neighbouring Pakistan, Kyrgyzstan & Tadjikistan.

Prayer Points

* May God break down the demonic principalities and powers. Fear and death reign unchecked; Please ask God to breakdown these ancient strongholds and release the Uyghur people into the freedom only Christ can bring.

* Lift up the city of Kashgar before the Lord.

* Pray for the completion of the Uyghur Scriptures, and their accessibility; The New Testament translation has recently been completed, but much of the Old Testament is yet to be translated and published. The Uyghur Bible is illegal in Xinjiang.

* More intercessors are needed; The spiritual barriers to this people hearing and responding to the Good News of Jesus Christ are immense. Please pray that God would raise an army of intercessors to stand in the gap for the Uyghur people of Xinjiang.

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