528 UYGUR

Location: More than ninemillion Uygurs live in theXinjiang Uygur AutonomousRegion in northwest China.In 1876 Eastern Turkestanwas invaded by the rulingManchu army, and its namechanged to Xinjiang, whichmeans new dominion.Since the 1950s millions ofChinese have migrated intoXinjiang and, by their sheernumbers, have put an endto the Uygurs hope for anindependent homeland.1

Two thousand Uygur live inHunan Province.2 Inaddition, approximately20,000 Uygur have recentlymigrated to Guangzhou insouthern China.3

Identity: Before 1921 thevarious Turkic groups inXinjiang called themselvesby the name of the oasisnear which they lived. WhenTurkic leaders met inTashkent in 1921, theychose the name Uygur as themark of their identity.4 Uygurmeans unity or alliance.

Language: Uygur is a Turkiclanguage, related to Uzbek,Kazak, and Kirgiz. It also

contains loanwords fromChinese, Arabic, Persian,Russian, and Mongolian.5

History: In the mid-eighthcentury the Uygur inhabitedpart of present-dayMongolia. Around AD 840they were attacked from thenorth by the Kirgiz and fledsouthwest to their currenthomeland.6

Customs: Many Uygurcultivate cotton, grapes,melons, and fruit treesthrough an ingeniousirrigation system whichpipes mountain water intothe desert oases.

Religion: Most Uygur followa folk Islam mixed withsuperstition. Islam isstronger in southern Xinjiangthan in the north. Today,although almost all Uygurconfess to be Muslims, feware aware of the time inhistory when the majority ofUygur were Christians.

Christianity: WhenNestorian missionaries firstappeared in China in 635AD, after they had already

been working in Central Asiafor a century.7 One of theforerunners of todays Uygurwere the Turkic Keirat tribe.By 1009, 200,000 Keirathad been baptized.8 Duringthe twelfth and thirteenthcenturies the whole tribewere considered Christian.9

It has recently beenestimated there were asmany as eight millionChristians in Central Asia.10

In the fourteenth centuryChristianity disappearedfrom among the Uygur for500 years, and theyconverted to Islam. TheSwedish Missionary Societyrecommenced work amongthe Uygur in 1892. By the1930s more than 300Uygurs had been converted,primarily in Kashgar. WhenAbdullah Khan came toYarkant in 1933 he expelledthe missionaries andeliminated the Uygurbelievers in a massexecution.11 Abdullahclaimed, It is my duty,according to our law, to putyou to death, because byyour preaching youdestroyed the faith of someof us.12 Despite thepresence of many HanChristians in Xinjiang, fewhave a vision to reach theUygurs. One visitor reported,Many [church] leadersopenly acknowledge, withoutguilt or shame, that they donot have such a burden forthese people.13 One churchelder, when asked aboutevangelizing Uygurs,responded by shouting,Youre crazy!14 Todayabout 50 known UygurChristians meet in two smallfellowships in China,15

although 400 Uygurbelievers have recentlyemerged in neighboringKazakstan.16 Recent reportsindicate that many Uygur inChina may be on the vergeof accepting Christ.17

Overview of the UygurCountries: China, Kazakhstan,Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan,Afghanistan, Mongolia, Pakistan18

Pronunciation: Wee-gur

Other Names: Uighur, Uigur,Uighuir, Uiguir, Weiwuer, Yuanhe,Huihe

Population Source: 7,214,431 (1990 census);19

5,962,814 (1982 census);20

300,000 in Kazakstan (1993);37,000 in Kyrgyzstan; 36,000 in Uzbekistan (1993);3,000 in Afghanistan; 1,000 in Mongolia; 1,000 in Pakistan21

Location: Xinjiang;22 Hunan;Guangdong; Beijing

Status: An official minority of China

Language: Altaic, Turkic, Eastern Turkic, Southeast

Literacy: 56%

Dialects (2): Central Uygur, Hotan

Religion: Islam, Animism

Christians: 50

Scripture: Bible 1950; NewTestament 1914; (Obsoletescript); Portions 1898

Jesus film: Available

Gospel Recordings: Uygur #03371; Qashqari #03376

Christian Broadcasting: Available in three dialects (FEBC)

ROPAL code: UIG00

Uygur

Status of Evangelization

A = Have never heard the gospelB = Were evangelized but did not

become ChristiansC = Are adherents to any form of

Christianity

A B C

Paul

Hat

taw

ay

Population in China:7,164,231 (1990)9,041,200 (2000)

11,410,000 (2010)Location: Xinjiang, Hunan,Guangdong, BeijingReligion: IslamChristians: 50

November 30

90%

9% 1%

Scale0 KM 800

MONGOLIAKAZAKSTAN

XINJIANG

TIBET

KYRGYZSTAN

Habahe

Minfeng