Xinjiang, a frontier province that is four times the size of Germany, is where around 11 million Uyghur Muslims live. It borders eight different countries. The communist party is eager to crush the Uyghur identity and are determined to impose inhumane policies making their lives miserable. The Chinese government has always been suspicious of the growing minority. However, they took a considerable opportunity after 9/11, claiming they are afflicted with terrorism.

For years, many Uyghurs and other smaller Muslim minorities in Xinjiang have been against China's authoritarian government model. Uyghur groups say their protests are a reaction to oppressive official policies, religious restrictions and widespread discrimination. There have been massive conflicts/protests/riots between clashing groups in Xinjiang, resulting in deaths on both sides. In 2014, a group of suspected Uyghur terrorists went on a stabbing rampage in Kunming railway station, which resulted in 31 deaths. This was the beginning of the government's hatred against the Uyghur and would hold this particular event against them to date. The relation between Uyghur and Han Chinese in Xinjiang has been strained for years. Due to the frequent conflicts in 2009, it led the Chinese government to increase security. The security was even more tightened when Xi Jinping came to power. Between 2012 and 2017, China's domestic security budget doubled; however, it tripled in Xinjiang alone.

In 2016, Xi Jinping appointed Chen Quanguo as the party secretary of the project, a significant move to suppress the Uyghur's. Chen Quanguo was the party boss in Tibet from 2011-2016, another region where China wanted ethnic unrest to end. He introduced communist propagandas in temples, increased security and encouraged neighbours to spy on one another. He took this ideology to Xinjiang.

The oppression has slowly been building up. Pictures of Chen Quanguo were included in mosques, and prayer mats, which is entirely against Islam's belief/practice (no person/item should be worshipped towards in Islam). Beards and veils were banned. Halal product availability (meat that has to be cut in a certain way for Muslims) was reduced. Many mosques were closed, and even some were bulldozed. Uyghur language was banned in parts of Xinjiang, and Uyghur heritage is systematically being wiped out. With the excessive use of modern spying technology, the Chinese government tracks every move of the people in Xinjiang. They are ultimately curbing their freedom. Roughly half of the homes are paired with party officials who spy on them and can barge in anytime. Raising your voice against them would come at a high cost. They are taking anyone who stood in their way to the concentration camps. China has spent millions of dollars building these camps where Muslims are brainwashed and ill-treated. The number of people imprisoned in these camps is still unknown, but there are around a million according to recent reports. China's official line is that it's designed to re-educate the extremists and fight terrorism. This also connects to China's ambitious economic project known as the belt and road initiative, which involves infrastructure development in 70 countries and organizations. The Chinese government cannot afford any unrest coming from Xinjiang.

It is devastating to see the lives of Uyghur Muslims wholly destroyed due to the actions of a few Uyghur's actions. Ethnic clashes came from both sides, yet the Uyghurs are brutally punished, and all are thought to be terrorists. After three years, the world has taken no action against the one million Muslims detained in the concentration camps, and most of the people are barely educated enough to raise their voices on this topic. The officials involved in the brutality must be taken into account of their actions, and the one million Muslims imprisoned get their freedom and fundamental human rights.