According to NBC News, it is speculated that the Chinese government is detaining approximately 1 million Muslims. Although, officials in China refused to answer the exact number of individuals who have passed through the camps or are being held in the camps currently. 

These men and women are being taken to camps where they are forced to learn and practice new skills. These skills emphasize hospitality and social correctness; they are essentially being retaught how to behave and what to believe. 

 Chinese officials claim that this is an effort to combat terrorism and stop the spread of radical ideas, but it is also speculated that their actual motive is to stop the teachings of Islam as a whole  and instead promote the communist party.

These theories have angered the Chinese government, and they deny that any of these allegations are true. They have gone as far as to claim that there is little evidence to back up their claims and that they may be part of a westernized conspiracy.  

 According to The New York Times, these detainees are forced to sing hymns praising the communist party and  write essays critiquing themselves. They are also not allowed to leave or have visitors. Numerous news outlets have theorized that this is the beginning to a mass genocide of Muslims orchestrated by China, but this is not yet confirmed. 

These men and women have been taken for reasons such as praying at funerals or even being seen wearing a hijab years ago; it appears that the government is seeking out any and all signs that individuals are devoted to Islam. 

The Uighur Muslims are the most targeted at the moment because they make up most of the population of XinJiang, China; this particular region is nearly the size of Alaska and has a majority ethnic population. 

This region is particularly known for their resistance to the traditional, communist ways of China, and this has been a point of concern for the government for quite some time. 

The Chinese government may have thought they were flying under the radar, but Westernized media has made it a mission to stop this injustice. It has been compared to the beginnings of the holocaust because these individuals’ basic right to practice their religion has been snatched from them. 

Westernized countries have the most freedom in terms of beliefs, so it is hard to imagine not being able to go to church on Sundays or being forced to praise something you simply do not believe in. 

It is unethical for the government to try to strip away the beliefs of a people group who have done nothing wrong, so many countries have begun to raise awareness as a way to combat what is happening.