Uyghurs (nonfiction)
The Uyghurs (/ˈwiːɡʊərz/,[19] /uːiˈɡʊərz/; Uyghur: ئۇيغۇرلار, уйғурлар, IPA: [ujɣurˈlɑr]; simplified Chinese: 维吾尔; traditional Chinese: 維吾爾; pinyin: Wéiwú'ěr, [wěiǔàɚ]), alternately Uygurs, Uighurs, or Uigurs, are a minority Turkic ethnic group originating from and culturally affiliated with the general region of Central and East Asia.
The Uyghurs have been recognized as native to only one region, the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region of the People's Republic of China. They are considered to be one of China's 55 officially recognized ethnic minorities. The Uyghurs are recognized by China only as a regional minority within a multicultural nation and rejects the idea of them being an indigenous group.
The Uyghurs have traditionally inhabited a series of oases scattered across the Taklamakan Desert comprising the Tarim Basin, a territory which has historically been controlled by many civilizations including China, the Mongols, the Tibetans and the Turkic world. The Uyghurs started to become Islamised in the tenth century and became largely Muslim by the 16th century and Islam has since played an important role in Uyghur culture and identity.
An estimated 80% of Xinjiang's Uyghurs still live in the Tarim Basin. The rest of Xinjiang's Uyghurs mostly live in Ürümqi, the capital city of Xinjiang UAR, which is located in the historical region of Dzungaria. The largest community of Uyghurs living in another region of China are the Uyghurs living in Taoyuan County, in North-Central Hunan.
The World Uyghur Congress estimates the Uyghur population outside of China at about 1.0–1.6 million.[citation needed] Significant diasporic communities of Uyghurs exist in the Central Asian countries of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan. Smaller communities live in Canada, Germany, Belgium, Norway, Sweden, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Turkey, Afghanistan, Australia, the United States and the Netherlands.