I was wondering if you could expand further on your views.

This is my view on the subject: The Uighur culture has had a long history, including their own dress and customs. The (predominantly Han) government efforts to Han-ize the Uighur (really to control the natural resources there) has resulted in a cultural backlash including a more radical form of Islam. Even though the Uighur has predominantly believed in Islam, they have not worn the burqa, which covers everything except for the eyes. Previously, the women did not even wear headscarves as commonly as the women in Indonesia. Women are now being pressured to wear the burqa. The ban is the government's attempt to edit-undo, which is unfortunately, heavy-handed. However, it can also be interpreted as protecting the Uighur culture. I think something should be done to prevent the Uighur culture from being destroyed, i.e. to be devout, pressuring people to abandon colorful clothes and old traditions in the name of Islam.

My viewpoint is potentially biased by what the Christians did to my culture. I come from one of the ethnic minorities of China. We had our own religious belief and our own customs, and then there were a bunch of missionaries. A lot of people were pressured to give up the older religion and to dress in a more western style. One thing my grandmother remembers is that the missionaries encouraged girls to be more "womanly" I guess and not participate in as many athletic activities as they did traditionally. One of the things lost was the clothing and the customs involving coming of age and hairstyles, because the Christians preached "plain"-ness. The missionaries weren't violent, but they were able to shame a lot of people to do things that meant destroying their own culture. This was on top of government policies that encouraged abandonment of the language. I believe only a handful of people speak it now. I see parallels between the people using Islam to wipe out Uighur culture and the missionaries who wiped out culture. I'm not saying what the government is doing is correct, but it is sad to see the culture disappear, and something should be done to prevent it.