Christianity in Xinjiang

[3] The Church of the East, commonly known as Nestorians, reached Central Asia, Mongolia and China by the seventh century.

[5] In the 1930s there were several hundreds of Christians among this people, but because of persecution during the first East Turkestan Republic the churches were destroyed and the believers were scattered.

The missionaries were expelled by the pro-Soviet regime of the Chinese warlord Sheng Shicai who, with the help of the Soviet Union, crushed the Kumul Rebellion.

[11] Alimjan Yimit (Alimujiang Yimiti) is one of several Uyghurs who have more recently converted to Christianity, who was arrested in 2009 and is serving a 15-year prison sentence for being a pastor.

[12] Yaqup Istipan fled to Sweden to escape persecution, sometimes using the Europeanised name "Jacob Stephen".

[17] Lobbying by the Swedish Christian missionaries led to child marriage for under 15-year-old girls to be banned by the Chinese Governor in Ürümqi.

[18] Uyghur Muslims rioted against Indian Hindu traders when the Hindus attempted to practice their religious affairs in public and also rose up against the Swedish Christian mission in 1907.

[22] The residences of the Swedish missionaries were attacked by mobs and violent outbreaks resulted in a garden becoming their home since nobody would rent to them.

Orders to stop rioting were given to the Muslim Qazis and merchants by the Chinese Tao Tai after British diplomats contacted him.