CHINA—Uygurs, a Turkish-speaking Muslim minority living in the northwestern province of Xinjiang, 1989

KASHGAR, China—Older Uygur women, a Turkish-speaking Muslim minority in Xinjiang province, 1989.

KASHGAR, China—A Chinese woman with three male Uygurs in Xinjiang province. Above them is a giant statue of Chairman Mao, one of the very few left in China, 1989

TURFAN, China—Young Muslim Uygurs look suspiciously at a Chinese officer in Xinjiang province. The fiercely independent-minded Uygur resent their domination by the Chinese, 1989.

KASHGAR, China—The crafts plant in Xinjiang province has a sign in three languages: Uygur, which uses the Arabic alphabet; Chinese; and English. It reads: "The only place where we can give wide scope to knowledge, undoubtedly is [the] motherland," 1989

TURFAN, China—An Uygur mullah delivers the Friday sermon in the central mosque in Xinjiang province. The staff he is holding is a reminder of the imam's temporal as well as spiritual power, 1989

KASHGAR, China—An Uygur is about to cook handmade noodles in boiling water. In the background, noodles are being made, 1989.

XINING, China—Friday prayers at the Great Mosque in Qinghai province, 2005

XINING, China—Friday prayers at the Great Mosque in Qinghai province, 2005

XIAN, China—The central mosque is a perfect example of Chinese design, bearing not a single feature of Middle Eastern architecture prevalent in the rest of the Islamic world, 1989

CHENGDU, China—Sichuan Sheng province, 2002

KASHGAR, China—Housewives who used to be confined can now go out shopping but still wear veils. Kashgar seems conservative compared with Turfan or the Hotans, 1979

XIAN, China—A festival in Shaanxi province marks the end of fasting for the month of Ramadan, 1989.

BEIJING—A Chinese Muslim woman prays in the section of Niuje central mosque dedicated to women. The writing on the wall is in Arabic, 1989

BEIJING—Friday prayer at the central mosque. Most of the faithful are Huis, Muslim Chinese, recognizable by their white taqiyah, 1989.

KASHGAR, China—In the center of the old section of Kashgar stands the Id Kah Mosque, built many centuries ago. For the first prayers on Friday afternoon, several thousand Muslims assemble. No women are allowed inside the mosque. Around the time the prayers end, women wrapped in chador carry nan and water to the mosque entrances and wait outside for the men to emerge. The men, freshly purified from their prayers, are asked to breathe gently on the nan and water which, it is said brings good health, happiness, and prosperity to those who receive this blessing, 1999

Photos © Magnum Photos