{"id":18017,"date":"2024-01-03T23:28:19","date_gmt":"2024-01-03T23:28:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.islamicpostonline.com\/?p=18017"},"modified":"2024-01-05T20:03:00","modified_gmt":"2024-01-05T20:03:00","slug":"muslim-outcry-missing-in-uyghur-struggle","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.islamicpostonline.com\/featured\/2024\/01\/03\/muslim-outcry-missing-in-uyghur-struggle\/","title":{"rendered":"Muslim Outcry Missing in Uyghur Struggle"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
With outrage often voiced against human rights violations, rampant Islamophobia and genocide against Muslims, where are the voices of such sentiments raised for the Muslim Uyghur struggle in China? What could be the cause of low media coverage from Muslim majority countries despite the U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights recognizing the severe human rights violations in East Turkestan by China as crimes against humanity? This is the question raised in a recent article by The Diplomat.<\/a> <\/p>\n\n\n\n The atrocities committed against Muslims and Islamic culture in China should receive more attention. Those instances where Muslim majority countries could have a greater impact with a collective voice are flagrantly absent. Muslim majority countries are found to be tied up in political and financial deals, such as China’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), that in fact could be interpreted as bought silence by China. <\/p>\n\n\n\n The news outlet The Diplomat, speaks of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) calling for a meeting to condemn the burning of the Holy Qu\u2019ran: \u201cWhen an extremist burned a copy of the Quran outside a Stockholm mosque, it ignited strong reactions from the Islamic world. This act led to\u2026 condemnation from countries like Iran, Iraq, and Turkey.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThis reaction raises questions about the Islamic world\u2019s response to different provocations, particularly when juxtaposed with the silence over China\u2019s genocide in East Turkestan (officially known in China as the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region),\u201d the Diplomat continues, speaking on the Uyghurs formerly independent state of East Turkestan. <\/p>\n\n\n\n The report from the Center for Uyghur Studies<\/a> (CUS) speaks on some of the grave atrocities against Uyghur Muslims in China: \u201cChinese officials liken Islam to an \u2018infectious disease\u2019 and Uyghur Muslims to \u2018infected people\u2019, stressing that the solution is to uproot the religion and extremists.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThe anti-Islamic campaigns initiated by the Chinese authorities in East Turkistan included a complete ban on religious education, severe suppression of religious scholars, burning of the Quran, destruction of mosques and cemeteries, changing prayers and zikr, prohibition of the hijab, elimination of religious customs, prohibition of learning Arabic, and erasing the Muslim identity of the Uyghur children.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Muslim organizations built to give a voice to the oppressed have shown compromised judgment when given a chance to speak up for the minority Muslims of China. The Diplomat continues to illustrate the omission of outrage: \u201cDespite these well-documented atrocities, the OIC has been notably indifferent to the Uyghur genocide.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cIn a 2019 meeting in Abu Dhabi convened by the OIC, the foreign ministers of Muslim countries issued a joint statement disregarding the Uyghur genocide\u2026That same year, 28 out of 51 countries supporting China\u2019s human rights record at the U.N. The Commission on Human Rights were OIC members,\u201d The Diplomat continues.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The Diplomat cites a famous hadith that illustrates the neglect the Muslim majority countries faced the Muslims in China with: \u201cThe situation reflects a deviation from the teachings of solidarity among Muslims, as highlighted by a renowned hadith of the Prophet Muhammad [peace be upon him], which stresses mutual support and empathy: \u2018The believers, in their mutual love, compassion, and sympathy are like a single body; if one of its organs suffers, the whole body will respond to it with sleeplessness and fever.\u2019\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cHowever, this principle appears neglected, especially when economic and diplomatic interests are involved. This is evident in the response of Muslim-majority countries and organizations to China\u2019s treatment of Uyghurs,\u201d the Diplomat states.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The CUS report elaborates on the Islamophobia that exists in China and their propaganda used to counter publicity of atrocities against its Muslim population, as well as the effects this propaganda has on political ties with Muslim countries and organizations: \u201cWith 57 member states, the (OIC) is the largest international organization gathering Muslim countries under its roof. Its secretariat is in Saudi Arabia.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThe Organization has the main objectives of facilitating solidarity of Muslim countries and finding solutions to their problems. Another of its founding objectives is to protect the rights of their co-religionists living in non-Muslim countries. This founding article of the OIC is being violated by the member states siding with China.\u201d the report states.<\/p>\n\n\n\n China’s BRI or \u201cMaritime Silk Road\u201d project extends China\u2019s influence throughout the countries who take part in it. Muslim majority countries make the BRI possible as the route for China’s economic development project runs through them. China uses this to its advantage and influences Muslim majority countries actions through different strategies. The report from CUS elaborates:<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cChina\u2019s economic and political influence in the Islamic world plays an important role in determining the attitudes of Muslim countries towards the anti-Islamic policies implemented in China, especially the Uyghur genocide. With the implementation of the \u2018BRI,\u2019 the dependence of Muslim countries on China has become more serious.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n The CUS report illustrates how China has many tactics used throughout the world to gain economic power and prosperity for its country. Eliminating any objections and policies to hamper its success is on the forefront of its agenda: \u201cIn order to realize its projects for world domination, the Beijing regime needs energy resources such as oil and natural gas\u2026 and financing for its state-backed enterprises to undertake projects in other countries.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cIn both respects, the geography of Muslim states is of critical importance. For this reason, China prefers to be active in the Islamic world rather than gaining public support in the West,\u201d the report explains further.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In an article from the International Socialism journal<\/a>, the author describes various benefits China derives from its Belt and Road Initiative and \u201cinfrastructure projects\u201d in East Turkistan:<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cChina has been a net importer of oil since 1993. However, imports from the Middle East come by tanker through the strategically vulnerable Strait of Malacca, a narrow shipping lane between Malaysia and Indonesia.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cSo, to diversify supply, since the early 2000s oil has been imported from neighboring Kazakhstan via a pipeline that runs through Xinjiang, making the province a key component in China\u2019s energy security,\u201d the journal reports.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cUS researcher Jonathan Hillman draws a comparison between China\u2019s Belt and Road Initiative, in which Xinjiang is a key link, and the expansion of European powers in the 19th century.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThese states used infrastructure projects to \u2018expand their influence at the expense of indigenous people, the environment and economic stability\u2019. The extension of the rail network to Kashgar and beyond has drawn isolated Uyghur communities closer to China,\u201d the journal relates.<\/p>\n\n\n\n