Ill-Fated Uyghur’s of China

By: Abdul Rehman Nawaz |Faisalabad, Pakistan The author is a first-year Law Student at Government College University, Faisalabad

Introduction:

Muslims have witnessed their downfall from ruling nations and running empires to being persecuted at the hands of the infidels. It is clearly marked that the Muslims' downfall has been due to their isolation from the Islamic way of life. Allama Iqbal remarks the Muslims apathy In the following verse:

‘’ Kis Qadar Tum Pe Garan Subah Ki Baidari Hai

Hum Se Kab Pyar Hai! Haan Neend Tumhain Pyari Hai’’

English Translation:

How difficult for you is waking up at the dawn, You have no love for Us, sleep is dear to you.

In the year 2005, Human Rights Watch said in a news report of 114 pages that China has been actively conducting a hate campaign against the Muslim Uighurs and they have been doing it in the name of separatism and counter-terrorism. In the following years, more accusations were leveled against China for getting forced labor from the captives and sterilizing the Muslim Uighur women in the region.

Muslim Uighurs in China:

The history of the Uighurs goes back to 300 BC. They were said to be a small nomadic tribe battling with their rivals in the region. Uighurs are presently settled in the North-West Region of China which is called the Xinjiang Province. The majority of the population of the Xinjiang Province is said to belong to the religion, Islam. It is believed that Uighur Muslims make up a significant population of that region.

Islam was brought to China by one of the four companions (Sahabas) of the Prophet Muhammad(SAW), Sa’ad Ibn Waqas around 650-51, and Islam floured under the Mongol Dynasty with their acceptance of Islam as their religion. It was first in the year 1340 under the rule of the Yuan Dynasty when laws and anti-Muslim regulations were first passed. It would be safe to say that the Yuan Dynasty laid the foundation stone for the ethnic violence against Muslims in later to be China.

Carrying out the legacy of the Yuan Dynasty, China has been accused of violence against Uighurs. Recently evidence has also surfaced against China that they have been involved in religious, cultural, and political oppression against the Uighurs. The Uighurs have been stripped of all their fundamental rights and have been put up to bear the violence. This repression of Uighurs by the Chinese Government has been seen since the year 1990’s when the world witnessed the surfacing of independent Muslim States.

However, it is to be noted that the persecution of the people of the Uighurs isn’t being carried out solely on the basis of their religious beliefs but also on the fact that they are Uighur people. Uighur people were subject to imprisonment in response to their protest against a book ridiculing the Muslim ethics whereas the Hui people who are also Muslim were let off the hook.

At the International Forum, no solid step has been taken against China’s atrocities against the Uighurs and that’s because all the countries, even Muslim countries fear what will be the economic backlash. Hence China stands at the second number on the World GDP Ranking and is among the world’s strongest economies. Speaking of Arab Countries, they are hesitant due to the fact that they themselves haven’t come out as a good contender when it comes to giving Fundamental Rights owing to their strict policies and rules.

In an effort, a number of news outlets have carried on publishing about the atrocities of China in the Xinjiang Province. In this regard, a news outlet, BuzzFeed News was recognized with a Pulitzer Award for their media coverage and exposing the Chinese Government’s harsh policies against the Uighurs. Such media outlets have gone the extra mile to create 3D Models of detaining camps using satellite images.

In the present times, the religion, Islam is believed to have been given significant space for flourishing in some regions in China. However, In Xinjiang Province, the Uighurs people (Muslims) face persecution and major restrictions in their activities. Whether Muslim or not, we must keep the fact in mind that they’re humans. The religious, creed, caste must be set aside and violence must be stopped against any human being.