Nobody is surprised by China’s treatment of Uyghur Muslims in the Xinjiang area; still, Beijing is now using its crackdown tactics, perfected in Xinjiang, against the greater Muslim communities in mainland China as well.
Under China’s Sinification program, the Hui, a sizable Muslim minority in Yuxi, are subject to more scrutiny, including limitations on their religious practices and enhanced surveillance, which suggests an extension of policies first implemented in Xinjiang.
During the national conference on education in 2018, President Xi Jinping encouraged educators to give priority to the party’s identification among the youth of the country. He declared, “All the other buttons will be erroneously buttoned if the first button is buttoned incorrectly. Life needs to be controlled from the start.”
The goal of China’s integration program is to make ethnic minorities a part of Han Chinese culture. This entails taking down halal signs, changing the design of mosques, and now keeping an eye on the religious customs of young Hui people. The campaign’s goal is to make minorities’ cultural and religious differences less pronounced in order to forge a single national identity.
Slightly descended from Arab and Persian traders, the Hui group speaks Mandarin and shares little racial identity with the Han majority. The Hui community, widely regarded as China’s “model Muslim minority,” has a long history of integration, but in 2016 a national Sinification drive was launched, with the Hui community at its heart.
This year’s Ramadan, the Bureau of Ethnic and Religious Affairs sent a concerning WeChat message to Muslims in Yuxi, China. The notice gave local authorities permission to monitor schoolchildren who are fasting and directed them to look into the involvement of minors in religious activities, including fasting. The warning stated that “the Party Committee, governments, education, and sports bureaus of all levels should investigate the participation of minors in religious activities, including fasting.” The letter from Yuxi is indicative of larger initiatives aimed at severing minority youngsters from their religious and cultural roots. Headscarves are prohibited for civil servants in Yuxi, and veiled Hui instructors are required to submit new profile images devoid of headwear.
Under the pretense of separating religion and education, the monitoring of Islam in schools prevents kids from taking part in religious retreats and events. Since the 2014 knife incident in Kunming, which was connected to Uyghur separatists, there has been an increase in surveillance and restrictions.
There is a long and vile history of religious persecution of Muslims in China, with the Uyghurs in Xinjiang facing the worst treatment. The Chinese government has used a variety of strategies, including forced labor, extensive surveillance, mass incarceration in “re-education camps,” and even claims of forced sterilization.
In Xinjiang, Muslims’ personal freedoms are being gradually eroded as part of an aggressive, state-sponsored push to eradicate their cultural and religious identity. According to statistics, since 2017, more than a million Uyghurs and other Muslim minorities have been held in detention camps and subjected to forced renunciations of their faith, torture, and indoctrination.
China uses its economic might to divert attention from this topic. China has made significant investments in nations throughout Asia, Africa, and beyond through programs like the Belt and Road Initiative, essentially purchasing silence from many countries with a majority of Muslims.
Because of the economic ties and commerce that China maintains and is vital to many Muslim nations and organizations, such as the Organization of Islamic Cooperation, its leaders are hesitant to criticize China.
This has resulted in an obvious contradiction whereby the Muslim community is ready to denounce perceived injustices against Muslims by Israel or India, but is conspicuously silent when it comes to China’s programs of open genocide and cultural annihilation.
Conversely, Western media tends to overlook the grave situation in China in favor of presenting a story of Muslim suffering in Hindu-majority India. This story ignores the fact that Muslims in India have liberties and privileges that Muslims in China glaringly lack, such as the freedom to vote, practice their faith in public, and hold public office.
China might have had to think about changing its methods somewhat if some of these ideologues had invested a fraction of the energy they do to lecture India into attempting to corner China on international platforms.
The West, represented by the US and its NATO Allies, wants India to completely abandon its ties to Russia due to events like the Russia-Ukraine War. However, at the same time, when China invades Indian territory, the West is hardly ever seen supporting India against the Chinese incursion. This makes for an important case study.
Diplomatic relations are mostly based on reciprocity and shared interests, therefore the West must realize that they cannot force a country—especially one with the geopolitical clout of India—to do what they want.
China’s oppressive policies in Xinjiang will only serve to encourage radicalism and separatist rather than provide a solution. Yes, there is an issue with extremism within the Muslim community. This problem occasionally shows up as calls for the creation of a separate, Sharia-compliant nation that is exclusively for the Muslim population. A number of violent episodes over the past few decades have been linked to Uyghur separatists who want greater autonomy or independence for Xinjiang, which they call East Turkestan. The 2009 Ürümqi riots, in which ethnic conflicts caused over 1,700 injuries and over 200 fatalities, are among the most prominent incidents.
The 2014 Kunming attack, in which a group of Uyghur attackers brandishing knives killed 31 people and injured over 140 others at a railway station, was another noteworthy occurrence. In addition, in the 2013 incident on Tiananmen Square, a car driven by radical Uyghurs crashed into a crowd, leaving five people dead and forty injured. The East Turkestan Islamic Movement (ETIM), which has been charged with planning terror attacks and attempting to create an independent state by violent means, has been connected to these violent crimes. Although it might be claimed that these practices increase rather than lessen separatist sentiments, the Chinese government uses these occurrences as justification for its severe policies in Xinjiang.
Force cannot be used to force assimilation. Instead of encouraging allegiance, the policies of monitoring, cultural erasure, and religious persecution are more likely to foster opposition and anger. China might resolve Xinjiang’s complaints through a more inclusive and accommodative approach rather than by using oppressive tactics. This might entail encouraging real economic growth and opportunities for Uyghur people, supporting freedoms of religion and culture, and holding candid discussions with Uyghur representatives to address their concerns. Furthermore, putting in place community-based reconciliation initiatives and offering strong assistance with integration and education that respects ethnic identities may help prevent radicalization and promote long-term stability. China may foster a more peaceful atmosphere that lessens the attractiveness of radical and separatist beliefs by addressing the root causes of the problems and encouraging respect for one another.
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In addition to violating human rights, the current tactic of using force and cultural erasure to silence dissenters simply serves to inflame extremism and animosity. The world needs to demand a dramatic change in attitude, one that values real social and economic inclusion, respect for religious and cultural freedoms, and sincere conversation. It’s time to reveal the false narratives that serve as a diversion from the actual crimes and the hypocrisy of the world’s silence.
In addition to speaking out, the international community needs to actively support the Uyghur people’s right to an independent and dignified life by holding China responsible. Millions of people’s futures are at risk, and it is the moral obligation of the entire world to oppose this egregious injustice and work toward establishing a more just and compassionate international system.
