Did any Muslim majority countries express an official position about the treatment of Muslims in China?

Question

Members of the Arab League are well known for their boycott of Israel over their treatment of the Palestinians. They likewise frequently issue official statements whenever Muslims are mistreated in Western countries and actively support Islamic institutions in the West.

But did any Muslim majority states issue an official proclamation in regards to the mistreatment of Muslims in China? What is the official position of countries such as Saudi Arabia on the position of Uyghurs and other Muslim minorities in Chinese society? At the very least the Xinjiang reeducation camps sound like something that should be strongly condemned by the Islamic community.

Are you referring to their treatment in China in general or are you referring to a specific event? — JJJ, Oct 01 '18 at 06:41
@JJJ the treatment in general. Things like concentration-like "reeducation" camps for Uyghurs. — JonathanReez, Oct 01 '18 at 06:49
For clarification: do only statements criticising China count, or those praising China as well? — Golden Cuy, Jul 19 '20 at 22:14

score 23 · Answer 1 · answered Oct 11 '18 at 14:00

They have not, for two reasons.

One, because China has gone out of their way to court Muslim-majority nations to show them how their Uighur re-education camps aren't as bad as Western nations say. They brought in Indonesian authorities to show them around, but still, authorities there are wary. Kazakhstan was convinced the Uighur were terrorists that had to be contained, until China expanded its definition to Kazakhs. China even made pacts with Egypt in regards to branding Uighurs as terrorists.

Two, China has spent the last decade coordinating their financial and military power in SE Asia, and leaders of these nations see the issue as a choice between keeping quiet and allowing their fortunes to rise with China's, or complain and risk being left behind.

However, protests within these nations continue to rise, and some have been answered by governmental action.

The Egypt pact is quite significant, during my year abroad at University in Cairo (2011), I met many Ughuys studying at the Islamic university Al-Azhar. There was a pretty largish community there. Now, sadly they are all gone and Egypt routinely deports anyone suspected of having Khazakh or Ughuyr decent. — Umar.H, Mar 30 '21 at 14:22

Brian Z · Accepted Answer · 2020-07-27T13:02:16.323

Turkey claims Uighurs in China as ethnic Turks. In 2015 "Ankara summoned the Chinese ambassador... over reports that Beijing had banned Uighurs from fasting and worship during the holy month." In February 2019 Turkey's Ministry of Foreign Affairs issued a statement condemning the violations of "the fundamental human rights of Uighur Turks and other Muslim communities in the Xinjiang Uighur Autonomous Region".

score 9 · Answer 3 · answered Jul 26 '20 at 14:11

The following countries has officially expressed support to China's position:

Algeria, Angola, Bahrain, Bangladesh, Belarus, the Plurinational State of Bolivia, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cambodia, Cameroon, Comoros, the Congo, Cuba, the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Djibouti, Egypt, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Gabon, the Islamic Republic of Iran, Iraq, Kuwait, the Lao People’s Democratic Republic, Mozambique, Myanmar, Nepal, Nigeria, Oman, Pakistan, the Philippines, the Russian Federation, Saudi Arabia, Serbia, Somalia, South Sudan, Sri Lanka, the Sudan, the Syrian Arab Republic, Tajikistan, Togo, Turkmenistan, Uganda, the United Arab Emirates, Uzbekistan, the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, Yemen, Zambia, Zimbabwe and the State of Palestine

Some of them are Muslim majority countries, such as Saudi Arabia.

We commend China’s remarkable achievements in the field of human rights by adhering to the people-centered development philosophy and protecting and promoting human rights through development. We also appreciate China’s contributions to the international human rights cause.

We take note that terrorism, separatism and religious extremism has caused enormous damage to people of all ethnic groups in Xinjiang, which has seriously infringed upon human rights, including right to life, health and development. Faced with the grave challenge of terrorism and extremism, China has undertaken a series of counter-terrorism and deradicalization measures in Xinjiang, including setting up vocational education and training centers. Now safety and security has returned to Xinjiang and the fundamental human rights of people of all ethnic groups there are safeguarded. The past three consecutive years has seen not a single terrorist attack in Xinjiang and people there enjoy a stronger sense of happiness, fulfillment and security. We note with appreciation that human rights are respected and protected in China in the process of counter-terrorism and deradicalization.

We appreciate China’s commitment to openness and transparency. China has invited a number of diplomats, international organizations officials and journalist to Xinjiang to witness the progress of the human rights cause and the outcomes of counter-terrorism and deradicalization there. What they saw and heard in Xinjiang completely contradicted what was reported in the media. We call on relevant countries to refrain from employing unfounded charges against China based on unconfirmed information before they visit Xinjiang. We urge the OHCHR, Treaty Bodies and relevant Special Procedures mandate holders to conduct their work in an objective and impartial manner according to their mandate and with true and genuinely credible information, and value the communication with member states.

Source

Sorry, didn't see this question was 1 year, 9 months ago, when this document didn't exist. But it may still be helpful. — user23013, Jul 26 '20 at 14:25
Updates as the situation changes are inevitable, and helpful. — Jontia, Jul 27 '20 at 10:59

score 3 · Answer 4 · answered Jul 25 '20 at 21:28

3

There is a 3rd reason.

The largest Muslim ethnic group in China, the Hui, gets along well with the rest of the people. Hui has a population about 20 million, whereas Urghurs about 12 million.

There are seldom reports like this, this and this, from the Hui Muslims.

So it seems to make many Muslim country leaders to believe China does better than other countries after they realize the facts.

answered Jul 25 '20 at 21:28

gpitinc

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So, essentially, your main point is that since the Hui are treated well, any abuses against the Uyghurs are about the Uyghurs specifically, not Muslims in general. Am I understanding right? – divibisan Jul 25 '20 at 23:07
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Also, I think you might have mixed up the last link. That article seems to support Carduus’ second point, that China has built strong political and economic ties with Muslim countries, but it doesn’t mention the Hui – divibisan Jul 25 '20 at 23:10
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Communist China is a secular society with freedom to believe (or not to believe). No religion is above the state, and no one religion is above the other religions. If people violate the laws, they get punished irrespective of their believing, ethnic group, event nationality. Hope you do not consider this case is a suppression of a particular country. Irrespective of whether Chinese laws are good or evil, but killing is seldom protected by any reasonable laws. That's why people get an impression that more Uyghurs are punished than the Hui. – gpitinc Jul 27 '20 at 02:01
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To your second comment, frankly I couldn't believe nowadays people even dare talk about Muslim issue in China without mentioning the Hui. I'd like to guess the author is probably limited by his knowledge. The Hui is a group of more peaceful Muslims in China. No any government in this world loves trouble-making people. Unfortunately very small percentage of Uyghurs seems to fall into that category. Clearly, China's strong support of Muslim countries by itself shows China's support of Islam, not suppression of Islam. – gpitinc Jul 27 '20 at 02:11
Lastly, Rebiya Kadeer once was an outstanding Uyghur in terms of business and politics, a communist party member, and had lots of chances to deliver her messages to the highest Chinese leaders for her fellow Uyghurs. But she defected, and Uyghurs lost an importance voice for them, and seemingly thereafter reduce themselves to more violence. I personally think she's miss-calculated it. – gpitinc Jul 27 '20 at 02:20
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So the Chinese government would have no problem with outside journalists having access to the Uyghur areas to verify this? https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-china-55794071 https://edition.cnn.com/interactive/2020/02/asia/xinjiang-china-karakax-document-intl-hnk/ Oh, of course, the rest of the world is guilty of anti-Chinese bias, like this: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-china-57543842 Or maybe just even-handed reporting of the good and bad. Or are you just one of these? https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-china-58062630 – Paul Johnson Sep 05 '21 at 12:43

Did any Muslim majority countries express an official position about the treatment of Muslims in China?

4 Answers4

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