Xi Jinping pushes for sinicization of Islam in first visit to Xinjiang since crackdown on Uighurs began
Xi Jinping pushes for sinicization of Islam in first visit to Xinjiang since crackdown on Uighurs began
New Delhi: Crowds cheering, artists performing in traditional clothes and massive infrastructural projects.
If you watched the Chinese state media's coverage of Xi Jinping's latest visit to Xinjiang, this is what you would have seen.
What the state media quite unsurprisingly did not show were the detention camps where Uighur Muslims have been forcefully kept.
Fuelled by propaganda, Xi had a message for Xinjiang.
"We have formulated ethnic theories and policies characterized by ethnic equality and unity, regional ethnic autonomy, and shared development and prosperity, so that all ethnic groups have enjoyed equality, unity and progress in real sense under the socialist system," Xinhua quoted the Chinese president as saying.
Xi also had a subtle warning. He said that Islam in China must be "Chinese in orientation."
"Enhanced efforts should be made to uphold the principle that Islam in China must be Chinese in orientation, and to adapt religions to a socialist society," he said.
The US and lawmakers in other Western countries have labelled China's actions in Xinjiang a "genocide", imposing sanctions over the alleged human rights abuses.
China wades into Prophet remark controversy
Even as China tries to suppress religious rights in its own country, it has not been making attempts to lecture India.
Last month, Beijing waded into the Prophet remark controversy.
"China always believes that different civilisations and religions should respect each other and live together as equals. We have noted relevant reports and hope that the situation will be handled properly," Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin told a media briefing.
China's unsolicited comments came even after India said that Sharma's remarks do not reflect the views of the government of India.
India's ruling party BJP suspended its spokesperson Nupur Sharma over controversial remarks she made on Prophet Muhammad during a TV debate.
Uighurs detained in camps allege forced labour, rape
As for Xinjiang, there aren't many buyers for the propaganda peddled during Xi's recent visit.
This was Xi's first visit to the region since 2014 when three people were killed in an attack that presaged the start of the mass detention campaign three years later.
Beijing has denied the allegations of human rights abuses, calling them the "lie of the century" and insisting that its policies have helped combat the threat of Islamic extremism.
However, several reports by the media, rights groups and witness accounts have countered China's claims.
According to a 2021 BBC report, Uighur women lodged in camps across Xinjiang have alleged rape and torture.
Describing her harrowing experience, one of the former detainees told the BBC "that she witnessed the gang rape of a young girl by the police."
"The girl was brought before about 100 other detainees to make a forced confession. After that, in front of everyone, the police took turns to rape her," she said.
Commenting on the detention camps, the US Commission on International Religious Freedom in its 2020 report said that "Individuals have been sent to the camps for wearing long beards, refusing alcohol, or other behaviors authorities deem to be signs of religious extremism."
It also noted that nearly half a million Muslim children have been separated from their families and placed in boarding schools. Apart from this rights groups have said that detainees are also subjected to forced labour.
With inputs from agencies
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