The origins of Islam in China date back to rule of the Third Caliph Uthmaan ibn Affan (ra) when Sa’ad ibn Abi Waqqas (ra) entered the region. Islam continued to spread over the next few centuries and Muslim businessman, scientists and intellectuals continued to migrate from Arabia and Central Asia to these regions. Historical accounts show that the cultural and commercial value that the Muslims brought to the Country was appreciated by many early emperors. However as China began to adopt communist philosophy, many religious groups and peoples were forced to assimilate with mainstream ideology.
The Systematic repression of the Muslims in China spiked after the Cultural Revolution in the mid-20th century, and according to some accounts, is intensifying as time goes on. The tactics the Chinese Government are currently deploying is making Western China almost unbearable to live in for many of our brothers and sisters. The situation there has been steadily simmering, away from the attention of World Press and Media and it is due to this censorship that the Global Muslim Community is generally un-aware of their plight.
According to the Chinese Census, China holds approximately fifty-six ethnic groups within her borders, ten of which are said to be predominantly Muslim. It is widely known that Muslims who reside in Central and Eastern regions have often been forced to abandon key tenets of their faith and dilute their identity all in order to maintain a level of community cohesion. Ritual acts such as praying openly, fasting or growing a beard are punishable in some districts and the government has taken various steps to prevent a pure version of Islam from being practised. This is done though a number of measures such as:
Preventing Muslims from giving Dawah and propagating their faith
Lobbying and Endorsing more secular minded Imams
Heavily monitoring masajids and instructing the Khatibs in what they can and cannot say
Ensuring that religious groups and parties do not mention anything regarding Politics
Alienating the beliefs of a pure Muslim identity
Executing, Torturing or imprisoning those who do not conform to the above
Such policies have without doubt led these Muslims to become passive and submissive to the states orders. The Uyghur Muslims situated in Xinjiang province have however tried to resist these pressures to some degree and thus suffered brutally under the Chinese regime. As they are Muslims, the Uyghurs have always been distinctly different in beliefs and practices from the typical Han Chinese. The Chinese government therefore views Xinjiang as an autonomous state that operates without giving the wholehearted authority to the Central Communist government, and has cracked down heavily upon them.
The Uyghur Muslims feel that the Chinese government is gradually trying to push them out of their own homes by making living conditions unbearable. In an attempt to weaken the Muslim identity of the Uyghur’s, many non-Muslim Han Chinese have been moved into the region under the orders of the government.
The Chinese government has on many occasions labelled the Muslims of Xinjiang as separatists or as Al-Qaeda backed radicals – however this is a very tainted version of the reality. It is correct to say that the Uyghurs are separatists, however the purpose of them wanting to separate from the state is in order to maintain their Islam and to be able to practice it freely. The Muslims living in Xinjiang are subject to the same treatment as the Muslims in central and Eastern China, however it is to a more intense degree. They have been subject to mass arrests, detention, maltreatment and execution for simply resisting the schemes of the Chinese Regime.
Amnesty International has documented some of the many Human Rights abuses by the Chinese regime. It has highlighted the fact that some of these Muslims have disappeared for years, leaving their families bewildered with grief. Scholars and Students of knowledge have also been systematically targeted in a bid to drain the Muslims in Xinjiang of their Islamic understanding. One such case is the case of Abdul Karim Abdul Wali who has been imprisoned since 1993 (19 years) without committing any crime other than teaching Islam to the Muslims.
A Message to the Muslims
Dear Brothers and Sisters the purpose of every Muslim round the World should always be to make the truth dominant over the falsehood in the battle of hearts and minds that is gradually enveloping this entire earth. Muslims are obliged to use every tool in their disposal to aid their brothers and sisters wherever they may be. When the Ummah anywhere in the world is being muted by the terrorists of East or the West we will - by permission of Allah - raise our voices and make that call on your behalf. Your problems are our problems, and your tears are our tears and you have not and will not be ignored.
Narrated 'Abdullah bin Umar: Allah's Apostle said, "A Muslim is a brother of another Muslim, so he should not oppress him, nor should he hand him over to an oppressor. Whoever fulfilled the needs of his brother, Allah will fulfill his needs; whoever brought his (Muslim) brother out of a discomfort, Allah will bring him out of the discomforts of the Day of Resurrection, and whoever screened a Muslim, Allah will screen him on the Day of Resurrection . " (Sahih al Bukhari)
“..And if they seek help of you for the religion, then you must help, except against a people between yourselves and whom is a treaty. And Allah is Seeing of what you do.” (Surah Anfaal 8:72)
We have been promised Victory so know that it is coming. Insha'Allah one day you will be free to rise to the highest locations of that same land that you are being subjugated in and you will be able to testify that Allah is the greatest, that he has no partner and that Muhammad (saw) is the final prophet and Messenger. May Allah Hasten these events and may he ease the suffering of our Brothers and Sisters All over the world-Allahumma Ameen.
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