Muslim Mindset: Violence in China

The Chinese government recently sentenced 12 people to death for an attack on a police station that left 96 government officials dead. They blame the Uighurs, a Muslim ethnic group, for the heinous crime. However, foreign news organizations aren’t allowed in the region. The version of events the Chinese government describes cannot be independently verified.

Ever since China has implemented their strict policies, restricting the rights of the Uighurs, there has been a lot of ethnic violence taking place in Xinjiang, an autonomous province in China’s northwest. A series of knife and bomb attacks have occurred.

Ever since the 1949 communist revolution more and more Han Chinese, the main ethnic group in China, have moved to the region. The province is becoming more and more like the rest of China with Han Chinese culture and customs becoming dominant over the Uighur culture. A cultural genocide is taking place. Persecution of Muslims has become rampant.

A merchant in the Xinjiang region of China, standing in front of a poster that urges Uighur women not to veil their heads and faces.

Men with beards and women wearing headscarves can’t travel on public buses. People under the age of 18 aren’t allowed to enter mosques. Hundreds of Uighurs are arrested for supposedly having extremist views. It’s nearly impossible for Uighurs to obtain travel visas. They aren’t allowed to wear clothing with Islamic symbols.

The Uighurs are similar to their Central Asian neighbors. They speak a Turkish dialect. They in no way identify as Chinese. Some want an independent state, free from China’s influence. Others just want basic human rights. One of these activists is Ilham Tohti, a scholar and economics professor, who was sentenced to life in prison for separatism. He never advocated for an independent Uighur state, but championed ethnic unity between the Han and the Uighurs.

As long as China continues enforcing its oppressive policies, the situation in Xinjiang will not improve. The government must adopt a strategy that champions diversity and encompasses all ethnic and religious groups. They cannot blame the attacks solely on religious fundamentalists without also considering the political situation that is causing the tension in the first place.