Radicalisation in Islam has undoubtedly been spreading due to many arguable reasons. Several nations have shown concerns about the situation and taken some steps to curb this growing tendency. As far as China is concerned, they have their own ways to suppress the radical movement. The Chinese population is dominated by Hans, spread all over the country except its northwestern Xinjiang province, where the Uighur and Kazakh community has been living for decades, somehow distinguished from the majority of the population in terms of religion and ethnicity. In recent years, Chinese brutal treatment of these communities has emerged as the communist government’s effort to homogenising the community.
Reportedly around a million Uighurs, Kazakhs and other Muslim communities have been kept in internment camps, claimed to be schooling them to assimilate in the communist ruling system. They are forcefully brought into these camps separated from their families. They are compelled to give up their identity and are bound to adapt to the majoritarian Chinese culture. Inside stories of these camps have come up to our observance with some of the survivors managed to escape from the camps and the country. They told the terrifying stories of physical, mental, and sexual torture.
Xinjiang is a northeastern province of China sharing borders with Islamic nations-Afghanistan, Pakistan, Kazakhstan. This is a mineral-rich area concentrated with Uighurs, Kazakhs and other Muslim communities. They are different from the mainland Chinese people in terms of religion, ethnicity, language and culture. Over the past few decades, the majority of Han Chinese started to come here in large numbers observing its economic prosperity. However, it can’t be untrue that this major shift was unintentional. The newly arrived population has started sidelined local community from their jobs and social security. Uighurs felt their identity and livelihoods under threat. Other social differences, consequently, concluded into riots. In 2009, around 200 people were killed in such violence. In the following years, it could not be pacified and other violent incidents occurred such as suicide bombing, stabbing and blasts. Instability in neighbouring Afghanistan and the government crackdown on Uighurs has been viewed to grow militancy groups. They were determined to be separated from China and seek independence as a new nation “East Turkistan.”
These incidents allowed the government to use its brutal force and to launch the systematic project to put Uighur communities into detention camps. According to the Chinese government, these are educational camps for Uighurs to eradicate extremism and radicalization and give them vocational skills.
Recently, a set of govt. Documents got leaked and observed by the New York Times. The newspaper stated that these papers were provided by a member of the Chinese government with the condition of being anonymous and hoped that these papers might help to stop Chinese administration from torturing the Uighurs community in mass detention centres.
According to the New York Times, these papers were set of 24 documents with Jinping’s internal speeches and directive and reports on Uighur controls. Although the Chinese government has clarified its view on the Uighurs problems but the fact that the community is being forcibly kept there. The Chinese govt has the right to decide the level of extremism on what basis anyone can send to these deradicalization camps. In the current scenario, Uighurs can be tagged as extremist if they tend to follow common Islamic practices such as sporting beard, fasting during Ramadan, praying too often, sending eid greetings etc..
Over a million people have been sent to these internment camps and the only thing they are taught is loyalty to China. Children are kept separate from their parents making them a trained and loyal future Chinese workers. Inside the camps, stories of torture and harassment have come out. Some of the inmates have told in an interview to the BBC that they were beaten up and not allowed to sleep. They had some wooden and wired weapon to torture them. A woman also told that a fellow girl was left to die of menstrual bleeding but never got any medical help. Also, the camps were too crowded to got slept everyone at a once.
As per the documents leaked to the New York Times, the children who have earned a college degree are called ‘elite’ and told to be grateful of Chiese government making them cured of the virus of radicalization. There was mention of a credit system as well said to be granted inmates as per their behaviour and that decides when they can leave the camps.
Those people can not fight legally in courts because they are not charged for any crime so they are only forced to live in these camps or run away as some of them could manage. For those who are not detained yet are not quite free. The government always keeps an eye on their movements with face recognition surveillance cameras, software to monitor their phone activities and QR codes on homes and even on domestic tools such as knives.
The surveillance on its own citizens is not strange in China and people may have become used to it but the nature of monitoring, regulating and administrating the whole life and lifestyles of Uighurs is unbearable. The government is trying to act as all in all for the community and directing them to change their behaviour, cultural and religious practices. They even tell them how to talk, what to read and what to speak. This is quite an undemocratic nature of a government but it also cruel even in a communist leadership. Islamic radicalization should be treated but the forceful treatment by directing every aspect of people’s life is harmful. It may take the whole community to another undesired direction. Several voices have been raised globally but it is ineffective in front of the giant nation. Some of the Muslim nations have their own benefits with China and the rest are too busy with their own problems. The USA is also entangled in the trade conflicts with China, so now the hope is only Europe which can raise the issue significantly.
Reportedly around a million Uighurs, Kazakhs and other Muslim communities have been kept in internment camps, claimed to be schooling them to assimilate in the communist ruling system. They are forcefully brought into these camps separated from their families. They are compelled to give up their identity and are bound to adapt to the majoritarian Chinese culture. Inside stories of these camps have come up to our observance with some of the survivors managed to escape from the camps and the country. They told the terrifying stories of physical, mental, and sexual torture.
Xinjiang is a northeastern province of China sharing borders with Islamic nations-Afghanistan, Pakistan, Kazakhstan. This is a mineral-rich area concentrated with Uighurs, Kazakhs and other Muslim communities. They are different from the mainland Chinese people in terms of religion, ethnicity, language and culture. Over the past few decades, the majority of Han Chinese started to come here in large numbers observing its economic prosperity. However, it can’t be untrue that this major shift was unintentional. The newly arrived population has started sidelined local community from their jobs and social security. Uighurs felt their identity and livelihoods under threat. Other social differences, consequently, concluded into riots. In 2009, around 200 people were killed in such violence. In the following years, it could not be pacified and other violent incidents occurred such as suicide bombing, stabbing and blasts. Instability in neighbouring Afghanistan and the government crackdown on Uighurs has been viewed to grow militancy groups. They were determined to be separated from China and seek independence as a new nation “East Turkistan.”
These incidents allowed the government to use its brutal force and to launch the systematic project to put Uighur communities into detention camps. According to the Chinese government, these are educational camps for Uighurs to eradicate extremism and radicalization and give them vocational skills.
Recently, a set of govt. Documents got leaked and observed by the New York Times. The newspaper stated that these papers were provided by a member of the Chinese government with the condition of being anonymous and hoped that these papers might help to stop Chinese administration from torturing the Uighurs community in mass detention centres.
According to the New York Times, these papers were set of 24 documents with Jinping’s internal speeches and directive and reports on Uighur controls. Although the Chinese government has clarified its view on the Uighurs problems but the fact that the community is being forcibly kept there. The Chinese govt has the right to decide the level of extremism on what basis anyone can send to these deradicalization camps. In the current scenario, Uighurs can be tagged as extremist if they tend to follow common Islamic practices such as sporting beard, fasting during Ramadan, praying too often, sending eid greetings etc..
Over a million people have been sent to these internment camps and the only thing they are taught is loyalty to China. Children are kept separate from their parents making them a trained and loyal future Chinese workers. Inside the camps, stories of torture and harassment have come out. Some of the inmates have told in an interview to the BBC that they were beaten up and not allowed to sleep. They had some wooden and wired weapon to torture them. A woman also told that a fellow girl was left to die of menstrual bleeding but never got any medical help. Also, the camps were too crowded to got slept everyone at a once.
As per the documents leaked to the New York Times, the children who have earned a college degree are called ‘elite’ and told to be grateful of Chiese government making them cured of the virus of radicalization. There was mention of a credit system as well said to be granted inmates as per their behaviour and that decides when they can leave the camps.
Those people can not fight legally in courts because they are not charged for any crime so they are only forced to live in these camps or run away as some of them could manage. For those who are not detained yet are not quite free. The government always keeps an eye on their movements with face recognition surveillance cameras, software to monitor their phone activities and QR codes on homes and even on domestic tools such as knives.
The surveillance on its own citizens is not strange in China and people may have become used to it but the nature of monitoring, regulating and administrating the whole life and lifestyles of Uighurs is unbearable. The government is trying to act as all in all for the community and directing them to change their behaviour, cultural and religious practices. They even tell them how to talk, what to read and what to speak. This is quite an undemocratic nature of a government but it also cruel even in a communist leadership. Islamic radicalization should be treated but the forceful treatment by directing every aspect of people’s life is harmful. It may take the whole community to another undesired direction. Several voices have been raised globally but it is ineffective in front of the giant nation. Some of the Muslim nations have their own benefits with China and the rest are too busy with their own problems. The USA is also entangled in the trade conflicts with China, so now the hope is only Europe which can raise the issue significantly.
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