Muslim Governments are Choosing China’s Money Over Its Muslims
LM / Feb 5 / Human Rights
Yousef bin Ahmad Al-Othaimeen, Secretary-General of the OIC, 2021
In recent years, China has been under fire for its treatment of the Uyghur Muslim minorities in the Xinjiang province. Evidence comprised of leaked documents, drone footage, witness and survivor testimonies and reports, all pile up to develop a rock-solid case against the Chinese government’s atrocities and human rights abuses, that include (but are not limited to) subjecting Uyghur Muslims to forced labor, sterilization and indoctrination.
At the 41st session of the human rights council held in July 2019, 22 countries presented the UNHRC with a letter that expressed concerns regarding “credible reports of arbitrary detention” of minorities in Xinjiang, and called upon China to “uphold its national laws and international obligations and to respect human rights and fundamental freedoms, including freedom of religion or belief”. Just a few days later, however, another letter signed by a total of 50 countries was submitted defending China’s crimes against humanity. The second letter reiterates the narrative Chinese officials keep parroting, claiming that the concentration camps are “vocational education and training centers” that are operated by the Chinese government to combat terrorism threats.
If you are shocked by how the countries calling for China to be independently investigated were outnumbered despite the evidence, wait till you find out which countries swung the balance in favor of Muslim persecution. Of the 50 countries that backed up China in the second letter, 23 were Muslim-majority states! To make matters worse, not one Muslim-majority country has signed the first letter that raised concerns about China’s treatment of their brothers and sisters in faith.
Even the OIC (Organization of Islamic Cooperation) which is an intergovernmental group of 57 Muslim-majority countries ‘commended’ China for its treatment of Muslims, even stating that it “looks forward to further cooperation between the OIC and People’s Republic of China”. Hearing these statements from the organization that is supposedly “the collective voice of the Muslim world” and whose core objective is to “safeguard the rights of Muslim minorities everywhere” is a slap in the face to Muslims all around the world. A more fitting name for OIC would be Organization of Islamic Complicity, and even that would not be accurate as there is nothing Islamic about commending a government that calls Islam a ‘mental disease’.
Now one might be thinking, why are all these governments very persistent on licking China’s boot? Why is silence not enough for some Muslim countries – do they have to laud China’s barbarity?
China buys compliance and silence with its economic clout. A catalyst to China’s tightening grip on the throats of many Muslim governments is Xi Jinping’s ‘Belt and Road Initiative’ (BRI). The BRI is a massive infrastructure program with a huge budget that seeks to build pipelines and secure investments all over the world, re-enforcing China’s power as an economic pump and rapidly escalating its status as a world super-power. While the BRI may sound highly progressive, there is rising concern that through BRI projects, China is laying dangerous debt trap diplomacies. China comes forth to countries that are struggling financially and/or politically and offers enticing deals with a few conditions. In short, by investing in regions that are incapable of payback easily, China piles up lists of countries that are dependent on it and indebted to it. A country that dares criticize China’s human rights violations will have to deal with the CCP’s vengeance: all the CCP has to do is issue an order to withdraw its connections from the region, or worse, refuse to negotiate the debts due.
Xi Jinping speaks at The Second Belt and Road Forum, 2019
Countries willing to do business with China have to be fully on board with its oppression – no bystanders or nuance allowed.
Pakistan (a Muslim- majority country and OIC member) for example is a major BRI recipient. Its Prime Minister, Imran Khan, is very vocal when it comes to India’s human rights violations in Kashmir. However, when it comes to China, Imran Khan suddenly “does not know much” to comment, despite the fact that groups of Pakistani journalists and scholars made sure to educate their prime minister not just about the cultural erasure happening in China, but also about the rising public anger in his own country regarding Pakistan’s silence.
Not all China’s fans in the Muslim world are drowning in Chinese debt though. Affluent Muslim countries such as Saudi Arabia and the UAE are not exclusively dependent on China for their riches. What is their excuse then? To avoid scrutiny at home of course! Undermining the seriousness of human rights conferences and concerns works to the advantage of notorious human rights violators. On his visit to Beijing, Crown-Prince of Saudi Arabia, Mohammed Bin Salman, hailed China’s “de-extremism measures” and added that “Saudi Arabia respects and supports it”.
Even Iran, whose leaders pride themselves to be spokespersons for Muslims worldwide, finds China an ally too valuable to lose in its opposition to the US, and so does not dare speak out. It seems that its geopolitical interests are more worthy of protection than Uyghur children being separated from their families.
Perhaps the most confusing stance is the one taken by Turkey’s Recep Erdogan. It is worth noting that Turkey holds the highest number of Uyghur refugees and shares a strong cultural and linguistic tie to the ethnic group. Turkey was the first Muslim-majority country to publicly denounce China’s treatment of Uyghur Muslims, describing it as “a great embarrassment for humanity”. A few months later, however, Turkey’s president Recep Erdogan stated that minorities are “living happily in Xinjiang thanks to China’s prosperity” and that “Turkey will not allow anyone to drive a wedge in its relations to China”. As of today, reports are emerging accusing Turkey of extraditing Uyghurs to be persecuted in China! Turkey’s wanting to be a significant part of China’s economic offensive (BRI) can explain this shift. It looks like Erdogan experiences FOMO too.
Taking more examples just reiterates the same point: the so-called Muslim leaders and organizations did not just betray the Uyghurs – any person who calls themselves a Muslim was backstabbed, whether they recognize it or not. As the prophet Mohammed (phuh) said, “The parable of the believers in their affection, mercy, and compassion for each other is that of a body. When any limb aches, the whole body reacts with sleeplessness and fever”1. Core Islamic values of justice and Muslim unity were forsaken in exchange for investment deals and lust for power. Trading God’s approval with China’s approval makes these leaders very bad businessmen in the Islamic context.