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Why the Muslim world has abandoned Uighurs, backed China

WION
New DelhiEdited By: Palki SharmaUpdated: Jul 28, 2020, 08:07 AM IST
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Muslim people protesting against China's treatment of Uighurs Photograph:(Reuters)

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Pakistan, Egypt and Saudi Arabia have refused to speak against China as Beijing has bought their silence with big bucks.

Turkey is not the only country to silently comply with China's wishes. The Muslim world claims to be the defender of their faith but they don’t raise their voice against the persecution of Uighurs as they depend on China for investment and loans.

The same countries which have been quick to slam poor Myanmar for its treatment of Rohingyas cannot find the courage to take on China over Uighurs.

Living in Xinjiang is a dystopian nightmare with extreme surveillance, detention and torture inside internment camps. China has been crushing Uighur Muslims forcing women to undergo sterilization. The Communist Party’s abuse of the Uighurs is outrageous but the Muslim world hasn’t said a word about it.

Central Asian countries have submitted to China’s will. The self-proclaimed vanguards of the Muslim world have dumped the Muslims of China. Pakistan, Egypt and Saudi Arabia have refused to speak against China as Beijing has bought their silence with big bucks.

Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan feigned ignorance when asked about the plight of Uighurs, after all, Pakistan is a client state of China where Beijing has invested $60 billion.

Egypt went a step further. It detained and deported Uighurs back to China. In 2017, at least 200 Uighurs were rounded up in raids on restaurants and markets - all at the behest of the Chinese Communist Party.

Saudi Arabia says nothing about the Uighurs too. In 2017, Beijing and Riyadh had signed $70 billion in new deals. Those deals turned Saudi crown prince Mohammad bin Salman into an apologist for China.

As a leader of the Muslim world, Riyadh has influence over the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation(OIC) which is the world’s second-largest inter-government organisation after the UN.

However, fifty-seven member states of the OIC haven’t found the courage to criticise China. Last year, 37 countries endorsed a statement of support at the United Nations over China's actions against the Uighurs with almost half of the signatories being Muslim nations. 

The message was clear - Islamic nations chose China's money over China's Muslims. The so-called protectors of Muslim faith are simply following the money.