On Friday, the 12th of July 2019, 37 countries signed a letter to the United Nations Human Rights Council praising China for its “remarkable achievements in the field of human rights”. The letter was a response to the criticism China has been receiving for its abhorrent treatment of the Uighurs of the Xinjiang region.

As early as 2017 the Uighur citizens, a majority of which are Muslims, have been forcefully placed into re-education camps by the Chinese authorities. Within these facilities, they are subjected to some of the worst violations of the human condition. According to the UN and other human rights organisations, the detainees are forced to consume alcohol and pork (which are forbidden in the Islamic faith), are physically abused, and are forced to submit to communist propaganda.

The 37 countries that signed the letter include Muslim countries, such as Pakistan, Syria, Oman, Kuwait, Qatar, the UAE, and Bahrain – a fact that has been met with both disgust and disbelief. It would seem that in a time as dark as it currently is for the Uighur Muslims, they would find support from their fellow Muslim brethren. And yet, the leaders of the Muslim countries offer nothing but betrayal. They stand by China in an attempt to gain financial favours from the authoritative state, sacrificing their principles and ignoring the pleas of the Uighur Muslims.

It must be known to the world, and most importantly to our fellow Muslim brothers and sisters in the Xinjiang region, that the attitude of the Muslim leaders towards this situation does not reflect the stance of the collective Muslim community. We condemn the Chinese government for its treatment of the Uighur Muslims and call for the immediate release of all those detained in the Chinese concentration camps.

“The believers in their mutual kindness, compassion and sympathy are just like one body. When one of the limbs suffers, the whole body responds to it with wakefulness and fever.”
The Prophet Muhammad (S.A.W) [Sahih al-Bukhari and Muslim]