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SearchToday in Islamophobia: China says report saying Uighur children being separated from parents is ‘farce,’ even as it issues strict new rules for Muslims to perform Hajj. Our recommended read today is by Tun Khin on the upcoming elections in Myanmar. Real democracy, Tun Khin argues, will remain elusive in a country that cannot acknowledge its own role in the mass persecution of its own citizens. This, and more, below:
Myanmar
Don’t be fooled. Myanmar’s ‘democratic election’ is a sham | Recommended Read
Today, as Myanmar gears up for another general election on Nov. 8, the situation is starkly different. Three years ago, Aung San Suu Kyi, now the country’s de facto head of state, stood by as military leaders launched a brutal ethnic cleansing campaign that killed thousands of Rohingya and drove more than 700,000 across the border into Bangladesh, where they now languish in immense refugee camps. The roughly 500,000 who remain in the country have been effectively disenfranchised. They are denied access to Myanmar’s democracy simply because of who they are. read the complete article
China
China says report saying Uighur children being separated from parents is 'farce'
The foreign ministry in Beijing on Friday dismissed as a “farce” a news report saying that China is separating ethnic Uighur children from their parents as part of social engineering policies in the western region of Xinjiang. At a news briefing, ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian also rejected the Economist magazine’s characterisation of China’s policies in Xinjiang, where most of China’s Muslim Uighur population lives, as a crime against humanity. read the complete article
China issues strict new rules for Muslims wanting to take part in Hajj
China’s central government has issued new rules for Muslim pilgrims wishing to take part in the Hajj pilgrimage to Mecca in Saudi Arabia. The new rules stipulate that only the government’s Chinese Islamic Association is allowed to organise travel for pilgrims and that no other organisation of individual may do so. The government says the new rules will facilitate a better Hajj experience for Muslim pilgrims. read the complete article
CW: Torture, Suicide | I am an Uighur who faced China’s concentration camps. This is my story.
During a short post-work visit to his family in nearby Turpan, on the morning of the 26th March, policemen showed up at the door to arrest him - beginning a near eight month journey of unending physical and psychological torment. “They shackled my hands and put black fabric [over] my eyes,” Ӧmir says. “I feel my body tremble whenever I remember that moment”. Following his arrest, Ӧmir was thrown into a small police station cell, where he was kept for a week, still with no explanation. He says the room seemed to be built for 12 people, but contained more than 36 others, who, like him, had their arms and legs constantly shackled. Soon he was transferred to another police station, where he says the authorities subjected him to four “complete” days of torture. “My feet and my hands were tied up with iron shackles and they beat my hands, they beat my feet … they beat my back and my stomach”, says Ӧmir. “They put needles in between my nails and my fingers,” he adds, “then they put iron sticks into my sexual organs”. read the complete article
Western corporations are complicit in the Uighur crisis
While China tries to maintain a façade that these camps are innocuous, with camera crews allowed into selective areas, the mounting evidence depicts a far more sinister reality. Leaked footage, documents and survivors’ testimonies indicate a systematic attempt to erase the Uighur people through torture, forced abortions, mass sterilisation, indefinite detention, medical neglect, and even involuntary adoption of Uighur children into Han Chinese families. Proof of these appalling human rights abuses are emerging constantly, the latest suggesting that potentially 500,000 Tibetans are being placed in similar concentration camps. read the complete article
United Kingdom
“As a young Black Muslim woman I feel excluded in Britain today”
When I was young I remember watching iconic 90’s shows that represented Black women on TV like Living Single, there was Ashley in The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, Tia and Tamera on Sister, Sister and then in the noughties That’s So Raven. These shows highlighted the beauty of being a Black woman and I loved seeing women who looked like me on the screen. However, I don’t remember seeing Black Muslim women represented. So often the narrative of Black womanhood in Britain excludes Black Muslim women. read the complete article
New Zealand
The emergence of far-right fringe parties in New Zealand is causing concern for Muslims
A recent study by the University of Auckland found hate crimes against Muslims in New Zealand spiked in the aftermath of the massacre, making the country "more, not less, dangerous for Muslims and other minorities". “For a lot of people there is still a concern," Ms Rahman said. "A woman reported sitting near the door of a bus to be able to get out quickly. All these other little things they do because they never know, there is still that fear.” read the complete article