Uyghurs: Muslim Scholarly and Institutional Positions

Summary

Muslim governments, the OIC and Indonesian religious bodies have largely avoided confronting China over the Uyghurs, citing sovereignty and trade ties, while US imams, scholars and street protesters press the issue and rights groups and Beijing dispute what is happening in Xinjiang.

What it argues

1. Governments avoid confrontation

   Indonesia's Moeldoko said Jakarta would not interfere in China's "internal affairs" over Uyghur detention. Malaysia's Mahathir said he would not extradite Uyghur refugees but avoided antagonizing China, citing its economic importance. Sovereignty and economic caution outweigh public criticism of Beijing for most Muslim-majority governments.

2. OIC accused of silence

   The OIC's March 2019 resolution "commended" China's efforts to care for its Muslim citizens after a delegation visit. A US Muslim coalition including CAIR said OIC states are "cowed by China's power" and accused the body of abetting what some called a genocide. The chief Muslim intergovernmental body has not condemned Beijing's Xinjiang policy.

3. Indonesian bodies shift position

   NU, Muhammadiyah and MUI sent a joint delegation to Xinjiang in February 2019; a China Islamic Association official told them Uyghurs worship freely under the constitution. By December 2019 NU and Muhammadiyah joined calls for China to end rights violations, a shift BenarNews called a "departure from their previous muted stance"; NU's Robikin Emhas said the group "cannot be dictated to" after a Wall Street Journal report on a Beijing campaign to sway Indonesian clerics. NU's Yahya Staquf compared Xinjiang to Indonesia's Papua, warning prolonged conflict would "destabilize" the region. Indonesia's major Islamic organizations moved from touring Beijing-run camps to urging an end to abuses, while resisting the appearance of being pressured.

4. Economic leverage versus boycotts

   Analysts cited by Jamiatul Ulama KZN say Muslim-majority states' trade ties, Belt and Road financing and AIIB membership discourage criticism of Beijing; Omar Suleiman calls it an "economic chokehold." Indonesian protest leader Slamet Maarif urged Indonesians to boycott Chinese products and withdraw deposits from Chinese banks, turning economic pressure back on Beijing. Economic dependence is presented as the reason for official silence, while activists try to use economic pressure against it.

5. UN split, surveillance documented

   22 states, including Germany, France, Britain and Canada, told the UN Human Rights Council that China practices mass arbitrary detention of Uyghurs; 37 states, including Saudi Arabia, Russia and Pakistan, wrote in China's defense. Human Rights Watch said Xinjiang's monitoring app flags residents such as unlicensed imams and unauthorized Mecca pilgrims for investigation; researcher Maya Wang called it one of the world's "most intrusive" mass-surveillance systems. UN member states and rights investigators give conflicting accounts of China's Xinjiang program, split along bloc lines.

6. Disputed history of conversion

   A Chinese government white paper said Uyghurs were not originally Muslim and were later forced into Islam by conquest, offering this as a justification for current policy. HRW Australia's Elaine Pearson called the paper a "distortion of fact," and scholar James Leibold said the claim is untrue and part of an ongoing "information war." Beijing's historical narrative for its Xinjiang policy is directly contested by rights advocates and academics.

7. US imams condemn persecution

   More than 130 US imams and scholars, including Yasir Qadhi, Omar Suleiman and Malik Mujahid, signed statements demanding China free Uyghurs and restore religious freedom. Qadhi said he was warned off visiting Xinjiang on a trip to China; signatories called for a boycott of camp-labor goods and a Washington DC solidarity rally. American Muslim religious leadership organized public condemnation despite limited access to the region.

8. Street protests in Southeast Asia

   Around 1,000 protesters rallied outside China's embassy in Jakarta and hundreds outside its consulate in Surabaya, calling China's actions "genocide." Roughly 700 demonstrators, including ABIM and Hizbut Tahrir members, gathered in Kuala Lumpur demanding Beijing close the camps. Public Muslim protest against China's Uyghur policy grew visibly across Indonesia and Malaysia.