A delegation of some 30 Islamic religious experts and scholars from 14 Muslim-majority countries – including Bahrain, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Tunisia, and the United Arab Emirates – recently visited Xinjiang, according to media outlets.
During their stay, they praised China’s goals and policies, including its effective and rigorous fight against “terrorism”, but kept silent about the rights of the region’s Uyghur Muslims and the human rights abuses and persecution they have to endure.
Uyghur academics, scholars and leading figures slammed what they call “propaganda” perpetrated by the multinational Islamic delegation.
Beijing, they warn, will use them as part of its political marketing to deny more forcefully reports that thousands of Uyghur Muslims have been jailed or sent to re-education and labour camps.
The delegation was organised by the World Muslim Communities Council (WMCC), which promoted the visit to China’s westernmost regions, home to Uyghurs and other Turkic-speaking groups, who are mostly Muslims.
Beijing’s abuses against the Uyghurs in Xinjiang remain an unresolved issue at the UN Human Rights Council, which recently rejected an internal report on human rights violations in the province and refused to open a debate.
