Visitors look at jewelry at the booth of Pakistan at the Eighth China-Eurasia Expo in Urumqi, Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, on June 27 (XINHUA)

Sept. 12, 2024 -- Contrary to the West's false and misleading information regarding repression of Uygur Muslims in Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, Islam is blossoming with all its religious colors and traditional fashion under the law.

This is an eye-witness observation of a nine-member Pakistani media delegation that visited Urumqi and Yining cities from August 19 to 23. The delegation visited the Xinjiang Counter-Terrorism and Counter-Extremism Exhibition, Xinjiang Islamic Institute (XII), Xinjiang Art Theater Muqam Art Troupe, Xinjiang International Grand Bazaar, Shaanxi Mosque and other places.

The delegation appreciated the local government's steps to provide Islamic educational facilities to Uygur Muslims to learn the true teaching of Islam that is based on peace and shared development.

Well-rounded development

The legitimate rights and interests of the people of all ethnicities in Xinjiang have been protected effectively. All ethnic groups, regardless of their populations, have equal legal status and enjoy freedom of religious belief and various rights in accordance with the law, including participating in the management of state affairs, receiving education, using their own languages and preserving their traditional culture. Additionally, the Xinjiang local government is also working to make Uygur Muslims prosperous. More than 2.7 million impoverished rural people have been lifted out of poverty under current standards, making absolute poverty a thing of the past in Xinjiang. (China announced the elimination of extreme poverty nationwide in 2020—Ed.)

At the same time, a plan is underway to enroll Pakistani and other international students in Islamic studies at the XII as a part of making Xinjiang more open to the Muslim world and enhancing its true Islam-loving image in the eyes of the world.

"Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, the Ministry of Education and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs have been designing policies, modalities and a set of procedures to make things happen. Once all is finalized, the enrollment plan will take effect accordingly," said Professor Kamardin Ahmed at the XII, replying to a question from the Pakistani media delegation.

Dismissing groundless slander against Xinjiang, he said the government has never prohibited Uygur Muslims from learning and reciting the Quran, the holy Muslim book, at home. If required, Imams, prayer leaders in mosques, visit homes to help Uygur Muslim children learn to recite and memorize the Quran with precision, free of charge. The government has even developed mobile apps to better facilitate Uygur Muslims learning to recite the Quran with correct pronunciation, he added.

Responding to a question about the role of the XII in the eradication of terrorism and radicalization in society, he said the institute was established and became operational in 1982, and has been producing academically strong and intellectual graduates every year.

"These young scholars representing the real face of Islam work to detoxify the minds of innocent Muslims. During their interactions with the Uygur Muslim community, they unearth the reality of how imposter Muslims and Islamic fanatics use the name of Islam to sabotage their lives. They also apprise Uygur Muslims of Islam-promoting rules and regulations being executed by the government. This is how, through education and guidance, the XII has been contributing to deradicalizing society," he said.

Xinjiang attaches great importance to the training of Islamic scholars and clerics. Eight branches of the XII have been established in Ili, Changji, Urumqi, Turpan, Aksu, Kizilsu, Kashgar and Hotan. These branches have been providing four-year degree programs. Education is free of charge with boarding provided and around 600 yuan ($84.3) given per month for canteen meals.

People visit the Grand Bazaar Food Street in Urumqi on July 7 (XINHUA)

Refuting Western accusations

"The so-called 'eradication of Islam by the Chinese Government' is nothing but nonsense and slander against China. On the contrary, the government has been doing a lot to promote the healthy development of Islam," an XII student told the delegation.

"As far as I know, the so-called 'religious figures' detained by the government are not clerics. They are criminals who, in the name of Islam, promoted extremist ideas and engaged in separatist, destructive and violent terrorist activities. Taking advantage of the simple religious feelings of Muslims, they spread extremist thoughts, wantonly distorted the doctrine and Sunnah of Islam, and denied all secular concepts and achievements of modern civilization. Some religious figures of moderate faith were rejected, persecuted and even killed by them," he revealed.

China is a country under the rule of law. The government cracks down on all kinds of illegal and criminal activities in accordance with the law, including those involving the misuse of religion. In the fight against crime, it has never targeted any particular religion. Religious extremism is not a religion; it is anti-human, anti-social, anti-civilization and anti-religion. In my view, the purpose of combating religious extremism is to better protect legitimate religious observance.

There have been no violent or terrorist attacks in Xinjiang since the end of 2016. Religious activities of Muslims in the region are being carried out normally. All this demonstrates that Islam is not being eradicated in Xinjiang but has developed.

In Xinjiang, normal religious activities are guaranteed. These activities of Muslims of all ethnic groups are conducted entirely in accordance with their own wishes and never interfered with by anyone. Following the religious doctrine, Sunnah and other traditions, followers chant, pray, preach, fast and celebrate Islamic festivals in mosques and in their own houses. As far as I know, tens of thousands of Muslims from Xinjiang have made pilgrimages to Saudi Arabia in recent years. The customs and practices of Muslims of all ethnic groups in food, festivals, marriage and funeral rituals have been fully respected, and the government has allocated special land for cemeteries for Muslim burial.

The Constitution of the People's Republic of China provides citizens with freedom of religious belief. No government agency, public organization or individual may compel citizens to believe in, or not to believe in, any religion; nor may they discriminate against citizens who believe in or do not believe in any religion. The state protects normal religious activities. The Law on Regional Ethnic Autonomy, the Education Law, the Labor Law and other provisions stipulate that citizens' rights shall not be differentiated or discriminated on the basis of religious belief, including the rights to vote and stand for election, to receive education, to enjoy equal employment and more.

The false claim about "millions of Uygurs detained" in education and training centers was initiated and spread by "Chinese Human Rights Defenders," a non-governmental organization supported by the U.S. Government. Based on interviews with eight Uygurs and rough estimation, the organization came to the preposterous conclusion that at least 10 percent of the 20 million people in Xinjiang were detained in "re-education camps."

The education and training centers in Xinjiang are no different in nature from deradicalization centers or community correction and desistance and disengagement programs of many Western countries. It has been proven to be a successful exploration in preventative counter-terrorism and deradicalization, consistent with the principles and spirit of international counter-terrorism resolutions including the UN Global Counter-Terrorism Strategy and the UN Plan of Action to Prevent Violent Extremism. At the centers, trainees acquire necessary knowledge and employability skills, and gain a stronger sense of national identity, citizenship and the rule of law.

The author is president of Pakistan's Institute of International Relations and Media Research. This article was first published on the China Focus website