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The Secretary-General of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) held meetings in Beijing on January 26 with senior Chinese leaders, including the Vice President and the Foreign Minister of the People's Republic of China.
China's state-run Xinhua News Agency reported that the discussions centred on enhancing OIC-China relations and broadening dialogue and cooperation in political, economic, cultural, educational and health-related fields, with both sides highlighting longstanding ties and shared interests, as reported by the Centre for Uyghur Studies (CUS). The CUS has voiced serious concern regarding this engagement, which comes at a time when the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) continues to perpetrate genocide and widespread violations of religious freedom against Uyghur Muslims, while also suppressing other religious communities, including Tibetans and Chinese Christians. These abuses include mass arbitrary detentions, forced labour transfers, extensive digital and physical surveillance, separation of families, destruction and desecration of mosques, and the complete criminalisation of religious life in East Turkistan. CUS stressed that these violations are not isolated events but form part of a state-directed campaign aimed at erasing Uyghur religious and cultural identity. Uyghur Muslims remain systematically denied their right to freedom of religion. Since 2017, the CCP has penalised Uyghurs for basic religious practices such as praying, fasting, wearing the hijab, giving children Muslim names, or travelling to Muslim-majority countries. Many individuals previously held in detention camps have been channelled into coercive labour programmes across China, continuing crimes against humanity under a different guise, according to the CUS press release. Executive Director Abdulhakim Idris stated, "The OIC was established to protect the rights, dignity and interests of Muslim communities around the world. Therefore, 'unwavering support for China on Xinjiang' represents a betrayal of its founding mission. It effectively amounts to endorsing the eradication of the Uyghur Muslim faith through the Sinicisation of Islam. Portraying China as a friend of the Muslim world is blatant hypocrisy," as cited in the release. China's efforts to present itself as a friendly partner to the Muslim world sharply contradict realities on the ground, where Islam is viewed as a threat to be controlled through repression and forced assimilation. CUS urged the OIC and its Member States to honour their founding mandate with moral clarity and principled action. Remaining silent or engaging uncritically in the face of genocide only empowers perpetrators and worsens the suffering of Uyghur Muslims, the CUS release stated. (ANI)
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