American Shaykh Omar Suleiman accused Pakistan's Prime Minister Imran Khan of not being "completely clean" because he "abandoned" the Uighur Muslims in China while advocating for the Kashmiris.
"Don't give a pass to that garbage," Suleiman told his congregation during his Friday sermon on September 6, a week after Khan addressed the 56th Convention of the Islamic Society of North America (ISNA) via videolink. "Be principled in your critique. Be principled in standing up for your brothers and sisters wherever they are," Suleiman added.
Ever since last summer when U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo started denouncing rival China for detaining up to three million Uighurs in internment camps, Suleiman has been sounding the alarm about the Turkic-speaking Muslim minority in northwestern China being tortured and stripped of their religious rights.
Suleiman circulated a petition earlier this year that quoted Pompeo, then U.S. ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley, and U.S. President Mike Pence "lamenting" over the Chinese treatment of the Uighurs, who they say are suffering "food & sleep deprivation, forced medication, organ harvesting, rape, and torture leading to a brutal death." He also supported a bill passed in the U.S. Senate this week that calls for possible sanctions on Chinese officials, and he urged a "Save Uighur" boycott of Chinese goods. Suleiman even addressed a rally in November 2018 for Uighur rights that called for a free and independent East Turkistan.
Chinese officials, on the other hand, say thousands of Uighurs are returning home from fighting in Syria (some alongside ISIS), including those who intend to turn their military training towards a decade-old separatist movement. "Vocational centers" have been set up to educate and provide skills for Uighurs who were "influenced by religious extremism and committed minor legal offenses" so that they can readjust to society, according to the Chinese government.
The international community is split over the American government's calls for action against China. While 22 nations signed a letter this summer calling for the Chinese government to close down their camps, 37 other countries, including Pakistan, penned one defending China's "remarkable achievements" in human rights.
According to London-based Islamic Human Rights Commission, the Uighurs have been persecuted for decades. So why is Suleiman only concerned now that Pompeo is calling it the "stain of the century."
So concerned that he--who supported the now failed U.S. regime-change operation in Syria that Uigurs were duped into joining, putting them in their current predicament in the first place--is chiding Pakistan for not jumping on the bandwagon to rebuke China, it's neighbor, longtime ally, and heavy economic investor and trade partner.
From Syria to China, Suleiman's social activism is too often in line with U.S foreign policy objectives to the detriment of Muslim countries. Khan's smart to decide for himself when and how to support the Uighurs.
"Don't give a pass to that garbage," Suleiman told his congregation during his Friday sermon on September 6, a week after Khan addressed the 56th Convention of the Islamic Society of North America (ISNA) via videolink. "Be principled in your critique. Be principled in standing up for your brothers and sisters wherever they are," Suleiman added.
Ever since last summer when U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo started denouncing rival China for detaining up to three million Uighurs in internment camps, Suleiman has been sounding the alarm about the Turkic-speaking Muslim minority in northwestern China being tortured and stripped of their religious rights.
Suleiman circulated a petition earlier this year that quoted Pompeo, then U.S. ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley, and U.S. President Mike Pence "lamenting" over the Chinese treatment of the Uighurs, who they say are suffering "food & sleep deprivation, forced medication, organ harvesting, rape, and torture leading to a brutal death." He also supported a bill passed in the U.S. Senate this week that calls for possible sanctions on Chinese officials, and he urged a "Save Uighur" boycott of Chinese goods. Suleiman even addressed a rally in November 2018 for Uighur rights that called for a free and independent East Turkistan.
Chinese officials, on the other hand, say thousands of Uighurs are returning home from fighting in Syria (some alongside ISIS), including those who intend to turn their military training towards a decade-old separatist movement. "Vocational centers" have been set up to educate and provide skills for Uighurs who were "influenced by religious extremism and committed minor legal offenses" so that they can readjust to society, according to the Chinese government.
The international community is split over the American government's calls for action against China. While 22 nations signed a letter this summer calling for the Chinese government to close down their camps, 37 other countries, including Pakistan, penned one defending China's "remarkable achievements" in human rights.
According to London-based Islamic Human Rights Commission, the Uighurs have been persecuted for decades. So why is Suleiman only concerned now that Pompeo is calling it the "stain of the century."
So concerned that he--who supported the now failed U.S. regime-change operation in Syria that Uigurs were duped into joining, putting them in their current predicament in the first place--is chiding Pakistan for not jumping on the bandwagon to rebuke China, it's neighbor, longtime ally, and heavy economic investor and trade partner.
From Syria to China, Suleiman's social activism is too often in line with U.S foreign policy objectives to the detriment of Muslim countries. Khan's smart to decide for himself when and how to support the Uighurs.
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