SHAH ALAM, 20 July: The residents of Uyghur residing in Xinjiang sometimes are forced to use methods of corruption or bribery to continue to live as Muslims in the province without facing the risk of arrest or imprisonment.
The Vice President of the Malaysian Youth Movement (ABIM), Mohammad Raimi AB Rahim, said that the authorities in China are constantly controlling and monitoring the movements of any individual suspected of trying to violate the rules.
He said that the concerns and fears of the Chinese government to give mandate and rights to the Uyghur Muslims is believed to be linked to political interests.
“The system there is under military control, not too dissimilar to what we see happening in southern Thailand.
“They (the authorities) do not adopt the policy of waiting at mosques to arrest those in the wrong, but they control the freedom of religion and monitor every movement, so all violations can be sniffed out and reported,” he told Selangor Kini.
Raimi further said that the Uyghur people were previously allowed to have their own Shariah Court, collect Zakat and develop Waqf land, however it was all banned after their country was colonised by Communist China.
He said that all titles and privileges were then seized, thus becoming an early sign of the Uyghur people being marginalised and oppressed.
“During the colonial era, they were not allowed to own land and collect Zakat, while the Shariah Court was eliminated (as a form of institution), but in the everyday life of all tenets of Islam was banned to certain groups,” he added.
NS
