Religious persecution of

Muslims
Indus International School Bangalore

Words: 2810

Research question: To what extent has religion played a

role in persecution of Muslims?

By: Zaina Nida Imam

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 TABLE OF CONTENTS:
Topics
1 Abstract
2 Introduction
3 History of the persecution of Muslims
4 Early days of Mecca
5 Imperial Japan
6 Circassian Genocide
7 Bosnian Genocide
8 Sri Lanka
9 Chinese concentration camps
10 Background
11 Persecution of Uighur Muslims
12 The China Cables
13 The Karakax List
14 Rohingya Genocide
15 Background
16 Persecution of Rohingya’s
17 Conclusion

Abstract:

Muslim persecution is imposed on the followers of the Islamic faith. Currently, there have been

acts claimed as genocide taking place in China against Uighur Muslims, in Myanmar against

Rohingya Muslims and plenty of more countries. These current day genocides were committed

at Concentration camps as well as reform camps. Rohingya Muslims have been suffering

persecutions in Myanmar at the hands of Buddhists, In China tens and thousands of Muslims

have been imprisoned in communist China to be indoctrinated by the state. The acts of ethnic

cleansing which is been defined to displace or deport people who are not wanted in that

particular area in order to achieve an ethnically standardized geographic area. Ethnic

cleansing includes homicide, mass killings, rape, torture, discrimination, economic

oppression, deliberate humiliation such as committing haram activities, protracted

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displacement, forced labor, restrictions to practice the religion to be able to get rid of the

unwanted members of a country…all of these have been common in each persecution

taken place. The two recent concentration camps, regardless of having two different

motives, the Muslims trapped inside are being oppressed day in and day out. Muslim

minorities are considered to being one of the most persecuted groups in the world due to

the immense fear and islamophobia and tensions between two different religions has

ultimately made each Muslim fearful of their existence as there is no effective jurisdiction to

give the Muslims who are in fact innocent, the rights to practice their religion.

The Current postulation made in this essay is the persecution of Muslims highlighting the

existing predicament of the Uighur Muslims in the Xinjian region in china and the genocide of

the Rohingya Muslims, these plights along with several more are portraying immense

islamophobia. Islamophobia an exaggerated fear hatred and hostility towards Islam and

Muslims. The prejudice against Muslims is the leading cause for majority of the persecutions

taken place since the medieval times and till the currently as well. From the past to present, not

much has changed except the forms of persecution taken place. This paper will briefly explain

past incidents of Muslim persecution and deeply elaborate on the two current situations: Uighur

Muslims in China and Rohingya Muslims in Myanmar

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Introduction

Religious persecution can be defined as the systematic hostility or ill-treatment encountered by

an individual or group because of their religious beliefs. 1 In the most severe cases, persecution

may take a violent form, with minorities facing physical attacks and threats from the government

or wider community. Religious persecution is defying the principle behind religious freedom.

Religious freedom asserts that individuals should be free to believe in any faith system

according to their conscience. An individual is has the right to manifest their beliefs.

Unfortunately, The Muslim world is in awash due to the oppression of minority faiths.

Muslim persecution is imposed on the ones who practice Islam and it’s faith. In the existing

world, Muslims face religious constraints in approximately 140 countries according to a PEW

report.2  There have been several cases where Islamophobia have also occurred. Currently,

there have been acts claimed as genocide taking place in China against Uighur Muslims, in

Myanmar against Rohingya Muslims and plenty of more countries. These current day genocides

were committed at Concentration camps as well as reform camps. Rohingya Muslims have

been suffering persecutions in Myanmar at the hands of Buddhists.

II. History of Muslim persecution- Selective 

Before going in depth about the persecutions within the Persecution of Islam in the

contemporary World, it’s necessary to briefly underline the History of Religious persecution

1
“Religious Persecution.” Joint Public Issues Team,
www.jointpublicissues.org.uk/issues/religious-persecution/.

2
“How Religious Restrictions Have Risen Around the World.” Pew Research Center's
Religion & Public Life Project, 30 May 2020, www.pewforum.org/2019/07/15/a-closer-look-
at-how-religious-restrictions-have-risen-around-the-world/.

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faced by the Muslims over the years and all over the world. As the main aspect of this paper is

to emphasis on the concentration camps, it’s only going to address the persecution concisely.

a. Medieval- by the polytheists 

Muslims were first persecuted during the early days of Mecca; the holiest city of Islam. Muslims

were subjected to persecution by the polytheists of Mecca. One of the predominant figure of

Islam, Prophet Muhammad was allegedly abused by one of the polytheists, one of the forms of

abuse included throwing the remains of a sacrificed camel all over him. Other forms of included,

renouncing their religion and pray towards the Gods which were followed by. Accordingly, each

Muslim who converted into Islam would be attacked.

b. Medieval- Imperial Japan

In a 1942 massacre there were cases of slaughter, rape, torturing and expulsion of Rohingya

Muslims. There was a policy of economic oppression during a clash between the Japanese and

Chinese forces, formally known as the Sino-Japanese war which involved annihilation of

outward manifestations. Another policy was the humiliation of each Muslim. The deliberate

humiliation included spreading mosques with pork fat and compelling woman to serve as sex

slaves which all go against the values within the Islamic society. The torture of Rohingya

Muslims carry on till this date at Myanmar concentration camps, which will be discussed further

into this paper. 

c. Modern Era- Russian Empire (Circassian massacre)

The Circassian massacre was the systematic mass murder and ethnic cleansing for the

Circassians. The Muslims were repressed through various policies such as discrimination and

exclusion which included the destruction of outward manifestations, The Russian policy was

able to deteriorate Islam my several means of torture. They were able to significantly torture the

Muslims by bringing up elements from before Islam was introduced; elements included forcing

them to worship the Gods and figures worshiped by the Polytheists.

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 d. Current- Bosnia and Herzegovina (Bosnian Genocide)

The Bosnian Genocide was caused by the actions taken by the Bosnian Serb Army. The

genocide occurred during the ethnic cleansing campaign which happened during the Bosnian

War. The ethnic cleansing campaign included various unlawful inhumane treatments of civilians

such a murder, rape, sexual assault, as well as targeting political leaders, deportation, shelling

and the annexation of property and outward manifestations.

e. Current: Sri Lanka

On October 1990 in Sri Lanka there was an act of ethnic cleansing which were formed and

executed by the LTTE organization to in order to achieve a mono ethnic Tamil state

permanently. The organization expelled 75,000 Muslims. The minorities received an immense

growth of persecution and attacks each day, the mosques for the Muslims was attacked

allegedly by a Nationalistic Buddhist group known as the Bodu Bala Sena. Years of ethnic

cleansing for the Sri Lankan Muslims, ultimately lead to the lifelong dream of the Sri Lankan

Buddhist nationalists which was a mono ethnic Tamil state.

Concentration camps

III. Chinese Rehabilitation camps

a) Uighur Muslims in Xinyang

Background

 Article 36 of the Chinese constitution states that the citizens can have their own freedom on

worshipping whoever they believe in. It accordingly prevents the occurrence of discrimination

and compelling citizens towards their faith. However, alongside these official laws and rights

formulated by the Chinese constitution, the government controls on one of the recognized

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religions have heightened tremendously over the years are the Uighur Muslims. There are

approximately eleven million Uighurs in this locality. The government and the officials in Xinjiang

are controlling the Muslim activity within the region, while rests of the Muslims are relatively

enjoying their share of religious freedom which is taken away from the Uighurs. However, the

Hui Muslims are approaching a plight of their own due to the captivity of religious leaders and

the closure of numerous mosques at the northwestern China region. Uighurs has faced fiscal

disregard and administrative discrimination as a minority. 

The suicide bombing incident taken place at the capital of Xinjiang in 2014, resulted in

underlying tensions between ethnic Uighurs and Han Chinese escalated. As a result, the

Chinese authorities installed a system of observation and mass-detention centers which is

called Vocational Education and Training Centers which is operated by the Xinjiang

administration and the CCP committee. The initial aim behind the camps is to combat religious

extremism and separatism ideas and to equip people with employable skills. However. The

campaign isn’t not just targeting just specific behavior but the entire religious groups, including

the innocent.

Persecution of Muslims

The Chinese government justified their acts because of ethnic independence, extremism, and

terrorism each allegedly committed by the Uighurs, for the enforcement of limits on religious

practices of Muslims in Xinjiang. According to an estimation since April 2017, there are more

than one million Uighurs. Accordingly, they were exposed to disappearance without informing

their family and friends, political brainwashing, torment, somatic abuse, including ethnic

cleansing and sexual abuse, labor and detention. These abuses forcibly permitted acts going

against their own religion’s values and ethics.

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The China cables: leaked document3

The China Cables denotes a leaked confidential Chinese government document which reveals

the behind the fence dehumanizing and regulations against the inmates routines.

- Employees must “prevent escapes” by implementing techniques used in prisons.

- The Muslims are only allowed to leave the camps if they fall ill or any unusual

circumstances but need to be accompanied by someone from the camp itself

- They have to stay in the camps for at least a year

- Points-based system within the camp in which the points are calculated by

assessing the ideological change, training and obedience with discipline. The

results determine whether the inmates are permissible to contact family once

released.

- A system which segregates the inmates based on the security they require

- They look after the inmates health and welfare by maintaining hygienic

conditions, avoid the occurrence of disease

- Facilities which can endure fire and earthquakes

- They ensure that they will have a phone conversations and video calls to make

their family feel at ease

This memo describes how the Muslims are trapped within this camp, with nothing more to do

than follow strict rules and regulations. They are attempting to make the Uighur Muslims part of

the Chinese culture by educating them about the laws in the native language itself. With regards

to behavior they are assessing the ideological change, training and obedience with discipline.

3
Amy Wilson-Chapman (International Consortium of Investigative Journalists). “China
Cables: Telegram English.” DocumentCloud,
www.documentcloud.org/documents/6558510-China-Cables-Telegram-English.html.

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On the positive note, the memo reassures the community that the students will be safe from

earthquakes, epidemics and they will be weekly interactions with their parents to assure that the

family feels ease. Regardless of that, the Uighurs are being considered as an inferior minority

amongst the others.

Karakax List4

Leaked records which have come to light add to the mounting evidence of the Persecution of

Muslims. It’s has a list of detainees sent to the camps for the most innocent reasons such as

growing facial hair, fasting or even issuing a passport. According to the document there have

been cases proving that the Uighurs stranded aren’t just the Muslims with religious and

extremist ideas, but instead Muslims who have their own identity and follow their culture.

They contain strategies for how the government plans to target them and for the reasons

behind, and a court case for detainees who got charged for hatred and discrimination

because telling the others not to say bad words, watch porn or eat without praying.

One of the Testimony’s of the inmates explains how he/she was told not to engage in

“religious activities”, forced to sit in rigid postures, talk was forbidden and they were closely

observed. Inspectors checked if faces were trimmed. The ones who defied had to squat or

go to solitary confinement. Uighur’s were forced to disobey their own religion and what all it

stands for by making them a Kafir (disbeliever), if one were to speak against this, they were

charged with a court case.

4
Times), Adrienne Klasa (Financial. “Karakax List Excerpt Redacted.” DocumentCloud,
www.documentcloud.org/documents/6777421-Karakax-List-Excerpt-Redacted.html.

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 In order for a Muslim to confess to a crime they didn’t commit as they needed a valid

justification behind their entrance into the concentration camps, these innocent souls were

torture, shocked, beat up until they weren’t able to take it anymore and confess to a crime

which was never committed. The immorality in this situation proves that the Chinese are

willing to persecute the Uighurs to the extent where even the innocent are in danger .

IV. Rohingya Genocide

Background

The Rohinya have faced years of discrimination and authoritarianism under Myanmar

governments. The Rohingya Muslims were commendably denied citizenship under the 1982

Citizenship Law, leaving them being stateless as they view them as illegal immigrants of

Bangadesh. The Myanmar government discriminated against the minority through several

restrictions such as family, employment, services, marriage, education and freedom.

The Myanmar government itself is breaking the non-discrimination law for each nation

across the globe which states that they need to protect human rights without any kind of

distinction of status’s, highlighting religion as one of them. As the international law

mentions, Myanmar must maintain the law of non-discrimination which is stated above. In

its place, the ultra-nationalist Buddhist organizations have endorsed negativity based

Islamophobia and intolerance against Muslims and other religious minorities. There are groups

which aim are to promote and protect religions but instead of promoting this, they relegate

themselves and spread revulsion on Muslims and present the Muslims as danger with the

usage of pejorative language.

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In 2012, the Rohingya ARSA (Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army), which was considered as

a terrorist group in the eyes of the Myanmar government as they launched deadly attacks

on more than 40 police posts, this was the leading cause towards the exodus. These

clashes caused the military to mount a brutal campaign which ultimately led to the

destruction of hundred thousand Rohingya villages and forced hundred thousand Rohingya

to flee Myanmar and arrive in Bangladesh.

Persecution of Rohingya’s
1) Denied citizenship caused 1,090,000 stateless people in Myanmar- predominantly

Rohingya in Rakhine State.

2) The Rohingya’s which live in the Rakhine State, require approval to move between

townships. The process is often time-consuming. If they aren’t able to reach the

requirements, they will get arrested and prosecuted. Restrictions usually lead to coercion

and persecution.

3) Curfew was imposed since the June 2012 violence supposedly to protect the safety.

However, the curfew prevents the Muslims from worshipping and practicing religion

freely.

4) The one’s who were forced to flee and were displaced in the Rakhine state, in multiple

Concentration camps. There is a strict security and they are closely watched over in

order to prevent escape

5) Rohingyas’ rights to life, liberty and security have been oppressed. There have been

several cases of mistreatment such as beating, burning, scorching facial hair, sexual

degradation and abuse and limited health aid

6) Arrests are often carried out without grounds. There is involuntary entrances and search

of inside of homes without an authorized warrant, this can lead to elimination of property,

extortion and arrest. Not being able to make a

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 7) Protracted displacement, overcrowding in camps aggravate tensions and risks of

domestic violence.

8) Poor availability, affordability and quality of health facilities which leads to delay in

treatment and the escalation of preventable diseases

9) Lowest literacy rates in the country. The non-citizens are restricted from studying

multiple “liberal professions” and are excluded from tertiary education and instead they

rely on temporary education supported by humanitarian organizations

10) Forced labour included maintenance work, guard duty, and the supply of materials

associated with those labour jobs. If they declining the forced labour, they received

various

Since the 2012 incident, there have been approximately 12,000 Rohingya Muslims within

the Rakhine State. They have restricted access to simple services, and the inability to move

freely creating an oppressive living condition for Rohingya’s. Besides violating the right to

freedom of movement, it affects the rights to education, a high standard of health, and an

acceptable standard of living.

Conclusion:

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Over the years since the Medievel times till now, there hasn’t been much changed on the

unfair religious persecution inflicted upon innocent Muslims, the persecution of Muslims

had only one reason, islamophobia regardless of the amount of explanations the country

conveys through media platforms. The acts of ethical cleansing included various unlawful

inhumane treatments of civilians such a murder, rape, sexual assault, as well as targeting

political leaders, deportation, shelling and the annexation of property and outward

manifestations…all of these have been common in each persecution taken place. The two

recent concentration camps, regardless of having two different motives, they are trapped

against their will, being oppressed day in and day out. Muslim’s are tremendously

persecuted religious groups in the world due to the immense fear and islamophobia and

tensions between two different religions have ultimately made each Muslim fearful of their

existence.

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Allen-Ebrahimian, Bethany. “Exposed: China's Operating Manuals for Mass Internment and
Arrest by Algorithm.” ICIJ, International Consortium of Investigative Journalists, 25 Nov.
2019, www.icij.org/investigations/china-cables/exposed-chinas-operating-manuals-for-
mass-internment-and-arrest-by-algorithm/.

“China (Includes Tibet, Xinjiang, Hong Kong, and Macau) - United States Department of
State.” U.S. Department of State, U.S. Department of State, 10 June 2020,
www.state.gov/reports/2019-report-on-international-religious-freedom/china/.

Fortify Rights. Policies of Persecution: Ending Abusive State Policies Against Rohingya
Muslims in Myanmar. 2014,
www.fortifyrights.org/downloads/Policies_of_Persecution_Feb_25_Fortify_Rights.pdf.

“Religious Persecution Around the Globe: A Guide.” Cato Institute, 5 May 2020,
www.cato.org/publications/commentary/religious-persecution-around-globe-guide.

Times), Adrienne Klasa (Financial. “Karakax List Excerpt Redacted.” DocumentCloud,

www.documentcloud.org/documents/6777421-Karakax-List-Excerpt-Redacted.html.

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