Uighur Muslims in China Are Persecuted, Says Pope Francis

Francis mentions plight of Muslim minority in China, alongside Rohingya and Yazidi, in new book

Pope Francis has for the first time called China’s Muslim Uighurs a “persecuted” people, something human rights activists have been urging him to do for years.

In the wide-ranging book Let Us Dream: the Path to a Better Future, he said: “I think often of persecuted peoples: the Rohingya, the poor Uighurs, the Yazidi” in a section where he also talks about persecuted Christians by terrorist groups.

The pope has spoken out before about the Rohingya who have fled Myanmar, and the killing of Yazidi by the terrorist group Islamic State in Iraq, but it is the first time he has mentioned Uighurs.

Faith leaders, activist groups and governments have said crimes against humanity and genocide are taking place against the Uighur Muslim minority in China’s remote Xinjiang region, where more than 1 million people are held in camps.

In the book, he also talked about social, economic, and political changes during the pandemic.

Beijing denies any bad treatment of Muslims

Beijing has rejected the allegations as an attempt to discredit China, saying the camps are vocational education and training centres as part of counter-terrorism and deradicalisation measures.

Zhao Lijian, a Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson, said on Tuesday that Francis’ remarks had “no factual basis at all”.

“People of all ethnic groups enjoy the full rights of survival, development, and freedom of religious belief,” Zhao said at a daily briefing. He made no mention of the camps.

Source: The Guardian