We take a look at the significance and history of the Islamic New Year, an occasion of self-reflection that marks the ushering in of Muslim civilisation.

Dark winter evenings and skies lit up by fireworks are how many in the northern hemisphere think of New Year celebrations. But for Muslims around the world, it is an occasion marked in contemplation and reflection. While some years it occurs in winter, it can also fall in all the other seasons. 

That is because it follows the lunar Islamic calendar, also known as the Hijri calendar, the Arabic adjective of the word hijra, meaning migration. It refers to the Prophet Muhammad's departure in 622 CE from his hometown of Mecca, fleeing persecution from his tribe, to the city Medina, where he ushered in the start of the Muslim civilization.


For this, the Hijri calendar holds religious significance for Muslims and was used exclusively for daily affairs until a process of westernisation under European imperial rule across most of the Muslim world gave prominence to the Gregorian calendar.

Yet the Hijri calendar remains vital for Muslims, as it is used to determine the dates of important events, such as the start of Ramadan, Eid celebrations and the Hajj pilgrimage. 

Here, Discover answers some key questions about the Islamic New Year. 

When is Islamic New Year?

This year, Muslims will mark the new year on the evening of 29 July, officially starting the new year on 30 July.

The Islamic New Year is on the first day of Muharram, which is the first month in the Hijri calendar. 
 
In Islamic tradition, the calendar day begins at sunset, so New Year's day is considered to officially start on the evening of the final day of Dhul Hijjah, which is the 12th month of the calendar. 

Dhul Hijah is also important for Muslims as it is the month that Hajj, the pilgrimage that is one of the five pillars of Islam, takes place.  

 
How do Muslims mark the New Year?

While in many parts of the world New Year's eve is celebrated with elaborate parties, copious amounts of food and drink as well as setting resolutions, for Muslims, marking the start of a fresh year is more about spiritual reflection.

Some people will choose this time to wish others a happy Islamic New Year and meet with family and friends. 

Others will use the day as an opportunity to immerse themselves in reciting the Quran or studying Islamic teachings to better themselves and connect with their faith. 
 
For Muslims, the start of a new year is the perfect time to reflect on how they can improve their behaviour, lives and relationship with God. 

In a way similar to how traditional New Year's resolutions are made, many Muslims will also set religious goals to strive towards, and use the occasion to plan what they can do to move forward and strengthen their values. 

Generally, the day is spent in contemplation and reflection. No big celebrations are held, even in Muslim-majority countries, as the occasion is not an official Islamic holiday.

How does the lunar calendar work?

The Islamic calendar is governed by the movements of the moon, meaning that each month starts with a new lunar cycle, marked by the "birth" of a new crescent moon.

As it is based on the lunar calendar, the Islamic calendar only has 354-355 days, because a lunar cycle typically lasts for 29 or 30 days rather than the 30 or 31 days per month in the solar calendar, which the dominant Gregorian calendar is based on. 

If a new crescent moon is spotted on the 29th day, this marks the end of the lunar cycle, hence a new month starts the next day. 

Religious custom states it is only necessary for one Muslim in the community to spot the moon for a new month to be announced.
 
 
Today, modern technology means that observing the moon is much easier and more scientifically accurate. It has therefore become a tradition among Muslims to try spotting it themselves and not rely on any one country to sight the moon. 

For Muslims, the Islamic lunar calendar is of particular importance as it marked the start of a new chapter for the religion. The calendar was introduced officially by the second successor, or Khalifa, to Prophet Muhammad, Umar ibn al-Khattab, amidst a growing need to have a calendar system in place for the expanding Muslim empire at the time. 

Although other calendars, such as those used by the Romans and Persians, existed at the time, it was decided that the Muslims should have their own, in an effort to pioneer their civilisation and distinguish their religion.

There was great deliberation as to when the first calendar year should commence. While some suggested the year of the prophet's birth or death, it was decided that it would start with the time that Muslims migrated, as they were able to escape persecution and Islam began to flourish and grow from this point on. 

Then came discussions around which month the calender should start, and upon the suggestion of Uthman ibn Affan, the third successor to the prophet, it was decided that it should be Muharram, a month that is seen as sacred and symbolic of new beginnings, as it came right after the month in which Hajj took place. Muslims believe that after completling Hajj, all of their sins are wiped out. 

Is Islamic new year a public holiday?

Although many Muslims still refer to the Islamic lunar calendar for religious events, most live their day-to-day using the Gregorian calendar.

Some Muslim majority countries still refer to the Hijri calendar in official documents, as well as the Gregorian calendar. 

Few countries, including the United Arab Emirates and Malaysia, will be marking the day as a public holiday. Others may mark the day by allowing some businesses to close earlier and function at a slower pace, as people take breaks and spend time with their families and friends.  Collapse Read »

Hello everybody, today, 1 Muharram 1444 Saturday, July 30, 2022 First day of the new year according to the Hijri Calendar.
 Greetings to all my Muslim friends from Istanbul, Turkey. 
I wish everyone a healthy , happy , peaceful year in unity , respect , peace , love and harmony .
 
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 You can know all the details via reading the official pdf document online.  ]PDF document online[/url]
 
 
The Xinjiang Production and Construction Corps (also known as the XPCC or Bingtuan or corps) is a state-run paramilitary corporate conglomerate that operates in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region (Uyghur Region or XUAR) of the People’s Republic of China (PRC). The XPCC functions as a regional government, a paramilitary organization, a bureau of prisons, a media empire, an educational system, and one of the world’s largest state-run corporate enterprises. The central government of the PRC considers the XPCC a “special system of integration of government, military and enterprise.” As such, the XPCC is a colonial institution, responsible for land expropriation and explicitly dispatched by the top levels of the party-state to act as a military and industrial force to suppress Uyghur dissent.

The XPCC has been sanctioned by the United States government and has been banned from importing its goods into the country, all because of the Bingtuan’s role in human rights violations in the Uyghur Region. Other countries have sanctioned XPCC officials. As this report documents in stark detail, the XPCC is involved in a pervasive program of egregious rights violations that effect the most marginalized people in the Uyghur Region. The region, its people, and their identities are seen as critical security threats to China’s cultural integrity, the stability of the state’s borders, and the absolute authority of the CCP. In the last five years in particular, the XPCC has played a critical role in suppressing Uyghur life, culture, and identity through the following means:

• extrajudicial internment and imprisonment 
• land expropriation 
• forcible migration of people
• repressive, pre-emptive policing
• social engineering
• religious persecution 
• forced labour

From cradle to grave, Uyghur people are subjected to centrally directed indoctrination delivered by the XPCC. The XPCC’s deliberate program of social engineering requires that every minoritized citizen shed their cultural heritage and language in favour of Han practices and Xi Jinping ideology. This report documents the way this constellation of repressive programs is designed to make the Uyghur people docile and dependent on the state. It identifies the ways the XPCC has operationalized these programs in the last five years to create a reign of terror. 

"Until Nothing Is Left" documents in great detail the inner workings and policies of the XPCC, designed to suppress and colonize the Indigenous people of the Uyghur Region. The report provides:

• a clear history of the XPCC
• extensive documentation of the XPCC's internment and prison system with visuals of their development and growth in the last five years
• in-depth evidence of the colonial government's human rights violations
• a section on the XPCC's systematic program of forced labour
• a supply chain risk section that carefully examines XPCC cotton, tomato, chemicals, and construction
• new evidence of the movement of cotton from XPCC to the rest of China and a list of warehouses and logistics companies that are purchasing XPCC cotton, useful for companies procuring cotton from China
• an expose of international investments in and contracts to the XPCC's main construction company

This report traces some of the XPCC’s most important products and services – cotton, tomatoes, chemicals, and construction – out to the rest of the world through supply chains and investments, revealing the way international spending supports this regime of oppression.
 
 

 
 

 

    ]Documents Related to the XPCC[/url]
 
Over the course of the 18 months of research for this report, HKC collected troves of publicly available XPCC corporate reports, publicity videos, and other related materials. Though they were not all cited in the report, we share all of those materials here for the benefit of researchers and others interested in the Bingtuan.
 
 ]Annex A: XPCC Cotton Customers and Suppliers (PDF, 446.9KB)[/url]
 ]Annex B: Corporate Responses (PDF, 11.5KB)[/url]
 

 
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Independent Kashmiri journalist Aakash Hassan became the latest critic of the Modi regime to be barred from leaving India by immigration authorities at Delhi airport. Authorities questioned Hassan and forced him to wait for 5 hours without providing him with food or water before refusing to allow him to board his flight to Sri Lanka.

Hassan, who has reported on human rights abuses by Indian officials in Kashmir for a number of publications, including Al Jazeera and The Intercept, was not given any reason as to why he was being barred from leaving India.

“The officials are not giving me any reason for why I am not allowed…  I was questioned by two officials about my background, travel purpose,” he tweeted during the ordeal. “After making me wait for five hours, without providing even water to drink, I have been handed over my passport and boarding pass with a red rejection stamp: ‘Cancelled Without Prejudice.’”

Hassan’s story is the latest in a series of incidents where Indian authorities have stopped journalists and human rights defenders from travelling abroad. Earlier this month, Kashmiri photojournalist and Pulitzer Prize winner Sana Irshad Mattoo was prevented from travelling to Paris without any reason from immigration officials. In March, India-based Washington Post columnist Rana Ayyub was stopped from boarding a flight to London, where she was slated to speak at an event about democracy and press freedoms in India.  In April, Amnesty International India Chair and human rights defender Aakar Patel was barred from travelling to the United States.

Journalist Receives Arrest Warrant After Exposing BJP’s Problematic Economic Dealings 

Freelance journalist Ravi Nair, who has written a number of pieces exposing the problematic nature of several of the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party’s (BJP) economic policies and business dealings, was served an arrest warrant by the Delhi Police without warning.

The warrant was in connection with a criminal defamation suit filed against Nair by the Adani Group, a multinational conglomerate whose chair, Gautam Adani, has close ties with Narendra Modi. Nair had previously written critically on the relationship between the conglomerate and the central government.
 
Similar to other cases registered by the Modi regime and its supporters against human rights defenders and journalists, Nair did not receive a summons or a copy of the complaint, leaving him shocked by the news of the arrest warrant.

“I didn’t even know that there was a case filed against me. They should have served summons first. If the court has sent a summons, it never came to me… I have never received anything,” Nair said.

The shrinking freedoms of Indian journalists, particularly those who have produced content critical of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), have been cause for alarm among watchdog organizations that monitor global press freedoms. Reporters Without Borders in 2022 ranked India at 150 out of 180 countries in terms of press freedom and safety for journalists, a staggering 8-point plunge from the year before. Journalists continue to be regularly harassed through the judiciary; notable recent cases include the arrest of fact-checker and AltNews cofounder Mohammad Zubair for criticizing Hindu supremacists, and Rupesh Kumar Singh, who was arrested for raising awareness about police brutality against India’s indigenous Adivasi people.

Muslim Parliamentarian Asaduddin Owaisi Slams BJP Hypocrisy In Treatment Of Hindus Versus Muslims

Muslim parliamentarian Asaduddin Owaisi, Chief of the All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) party, slammed the BJP’s blatant hypocrisy in its treatment of Hindus versus Muslims after officials of the BJP-ruled government of Uttar Pradesh dispatched a helicopter to shower flower petals on devotees taking part in the Hindu pilgrimage Kanwar Yatra.

 
“The BJP-led Uttar Pradesh government is showering flower petals on Kanwariyas (Hindu devotees) using public money. We want them to treat everyone equally. They do not shower flowers on us (Muslims). Instead, they bulldoze our houses,” Owaisi told reporters at India’s Parliament complex.

He added, “If a Muslim offers prayers in an open place even for a few minutes, it leads to a row. Muslims are facing police bullets, custodial clashes, NSA, UAPA, lynchings, bulldozers just for being Muslims.” Collapse Read »

66:1


O Prophet! Why do you prohibit ˹yourself˺ from what Allah has made lawful to you, seeking to please your wives? And Allah is All-Forgiving, Most Merciful.
— Dr. Mustafa Khattab



66:2


Allah has already ordained for you ˹believers˺ the way to absolve yourselves from your oaths. For Allah is your Guardian. And He is the All-Knowing, All-Wise.
— Dr. Mustafa Khattab



66:3


˹Remember˺ when the Prophet had ˹once˺ confided something to one of his wives, then when she disclosed it ˹to another wife˺ and Allah made it known to him, he presented ˹to her˺ part of what was disclosed and overlooked a part. So when he informed her of it, she exclaimed, “Who told you this?” He replied, “I was informed by the All-Knowing, All-Aware.”
— Dr. Mustafa Khattab



66:4


˹It will be better˺ if you ˹wives˺ both turn to Allah in repentance, for your hearts have certainly faltered. But if you ˹continue to˺ collaborate against him, then ˹know that˺ Allah Himself is his Guardian. And Gabriel, the righteous believers, and the angels are ˹all˺ his supporters as well.
— Dr. Mustafa Khattab



66:5


Perhaps, if he were to divorce you ˹all˺, his Lord would replace you with better wives who are submissive ˹to Allah˺, faithful ˹to Him˺, devout, repentant, dedicated to worship and fasting—previously married or virgins.
— Dr. Mustafa Khattab



66:6


O believers! Protect yourselves and your families from a Fire whose fuel is people and stones, overseen by formidable and severe angels, who never disobey whatever Allah orders—always doing as commanded.
— Dr. Mustafa Khattab



66:7


˹The deniers will then be told,˺ “O disbelievers! Make no excuses this Day! You are only rewarded for what you used to do.”
— Dr. Mustafa Khattab



66:8


O believers! Turn to Allah in sincere repentance, so your Lord may absolve you of your sins and admit you into Gardens, under which rivers flow, on the Day Allah will not disgrace the Prophet or the believers with him. Their light will shine ahead of them and on their right. They will say, “Our Lord! Perfect our light for us, and forgive us. ˹For˺ You are truly Most Capable of everything.”
— Dr. Mustafa Khattab



66:9


O Prophet! Struggle against the disbelievers and the hypocrites, and be firm with them. Hell will be their home. What an evil destination!
— Dr. Mustafa Khattab



66:10


Allah sets forth an example for the disbelievers: the wife of Noah and the wife of Lot. Each was married to one of Our righteous servants, yet betrayed them. So their husbands were of no benefit to them against Allah whatsoever. Both were told, “Enter the Fire, along with the others!”
— Dr. Mustafa Khattab



66:11


And Allah sets forth an example for the believers: the wife of Pharaoh, who prayed, “My Lord! Build me a house in Paradise near You, deliver me from Pharaoh and his ˹evil˺ doing, and save me from the wrongdoing people.”
— Dr. Mustafa Khattab



66:12


˹There is˺ also ˹the example of˺ Mary, the daughter of ’Imrân, who guarded her chastity, so We breathed into her ˹womb˺ through Our angel ˹Gabriel˺. She testified to the words of her Lord and His Scriptures, and was one of the ˹sincerely˺ devout.
— Dr. Mustafa Khattab



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Rohingya refugees, fleeing military operations in Myanmar's Rakhine state, try to cross the border in Palongkhalii of Cox's Bazar, Bangladesh on October 16, 2017.

Stringer/Anadolu Agency/Getty Images/FILEThe World Court on Friday rejected Myanmar’s objections to a genocide case over its treatment of the Muslim Rohingya minority, paving the way for the case to be heard in full.

Myanmar, now ruled by a military junta that seized power in 2021, had argued that Gambia, which brought the suit, had no standing to do so at the top UN court, formally known as the International Court of Justice (ICJ).

But presiding Judge Joan Donoghue said all states that had signed the 1948 Genocide Convention could and must act to prevent genocide, and the court had jurisdiction in the case.

“Gambia, as a state party to the genocide convention, has standing,” she said, reading a summary of the 13-judge panel’s ruling.

The court will now proceed to hearing the merits of the case, a process that will take years.

Gambia took up the Rohingya’s cause in 2019, backed by the 57-nation Organisation for Islamic Cooperation, in a suit aiming to hold Myanmar accountable and prevent further bloodshed.

Gambia Justice Minister Dawda Jallow said outside the courtroom he was “very happy” with the decision and was confident the suit would prevail.

Gambia became involved after his predecessor, Abubacarr Tambadou, a former prosecutor at the UN Rwanda tribunal, visited a refugee camp in Bangladesh and said that the stories he heard evoked memories of the genocide in Rwanda.

A representative for Myanmar said the state would do its “utmost” to protect the country’s “national interest” in further proceedings.

Protesters outside the court’s gates hoisted a red banner with the text “Free Burma” and yelled at cars carrying the junta’s representatives leaving the building after the decision.

A UN fact-finding mission concluded that a 2017 military campaign by Myanmar that drove 730,000 Rohingya into neighboring Bangladesh had included “genocidal acts.”

Myanmar has denied genocide, rejecting the UN findings as “biased and flawed.” It says its crackdown was aimed at Rohingya rebels who had carried out attacks.

While the Hague court’s decisions are binding and countries generally follow them, it has no way of enforcing them.

In a 2020 provisional decision it ordered Myanmar to protect the Rohingya from harm, a legal victory that established their right under international law as a protected minority.

However Rohingya groups and rights activists say there has been no meaningful attempt to end their systemic persecution.

Rohingya are still denied citizenship and freedom of movement in Myanmar. Tens of thousands have now been confined to squalid displacement camps for a decade.

Bangladesh’s Foreign Ministry welcomed the judgment in a statement.

“For the victims living in the camps in Bangladesh as well as in Myanmar, they see the hope that justice will be delivered to them and that the perpetrators in the Myanmar military will be brought to accountability,” said Ambia Parveen of the European Rohingya Council outside the court.

The junta has imprisoned democratic leader Aung San Suu Kyi, who defended Myanmar personally in 2019 hearings in The Hague. Collapse Read »

On 23 June, a court in Bukhara Region jailed Muslim Bobirjon Tukhtamurodov for five years and one month in ordinary regime labour camp to punish his participation in a group that studied the works of the late Turkish Muslim theologian Said Nursi between 2006 and 2010. The Judge set Tukhtamurodov's remaining jail term at nearly four and a half years, taking account of time he had spent in custody in Russia.

In 2010, amid a wave of arrests and jailings of fellow Nursi readers (among them his brother), Tukhtamurodov fled to Russia where he was detained for seven months. He was finally ordered to leave Russia in February 2022. Despite assurances from the Uzbek authorities that he would not be arrested if he returned, officials arrested him at Tashkent airport on arrival on 11 April (see below).

Vobkent District Prosecutor Umid Nurullayev, who led the prosecution case in court, refused to answer any of Forum 18's questions on 25 July (see below).

The Judge in the case, Akrom Rakhimov, told Forum 18 that prisoner of conscience Tukhtamurodov was jailed as: "He not only read literature, but spread his beliefs and met others." When Forum 18 asked why he should be punished for exercising his rights to freedom of expression and freedom of religion or belief, the Judge replied: "I put all this in the verdict. If he is not satisfied with the decision he can appeal" (see below).

Prisoner of conscience Tukhtamurodov, who is now 47, chose not to appeal against the conviction. "He thinks there is no point in appealing," a friend told Forum 18. "He also fears they could increase his punishment" (see below).

In 2016, Uzbekistan's Supreme Court banned Nurchilar (which means Nursi followers) along with 21 other organisations. All of them were labelled "terrorist", even though only some – such as Al-Qaida and Islamic State – are internationally recognised as such. Five UN Special Rapporteurs in 2021 jointly criticised the use by the regime of "terrorism" and "extremism" claims "as an excuse to suppress peaceful minority groups and their members" (see below).

Muslims who meet to study Nursi's books deny that any formal organisation such as Nurchilar has ever existed. Typically, such Muslims meet in homes to study Islam, with one or more expounding on Nursi's works. They also pray, eat, and drink tea together, and do not seek state permission to meet (see below).

Such Muslims were apparently unaware of the Supreme Court decision, which does not appear to have been published, a Muslim who knows such cases told Forum 18. Forum 18 asked the Supreme Court on 25 July for a copy of the decision, but it had not responded by the end of the working day on 26 July (see below).

The Interior Ministry declared in a 23 July statement that joint action with unnamed "foreign partners" had halted prisoner of conscience Tukhtamurodov's activity as a member of the "religious extremist organisation Nurchilar". Russia – where Tukhtamurodov fled – in 2016 also banned what it describes as Nurdzhular, and some Muslims who met with others to study the works of theologian Nursi are on criminal trial in Russia on "extremism" charges (see below).

Uzbekistan's Interior Ministry claimed that Tukhtamurodov had recruited "talented young people" to the movement, "educating them against democratic rule in the country, as well as by distributing materials and literature full of extremist ideas". No election in Uzbekistan has ever been found to be free and fair by OSCE election observers (see below).

Apart from prisoner of conscience Tukhtamurodov, it does not appear that in 2022 the regime is currently specifically targeting other Muslims who have met to study Nursi's works (see below).

Other recent prisoners of conscience jailed for exercising freedom of religion or belief
 
The regime continues to jail other Muslims to punish them for exercising freedom of religion or belief. On 27 May, a court in Karakalpakstan jailed trauma surgeon Alimardon Sultonov, a devout Muslim known for discussing Muslim freedom of religion and belief issues, for seven years in a labour camp. He had been tortured in pre-trial detention.

On 17 May, Andijan City Criminal Court handed down a five-year strict regime prison sentence to former Muslim prisoner of conscience Oybek Khamidov. He was jailed again to punish him for sharing an audio sermon with his wife.

On 28 April, Karshi District Criminal Court jailed Muslim prisoner of conscience Khasan Abdirakhimov for four years in an ordinary regime labour camp. Judge Orzimurod Shukurov told Forum 18 that he jailed prisoner of conscience Abdirakhimov "because he put likes under [religious] materials, and shared them with others on the internet".

The regime attempts to impose complete state control of all expressions of Islam, including from 2018 ordering mosques to pay for surveillance cameras controlled by the regime to be installed inside and outside mosques. In early 2022, the Interior Ministry also ordered non-Muslim communities to install the cameras. Muslim and non-Muslim religious communities and followers have told Forum 18 that some people have stopped attending meetings for worship, for fear of being identified and then facing state reprisals. A Muslim commented that "we want to concentrate on our meetings for worship, and not be afraid".
 
2016 Supreme Court ban on Nursi reading groupsOn 26 September 2016, Uzbekistan's Supreme Court banned Nurchilar (which means Nursi followers) along with 21 other organisations. All of them were labelled "terrorist", even though only some – such as Al-Qaida and Islamic State – are internationally recognised as such.

On 29 July 2021, five UN Special Rapporteurs made a joint statement strongly criticising among other things the Religion Law's multiple violations of international human rights law. The Special Rapporteurs on: freedom of religion or belief; the promotion and protection of the right to freedom of opinion and expression; the rights to freedom of peaceful assembly and association; minority issues; and the promotion and protection of human rights and fundamental freedoms while countering terrorism, among numerous other things jointly criticised (OL UZB 4/2021) the use of "terrorism" and "extremism" claims "as an excuse to suppress peaceful minority groups and their members".

Muslims who meet to study Nursi's books deny that any formal organisation such as Nurchilar has ever existed. Typically, such Muslims meet in homes to study Islam, with one or more expounding on Nursi's works. They also pray, eat, and drink tea together, and do not seek state permission to meet.

Such Muslims were apparently unaware of the Supreme Court decision, which does not appear to have been published, a Muslim who knows such cases told Forum 18. Forum 18 asked the Supreme Court on 25 July for a copy of the decision, but it had not responded by the end of the working day on 26 July in Tashkent.

Apart from prisoner of conscience Tukhtamurodov, it does not appear that in 2022 the regime is currently specifically targeting other Muslims who have met to study Nursi's works.

2019 ban on Nursi's booksOn 25 December 2019, the regime's Religious Affairs Committee harshened the existing severe state censorship system for all religious texts by approving an updated list of banned "extremist" texts.

Around 200 texts from a very wide range of Muslim backgrounds were banned, including all texts by the late Turkish theologian Said Nursi, all texts by adherents of the Tabligh Jamaat Muslim missionary group, and texts by Ahmadi Muslims. A wide range of other Islamic authors are also banned.

Arrested on enforced return to Uzbekistan
 
In 2006 and after, groups of Muslim young men from Bukhara met to study their faith in groups using the works of the late Turkish Muslim theologian Said Nursi. The regime began mass arrests of Nursi readers in December 2008.

Botir Tukhtamurodov was among nine Muslim men jailed in Bukhara in April 2009 in the first of three group trials of Nursi readers in the city. Nine more were sentenced in Bukhara in June 2010 and a further nine or ten in the following months.

In January 2010, Bobirjon Baratovich Tukhtamurodov (born 9 July 1975), Botir Tukhtamurodov's brother and also a Nursi reader, fled Uzbekistan after being warned his arrest was likely.

The Russian authorities arrested Bobirjon Tukhtamurodov in August 2010 after a request from Uzbekistan. In 2011 he succeeded in having an extradition order back to Uzbekistan overturned in court.

In 2021, police in Bukhara put up Wanted posters of Tukhtamurodov in the neighbourhood of the city where his family lives. The posters described him as an "extremist" and offered an unspecified reward for those helping to locate him.

In February 2022, the Russian authorities refused to extend Tukhtamurodov's leave to remain in Russia, and ordered to him to leave the country. "He had no place to go other than Uzbekistan," Muslims who know the case told Forum 18.

Tukhtamurodov, the Muslims said, then contacted Uzbekistan's government, which assured him that he would not be arrested. "Despite this, he was arrested when he arrived in Tashkent International airport on 11 April and immediately transferred to a Bukhara prison."

On 6 May, Bukhara City Criminal Court gave Tukhtamurodov six months' pre-trial detention. Court officials refused on 11 May to answer Forum 18's questions on the case, including why prisoner of conscience Tukhtamurodov was arrested and imprisoned when he was assured this would not happen.

State Security Service (SSS) secret police Chief Investigator for Bukhara Region Captain I. Nematov then investigated Tukhtamurodov under Criminal Code articles 244-1 ("Production, storage, distribution or display of materials containing a threat to public security and public order"), and 244-2 ("Creation, leadership or participation in religious extremist, separatist, fundamentalist or other banned organisations").

Bukhara Region Police "Struggle with Extremism and Terrorism Department" continued the investigation into Tukhtamurodov.

Officials claimed on 11 May that the head of Bukhara Region police "Struggle with Extremism and Terrorism Department", Colonel Sayfiddin Mukhamedov, was busy. His Deputy, Lieutenant Colonel Akbar Bafoyev, put the phone down as soon as Forum 18 introduced itself the same day. Subsequent calls went unanswered.

The indictment was completed on 20 April.

"The family hopes that Bobirjon will either be amnestied or given a suspended sentence," Muslims who wished to remain anonymous for fear of state reprisals told Forum 18 before the trial. "The authorities in Bukhara told them that he must be tried because the case needs to be closed, but that they will not imprison him."

Video trialProsecutors brought charges against Tukhtamurodov under:
- Criminal Code Article 244-1 ("Production, storage, distribution or display of materials containing a threat to public security and public order"), Part 3 (a) carried out by a group of people, with a punishment of 5 to 8 years' imprisonment;
- and Criminal Code Article 244-2 ("Creation, leadership or participation in religious extremist, separatist, fundamentalist or other banned organisations"), Part 1, with a punishment of 5 to 15 years' imprisonment.

Prosecutors handed the case to the District Criminal Court in Vobkent, 30 kms (20 miles) north of Bukhara. The case was assigned to Judge Akrom Rakhimov. The trial began on 24 May, with Tukhtamurodov represented by a state-appointed lawyer from Vobkent, Gulom Niyozov.

It remains unclear why Tukhtamurodov's case was sent to trial in Vobkent and not in Bukhara, where he and his family live. "No one knows why," one friend told Forum 18. "It was very strange."

People who know the case complained to Forum 18 on 27 May that it is a "violation of Tukhtamurodov's rights to conduct the trial in Vobkent, which is 30 kms from Bukhara where he was born and where his family lives as well as where the alleged crime took place."

They explained that Tukhtamurodov is "not even brought to the courtroom but there is a video link to him from Otbozor prison [in Bukhara], where he is kept". They complained that witnesses who would like to speak for him and his family "had to travel a long way from their home".

Judge Rakhimov insisted that criminal cases can be heard in any court in the region. "This was dictated by the flow of cases in the region," he told Forum 18 on 25 July.

Judge Rakhimov defended Tukhtamurodov's participation in the trial by videolink from the Investigation Prison in Bukhara. "He didn't object to this," Judge Rakhimov told Forum1 8. "It's not the first trial where people have participated via video." He said the hearings had been open and Tukhtamurodov's wife, brother and other relatives, as well as neighbours, had been able to be present in the courtroom. "There were no restrictions."

Forum 18 could not reach the state-appointed lawyer Niyozov. His phone went unanswered on 25 July.

Five years and one month jail termOn 23 June, at the end of the trial at Vobkent District Criminal Court, Judge Rakhimov found Tukhtamurodov guilty on both charges. He sentenced him to five years' imprisonment on each charge, with a combined total jail term of five years and one month in ordinary regime labour camp, according to the decision seen by Forum 18.

The Judge then took into account the time Tukhtamurodov had spent in detention in the Russian city of Novosibirsk between August 2010 and March 2011. He set the remaining prison term that Tukhtamurodov must serve as four years, five months and 25 days.

Judge Rakhimov told Forum 18 that Tukhtamurodov should be punished as: "He not only read literature, but spread his beliefs and met others." When Forum 18 asked why he should be punished for exercising his rights to freedom of expression and freedom of religion or belief, the Judge replied: "I put all this in the verdict. If he is not satisfied with the decision he can appeal."

Vobkent District Prosecutor Umid Nurullayev, who led the prosecution case in court, refused to answer any of Forum 18's questions on 25 July.

The Interior Ministry declared in a 23 July statement that joint action with unnamed "foreign partners" had halted Tukhtamurodov's activity as a member of the "religious extremist organisation Nurchilar".

Russia – where Tukhtamurodov fled – in 2016 also banned what it describes as Nurdzhular, and some Muslims who met with others to study the works of theologian Nursi are on criminal trial in Russia on "extremism" charges.

"Educating them against democratic rule"Uzbekistan's Interior Ministry claimed that Tukhtamurodov had recruited "talented young people" to the movement, "educating them against democratic rule in the country, as well as by distributing materials and literature full of extremist ideas".

No election in Uzbekistan has ever been found to be free and fair by OSCE election observers.

"No point in appealing"
 
Prisoner of conscience Tukhtamurodov chose not to appeal against the conviction. "He thinks there is no point in appealing," a friend told Forum 18. "He also fears they could increase his punishment."

After prisoner of conscience Abdirakhimov's 28 April four-year jail sentence, the family said that they will not appeal against the new sentence. "We are afraid that if we appeal the authorities could extend his prison term," they told Forum 18.

Tukhtamurodov is at present in the Investigation Prison in Bukhara, popularly known as Otbozor because of its location. He is likely to be sent to serve his sentence in a labour camp soon. In late July, Tukhtamurodov's wife was allowed to visit him in the Investigation Prison.

Prisoner of conscience Tukhtamurodov's address in Investigation Prison is:

Uzbekistan
Buxoro viloyati
4-sonli tergov hibsxonasi
Buxoro shahri, Afrosiyob ko‘chasi 96
Tukhtamurodov Bobirjon Baratovich

Charged in Russia in 2017, charges dropped in 2018In 2017, Russian prosecutors charged Tukhtamurodov, among Russian Muslims, with being a "participant" in meetings to read Nursi's works. However, in 2018 Russian prosecutors closed the criminal case.

Russia removed the block on Tukhtamurodov's Russian bank accounts in June 2018 when the case was closed.

European Court's earlier concern about potential extradition to UzbekistanIn 2014, Bobirjon Tukhtamurodov appealed to the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) in Strasbourg to protect himself from extradition to Uzbekistan, fearing that he would face torture if returned there. In its final judgment on 12 February 2015 (Application No. 21762/14), the ECtHR ruled that there was no longer a need to consider Tukhtamurodov's case as, on 4 September 2014, the Russian authorities had renewed his temporary refugee status in Russia for a further year.

At the same time, the ECtHR expressed its continuing concern about any possible extradition to a country where torture is feared. The Court pointed to Article 3 of the European Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms ("No one shall be subjected to torture or to inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment").

"The Court reiterates that expulsion by a Contracting State may give rise to an issue under Article 3, and hence engage the responsibility of that State under the Convention, where substantial grounds have been shown for believing that the individual concerned, if deported, faces a real risk of being subjected to treatment contrary to Article 3," the ECtHR noted.

After Russia's expulsion from the Council of Europe for its renewed invasion of Ukraine, on 22 March 2022 the ECtHR declared that Russia will formally leave the jurisdiction of the European Convention on 16 September.

An ECtHR spokesperson told Forum 18 on 11 April that the Court will continue to examine cases lodged against Russia before 16 September 2022. The Court will also examine cases lodged within four months of 16 September 2022, provided domestic legal remedies have been exhausted before 16 September 2022.

On 11 June 2022, Russia amended its various laws governing the implementation of ECtHR decisions, meaning that any which came into force after 15 March 2022 will not be upheld, and ECtHR rulings can no longer be used as grounds for overturning the decisions of Russian courts.

Compensation payments related to decisions which came into force before 15 March 2022 (inclusive) will be paid only in Roubles and cannot be paid to foreign bank accounts in states deemed unfriendly to Russia. (END)
 
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(WASHINGTON, D.C. – 7/27/2022) – On Thursday, July 28, at 11 AM ET, 
 

 
the US Council of Muslim Organizations (USCMO), an umbrella group of 40 Muslim civil society organizations and mosques across the country, joined by other national Muslim groups, will host a news conference in Washington, D.C., to demand Attorney General Merrick Garland meet with them to discuss the urgent situation of Asim Ghafoor.  

Ghafoor is a respected American civil rights lawyer who has been detained in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). The Emiratis claim that the Department of Justice requested the UAE to investigate Ghafoor under the prior administration in 2020. USCMO and co-signatories will send a letter to the Attorney General demanding a meeting.  

[UPDATE: Ghafoor is reported to have been visiting the hospital due to COVID-19 complications.] 

WHAT: American Muslim Community Press Conference to Call for Justice Department Meeting on Asim Ghafoor Detainment 

WHEN: Thursday, July 28 at 11 AM ET   

WHERE: Department of Justice, 950 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW, Washington, DC 20530-0001 

MEDIA CONTACT:  Oussama Jammal, USCMO Secretary General, (708) 288-1914 or [email protected] 

MEDIA NOTE: The press conference will also be livestreamed at: https://www.facebook.com/USCou ... ions/ 

BACKGROUND:  

On July 14th, Ghafoor was transiting through Dubai to join up with his wife and children in Turkey for a family wedding. While waiting at the gate in Dubai International Airport, Ghafoor was asked to take a COVID test before taking his flight to Istanbul on July 14, 2022. He was then arrested by UAE officials and taken in a van to Abu Dhabi, where he is currently being held by the Abu Dhabi police in a detention facility.  

Ghafoor was told that he was tried and convicted in absentia and sentenced to three years in prison. While awaiting his rehearing, Ghafoor was denied bail and contracted COVID. Since his detention 13 days ago, he has not been able to speak to his lawyers or his family. He has also not been informed of his charges.  

Today, we learned that Ghafoor was in the emergency room for dehydration due to COVID complications. Despite this, he has no access to consular services since Monday, July 18, 2022. His rehearing is set to begin on August 1, 2022.

According to the UAE Public Prosecution Office, their investigation began after a request from the U.S. Department of Justice under the prior Administration in 2020 (Judicial Assistance Request No. 31/2020). Muslim advocacy groups call on Attorney General Merrick Garland to personally engage with Ghafoor’s case and advocate for the protection of his civil and human rights while in detention.  

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July 31, 2022. Join the #stand4uyghurs movement alongside 100+ muslim organisations.
 
The Stand4Uyghurs coalition of over 100Muslim partner organisations will be hitting the streets of London,Manchester Edinburgh as well as internationally in Washington DC,Toronto Istanbul,Sydney,Melbourne and Brisbane on Sunday 31July
 
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Dear brothers and sisters in Islam,
Today we would like to talk about our Uyghur brothers and sisters in Chinese-occupied East
Turkistan who are facing genocide and China’s war on Islam.

Uyghurs are predominantly Muslim Turkic people who are inhabitants of East Turkistan. The
Uyghurs have accepted Islam in the 10th century following their king Sultan Sutuq Bughrahan
who accepted Islam as a young prince. May Allah be pleased with them.

East Turkistan, an Islamic nation that produced some of the best scholars of Islam throughout
history and contributed to Islamic civilization in many ways was occupied by Communist China
in 1949. Since its occupation, the Chinese communist regime has been oppressing the Uyghur
Muslims in every aspect of life. The Chinese regime has always restricted Islamic practices and
made learning Islam a punishable crime.

However, the oppression has increased to a new level starting in 2017:
● The Chinese communist regime launched concentration camps across East Turkistan and
interned millions of Uyghur Muslims for political indoctrination. The Chinese authorities
have made very mundane things as pretexts to send Uyghur Muslims to concentration
camps. For instance, learning Quran, having travelled to Muslim countries in the past,
having performed Hajj, Wearing Hijab, Refusing to get sterilized, and many more.

2

● The first question you are asked when you are sent to a concentration camp is “Do you
believe in Allah?”, and if your answer is “yes”, you will be deemed an “extremist” and
treated harshly.
● China has announced that Islam is a “mental illness”. Look at this, brothers and sisters,
the Chinese communist regime said that our faith is a “mental illness” and Muslims are
mentally ill people that require treatment. And with this judgment, China has declared a
war on Islam and banned all Islamic practices in East Turkistan.

On top of that, those in the Concentration Camps:
● They are tortured, brainwashed and told to give up Islam. They are forced to recite praises of
the Chinese Communist Party.
● These are the largest concentration camps since the Nazis.
● Almost every Uyghur in Canada and America have their relatives in the concentration camps;
some have 50-100 family members detained in these camps with subhuman conditions.
● China accuses them of terrorism and violence, but the Chinese regime is spreading the real
terror in the region despite their claims of “re-educating” or “normalizing” the Muslims.
● In these camps, most women face serious sexual violence, including rape and forced
sterilization so Uyghur women cannot bear children. Many sisters who survived these camps
have shared their horror stories, Zumrat Dawut is one of them, please read about her experience
in concentration camps.
● Hundreds of thousands of Uyghur men and women are being used in forced labour to produce
the clothes we wear today, the ketchup we eat, the toys our children play with, or the tech
gadgets we all enjoy today - “Made in China” - At least 83 global brands and companies are
complicit in this forced labour scheme, including Nike, Adidas, Apple, Samsung, BMW....etc.
● Almost 900,000 children are sent to Chinese-run orphanages while their parents are still alive
and taught to give up Islam in favour of Communism.
● East Turkistan had more than 24,000 mosques. Now the Chinese regime has demolished
one-third of them, converted one-third to bars, restaurants, pig barns, and closed down one third.
Only a small number of mosques remain open for media, tourism and propaganda purposes.

3

Those Uyghurs who are not taken to the “concentration camps” are not free. They cannot
practice Islam or show any sign of piety. Having a beard, wearing a hijab, or showing any sign of
religiosity can send you to concentration camps. They are still not able to fast in Ramadan, go to
Masjid, or learn Islam.
● Islamic weddings (Nikahs) or funerals (Janazah) are forbidden
● They cannot even say salam to each other
● Halal is banned in Uyghur areas and all Muslim restaurants must sell pork.
● Uyghur households are divided into groups of 10 to spy on each other.
● They are not allowed to use a cellphone without government spy software

Now you might think why don’t they just leave and immigrate to other countries. The Uyghur
Muslims cannot leave China as the Chinese authorities do not give them passports and do not
allow them to leave China.

So basically, China has turned East Turkistan into an open-air prison.

Dear Brother and Sisters,
As Muslims, we have to realize that the plight of the Uyghur Muslims is an Islamic issue, it is
our issue. It is our obligation to help our oppressed Uyghur brothers and sisters. There are many
ways of contributing to their cause, from remembering the Uyghur Muslims in our prayers,
raising awareness of the Uyghur genocide, and pushing politicians and governments wherever it
is possible to confront the Chinese regime to stop its war on Islam and the genocide of the
Uyghur Muslims.

Why must we help?
Guidance from the Quran and the Sunnah:
Support your brothers and sisters because you would not like to be in their situation
“None of you truly believes until he loves for his brother what he loves for himself.” (Bukhari
and Muslim)

We must vocalize our condemnation of China’s actions and demand justice:

4

“You are the best nation produced [as an example] for mankind. You enjoin what is right and
forbid what is wrong and believe in Allah..” (Quran 3:110)

Standing up for Justice (Qist) is a mission of ALL the Prophets that we need to revive and live
today.
“We sent Our messengers with clear evidences and sent down with them the Scripture and the
balance that the people may establish Qist (Justice, Equity & Fairness).” (Quran 57:25)

It is your responsibility to counter and challenge the evil
Abu Said Al-Khudri reported that the Prophet, peace be upon him, said: "Whosoever of you sees
an evil, let him change it with his hand; and if he is not able to do so, then [let him change it]
with his tongue; and if he is not able to do so, then with his heart — and that is the weakest of
faith.” (Muslim #49)

Narrated Abu Musa: The Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم (said, "A faithful believer to a faithful believer is like the
bricks of a wall, enforcing each other." While (saying that) the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم (clasped his hands,
by interlacing his fingers. (Sahib Al-Bukhari)



Dear brothers and sisters,
It is extremely important that we do not fall into Chinese propaganda that claims the Uyghur
genocide is not real. We have our Uyghur brothers right here in Canada/USA that we can speak
to, they’re the real testifiers of the genocide and China’s War on Islam. We should never condone
China’s oppression of our Uyghur brothers and sisters and never discredit the Uyghur Muslims.
Allah (SWT) says in Surah Hud:

“And do not be inclined to the wrongdoers or you will be touched by the Fire. For then you
would have no protectors other than Allah, nor would you be helped.” (Quran 11:113)

5

In fact, we, the Muslims have to be on the front lines of the fight against China’s oppression
of our Uyghur brothers and sisters.

What can we do?

● Educate: Learn about the culture and plight of Uyghur Muslims and share it with others. Learn
from the Uyghur Muslims directly. Learn from credible human rights organizations and their
reports. Teach your children about the Uyghur Muslims.
● Advocate: Join a peaceful demonstration at the Chinese Consulate in Toronto on Sunday, July
31, 2022, which is part of a global demonstration in solidarity with Uyghur Muslims around the
world. Thousands of Muslims are expected to join the Stand4Uyghurs rally.

Visit SaveUighur.ca to send letters to and call your MP to:
▪ end the concentration camps and save Uyghur lives
▪ ask the Canadian government to introduce stricter laws to ensure that Chinese products coming
to Canada are not made by the forced labour of Uyghur Muslims
▪ establish a special program for Uyghur refugees to come to Canada on an expedited basis
● Donate: Support advocacy groups and Uyghur organizations that are fighting the Uyghur
genocide

Dua:
“O Allah, we ask you to help our oppressed brothers and sisters around the world. O Allah, help
our Uyghur brothers and sisters in East Turkistan, alleviate their pain, bring an end their
genocide and China’s War on Islam.............”

The End

6

For Imams and Khateebs:
For more info please contact brother Abdulmuqtedir Udun at: [email protected]
And Taha Ghayyur at: [email protected]

Websites to learn more about Uyghur Genocide:
Stand4Uyghurs.com
Uyghurstudy.org
Saveuighur.ca Collapse Read »

 

 

HIJAB A head covering honored by MARY, MOTHER OF JESUS and Worn by Muslim Women
 

 
114:1
قُلْ أَعُوذُ بِرَبِّ ٱلنَّاسِ ١

Say, ˹O Prophet,˺ “I seek refuge in the Lord of humankind,
— Dr. Mustafa Khattab, the Clear Quran



114:2
مَلِكِ ٱلنَّاسِ ٢

the Master of humankind,
— Dr. Mustafa Khattab, the Clear Quran



114:3
إِلَـٰهِ ٱلنَّاسِ ٣

the God of humankind,
— Dr. Mustafa Khattab, the Clear Quran



114:4
مِن شَرِّ ٱلْوَسْوَاسِ ٱلْخَنَّاسِ ٤

from the evil of the lurking whisperer—
— Dr. Mustafa Khattab, the Clear Quran



114:5
ٱلَّذِى يُوَسْوِسُ فِى صُدُورِ ٱلنَّاسِ ٥

who whispers into the hearts of humankind—
— Dr. Mustafa Khattab, the Clear Quran



114:6
مِنَ ٱلْجِنَّةِ وَٱلنَّاسِ ٦

from among jinn and humankind.”
— Dr. Mustafa Khattab, the Clear Quran



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Indian (Kashmiri), Tibetan, Persian/Arab/Turkic descent.
 
* Tibetan muslim family. 

* Muslim shop in Lhasa, 1949. 
 

* Hui muslim from Lhasa. 

 
* Tibetan muslim family.
 

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An image of Xi’s visit from China’s state television, but where are the young male residents?
 
Why would Xi Jinping hide his visit to “Xinjiang” from his people and the world, and why did the Chinese media not report on it until three days after it began?

No matter how powerful the killer is or how modern his weapon, the magnitude and brutality of the crime he commits is so well-known that he cannot be free from the weakness of criminal guilt.

No pre-visit press statement was issued, no news of journey reported until the visit was well underway. It was an obvious abnormality, given that the region is under domestic and international scrutiny over accusations of genocide. The lack of announcement may have been to either surprise or hide it from people in the Uyghur region. The latter is likely true—there is no need to surprise the oppressed.

The reason for Xi Jinping’s lack of transparency is clear. He is aware of the crimes he has committed in the Uyghur region over the last five years.

Chinese officials have repeatedly and proudly stated that there has been no single violent incident in “Xinjiang” since the establishment of the “vocational training centers.” If it is so, why was Xi Jinping afraid of publicizing his visit to a region where the objective of zero violence has been achieved? This is because he has not reached this goal by solving the root of the problem—illegal occupation of Uyghur land and ethnic injustice policies in the region. Instead, he has fueled the problem with unprecedented crackdowns, including the incarceration of more than three million people. From a sociological perspective, a zero-violence record is not natural stability but artificial stability. It is not due to a lack of resistance; the resistance has moved underground. Xi Jinping is well aware of this fact and its dangers.

In 2014, Xi Jinping’s first visit to the region was “welcomed” by an explosion at the Urumqi train station. He may not have forgotten this precedent, so his latest visit may have been unannounced to leave potential attackers unprepared. However, hiding his travel dates and itinerary did not provide him with adequate comfort or confidence, and the police stations located every few blocks in Urumqi did not allow him enough freedom. This fear was reflected in the pictures of the official Xinhua news agency: the Uyghur residents, who surrounded Xi Jinping while smiling and applauding, mostly comprised women and the elderly. There were almost no young male residents.

What brought Xi Jinping to “Xinjiang”? Politically, he wanted to tell the world that he does not regret the genocide he has committed and for which he has been criticized; he does not care about international public opinion. With this message, Xi Jinping wanted to encourage his military, police forces, and Han settlers in the region. Psychologically, he was demonstrating his gratification over the successful concealment of thousands of corpses of those who have died in his camps and prisons, killed by his chauvinist comrades.

 

 
 

Another image of the visit. Young males still rare.
 
Boasting of strength is normal, but boasting of crime is not. While most murderers in human history have tried to cover their guilt with reasons and excuses, China has no such tradition. Holding up all the men in the military age in a captured nation, then boasting of a “zero-violence victory” is unique to Chinese officials. If China had won and formed this victory against the army of a state or against armed rebel groups in the region, it would have been possible to think there was a moral side to this, and a reason to be proud. In reality, it is a victory against a small and unorganized group of “terrorists” who had no weapons other than axes and knives. This victory came in killing these men, their wives, children, relatives, and neighbors and in incarcerating all residents who shared the same ethnic origin with them. It is a shameful victory of a power that has no decency, standards, or care for humanity.

The state media has shown Xi Jinping with a group of people who celebrated him by dancing and singing. Since the occupation of East Turkestan, the Chinese state has always hoped to see Uyghurs engaged in music and dance with no interest in politics. They also dreamed of seeing Uyghur Muslims who only pray but do not think and seek justice. That dream has not been realized, as it is incompatible with human nature. The Uyghur dancers around Xi Jinping are not reflective of the Uyghurs’ situation. They represent a scene that China wants the world to see and an expression of China’s unwavering colonial desire.

To understand this scene of dancing, one must read only two lines of dialog in a report by Radio Free Asia of some years ago. The reporter questioned a Kashgar resident:

Q: “How is the situation in Kashgar, especially the unity of Han settlers and Uyghurs?”

A: “The situation is normal. The unity of nationalities is wonderful because if we do not unite with the Han people, we will be imprisoned and shot.”

This is the real voice of the Uyghur people when they are given a path to express their will.

On the eve of Xi Jinping’s visit, in mid-June this year, “community corrections personnel” and Uyghurs suspected of participating in religious activities in some districts of Urumqi were transferred to several locations in southern Xinjiang for a month-long “legal education,” perhaps out of concerns for the safety of Xi Jinping.

Xi Jinping’s non-announcement and delayed reporting of his visit to “Xinjiang,” as well as the relocation of suspected Uyghurs from Urumqi, is an acknowledgment of his failures and that he has established peace in appearance only and not in essence. He has captured Uyghurs physically but not spiritually. Murderers cannot live in peace spiritually, regardless of their “power” and “success.” Collapse Read »

Uyghurs prisoners in Xinjiang are forced to speak in Mandarin and perform obvious displays of subservience to their Chinese guards in monthly video calls with relatives, Uyghurs living in exile say.
 


A Uyghur now living in Europe told RFA that her siblings in Sanji Prison in the town of Sanji (in Chinese, Changji) were recently allowed to meet online with other relatives in Aksu (Akesu). Though neither the jailed Uyghurs nor their family members could speak Chinese well, authorities made them communicate in Mandarin for the entire meeting.

“They barely managed to speak in Chinese, according to my relatives who met them onscreen,” the source said. “This is not just an isolated incident.”

Chinese authorities have banned the use of the Uyghur language in schools and government complexes as part of their efforts to diminish the culture and traditions of the largely Muslim community. 

But Uyghur families still speak their native tongue inside their homes. The prohibition from doing so on the monthly virtual visits adds a level of frustration for family members who are already anxious about their loved ones’ well-being.

Another Uyghur exile living in Turkey told RFA that her nephew, who was serving a sentence in a prison in Urumqi (Wulumuqi), was forced to speak Chinese to his mother and grandmother, though the latter had to rely on another relative to translate because she did not know Mandarin.

“They allowed them to meet onscreen once every few months for only three minutes,” the source said. “My mother was there once to meet onscreen with my nephew. My mother was very uncomfortable hearing my nephew speaking to them in Chinese. My nephew’s wife fainted at the time, hearing him speak only in Chinese.

“On-screen, my nephew had to bow while walking backward saying goodbye in traditional Chinese fashion,” she added. “He also had kowtow to the Chinese police for giving him the chance to see his relatives onscreen.”

Tahir Mutällip Qahiri, a Uyghur Muslim lecturer in the Uyghur language and literature at the University of Göttingen in Germany, said he noticed a difference in the way his detained father interacted with him during a video call.

His father, well-known Uyghur scholar and activist Mutallib Siddiq Qahiri, used to work at Kashgar University and wrote and edited more than 20 books on Uyghur and Arabic culture until he was arrested in 2018 and charged with “incitement to ethnic hatred,” according to a September 2020 article in the Byline Times. In early 2020, authorities sentenced him to 30 months in prison with four years of probation. 

Tahir said he was able to see his father after he was released from detention, but that the man “was not as free as the Uyghur prisoners who recently had spoken with their relatives onscreen.”

Although the two spoke Uyghur to one another, Tahir said he believed his father was under surveillance by authorities because he told his son to remain silent and to defend the Chinese state.

“In March 2019, I was able to talk to my father onscreen twice for a very short time, and what I sensed from those virtual interactions was that he had no freedom at all in his speech,” he said. “I didn’t see any Chinese police present when I spoke to him onscreen, but what I knew was all he said was in a Chinese framework, even though it was uttered in the Uyghur language.

“From the context of his speech and his body language, I was able to conclude that even though he didn’t speak in Chinese, it was all Chinese propaganda,” he added. “I sensed a great fear he had for the Chinese authorities.”

Tahir said that compared to the time he first spoke to his father when he was released from detention to house arrest, the current situation of Uyghur detainees appears to have gotten worse. Noting that authorities’ efforts to eradicate the Uyghur language is part of the genocide China has been committing against the ethnic and religious minority group in recent years.

'Culturally savage'

At least 1.8 million Uyghurs and other Turkic minorities are believed to have been held in a network of detention camps in Xinjiang since 2017, purportedly to prevent religious extremism and terrorist activities, though Beijing claimed they were “vocation training centers,” which are now all closed.

Credible accounts of the Chinese government’s repressive policies in Xinjiang, including mass detentions, severe human rights abuses and efforts to obliterate Uyghur culture and religion have prompted the United States and some Western legislatures to declare a genocide and crimes against humanity in the region.

Forcing Uyghur prisoners to speak Mandarin and to bow in an outdated Chinese fashion is “culturally savage and politically extremist,” Tahir said.

In an audio recording provided to RFA by a Uyghur living in the U.S., a Uyghur woman living in Urumqi used an interpreter to speak in Chinese to her son, who is in a prison in Xinjiang.  

The woman then cries as her son in Urumqi No. 3 Detention Center is forced to kowtow to Chinese police officers during his online meeting with her.   

“Her son is only 25 or 26, and now he’s forced to speak in Chinese and bow to the Chinese while walking backward onscreen,” said the Uyghur in exile.

According to the audio, the son was on his knees when he bowed his head in gratitude to the Chinese police, with his forehead almost touching the floor, his mother told the Uyghur in exile.

“My son’s forehead was almost on the floor when he bowed to the police,” the mother told her Uyghur relative in exile. “I hope my defenseless son will soon see sunshine [and] will meet his loving relatives in freedom.”

Ilshat Hassan Kokbore, a political analyst based in the U.S. and vice chairman of the executive committee of the World Uyghur Congress, told RFA that he also received a video of a Uyghur prisoner speaking in Chinese with a relative during a videoconference, though  the person did not understand Mandarin.

Speaking in a mother tongue is a basic necessity and right of the people, though Chinese authorities have stripped that right away from the Uyghurs, he said.

Police officers take the relatives of Uyghur prisoners to government complexes each month to see their imprisoned relatives over video. Both the prisoners and their relatives meet under police surveillance, Uyghur sources and a police officer involved in monitoring the visits told RFA.

A police officer who is in charge of such surveillance in Kashgar (Kashi) said on two scheduled days each month he takes the family members of Uyghur prisoners to a neighborhood committee complex where they can virtually meet with the detainees.

“Twice a month, we allow them to meet onscreen,” he said. “We take the relatives to the neighborhood community complex. Some months they were not allowed to meet because of COVID-19 prevention policy.”

Relatives often have to wait one to two hours for their turn. The calls usually last about two minutes and are conducted in Chinese, said the officer, who did not give his name so as to speak freely.

Police officers do not allow detainees’ relatives to say anything except to express their well-being and to thank the Chinese Communist Party, he said.

Translated by RFA Uyghur. Written in English by Roseanne Gerin. Collapse Read »

New Delhi: All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) supremo Asaduddin Owaisi on Wednesday (July 27) attacked BJP-led Uttar Pradesh over showering flower petals on Kanwariyas within the state, saying the identical therapy shouldn’t be meted out to Muslims. “The BJP-led Uttar Pradesh authorities is showering flower petals on Kanwariyas utilizing public cash. We would like them to deal with everybody equally. They don’t bathe flowers on us (Muslims). As a substitute, they bulldoze our homes,” PTI quoted Owaisi as saying. “For those who love one group, you can not hate one other…. If in case you have religion, then others even have religion,” the AIMIM MP added.



Earlier on Tuesday, sharing a number of information stories on his Twitter deal with, Owaisi had mentioned, “If a Muslim affords prayers in an open place even for a couple of minutes, it results in a row. Muslims are going through police bullets, custodial clashes, NSA, UAPA, lynchings, bulldozers only for being Muslims.”


Earlier this month, senior officers showered flower petals on Kanwariyas in Uttar Pradesh’s Meerut.


An official spokesperson advised PTI that UP Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath performed an aerial survey of the continued Kanwar Yatra in western a part of the state on Monday and showered petals on Kanwariyas from the chopper. Adityanath’s helicopter reached the Siddhpeeth Parshurameshwar Puramahadev temple in Baghpat on Monday afternoon and flowers have been showered on the Kanwariyas from there amidst chants of “Har Har Mahadev”.

The Kanwar Yatra is being held within the state after two years because it was suspended earlier because of the Covid-19 pandemic. 


Throughout the Hindu calendar month of ‘Saavan’, yearly the Shiva devotees, often known as Kanwariyas, fetch the holy waters of Ganga to supply on the Shiva temples. These pilgrims go to Haridwar, Gaumukh, and Gangotri in Uttarakhand and Sultanganj in Bihar to carry the waters of Ganga. This water is then supplied to Lord Shiva in temples by Kanwariyas of their areas.  Collapse Read »

 
Delhi | BJP-led UP government showering flower petals on Kanwariyas using public money. We want them to treat everyone equally. They don't shower flowers on us (Muslims) instead, they bulldoze our houses: AIMIM MP, Asaduddin Owaisi
 

 Why do Muslims only get Hajj subsidy? Stop stealing temple money and giving it to Maulanas and mosques! When will there be equal treatment? All Terr0rists and Jih@dis get preferential treatment from the SC! Stop all Iftaar parties using Govt money!
 
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Labor's Fatima Payman has encouraged girls who decide to wear the hijab to do so with pride in her first address to the Senate.
 


The 27-year-old, who is the daughter of a refugee from Afghanistan, is the first hijab-wearing Muslim woman in Australia’s federal parliament. She is also the youngest member of this parliament, and the first Afghan-Australian to be elected.

She had been tasked with delivering a reply to Governor-General David Hurley's opening speech to parliament, a response that traditionally outlines the ruling government’s agenda.
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16:1
أَتَىٰٓ أَمْرُ ٱللَّهِ فَلَا تَسْتَعْجِلُوهُ ۚ سُبْحَـٰنَهُۥ وَتَعَـٰلَىٰ عَمَّا يُشْرِكُونَ ١

The command of Allah is at hand, so do not hasten it. Glorified and Exalted is He above what they associate ˹with Him in worship˺!
— Dr. Mustafa Khattab, the Clear Quran







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FlySafair had to divert a flight destined for Cape Town and land in Gqeberha due to what the airline described as a “minor technical issue”.

The low cost carrier told customers in an update on its website that flight FA143 had departed from East London at 3.20pm on Wednesday and “shortly after take-off, the crew became aware of an issue”.

“In the interest of safety, the decision was made to divert to Gqeberha.”

The airline described the incident as a “minor technical issue” but did not elaborate.
 
The aircraft landed safely in Gqeberha at 4.35pm.

Just under an hour later the airline said FA 143 had been cleared for take-off and was departing for Cape Town.

“We would like to extend our apologies to the customers on board FA 143 for the inconvenience, and we thank them for their patience in allowing us to always act conservatively in the interest of safety,” the airline said.

Airline safety has been in the spotlight recently after the SA Civil Aviation Authority temporarily withdrew Comair’s operating licence due to concerns about its safety management systems in the wake of three “significant” failures on flights. Collapse Read »

How to avoid traffic in Lagos:
1. Drive only between 11pm and 4pm
2. Buy helicopter 
3. Become governor 
4. Be a witch 
5. Don't come to Lagos. Collapse Read »

No conscience 
No empathy
No love
No justice 
And they want to reopen the Toll gate?
#Endsars na  just rehearsal compare to wetin dey await you people. We’re frustrated already, how many people una wan kill? Are the security more than the civilians?
 
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Do you know that before the advent of Covid-19 pandemic tuberculosis (TB) was the cause of death from a single infectious agent surpassing HIV/Aids?

It is quite unfortunate that this infection was not given much attention, despite the number of lives it has claimed globally due to inadequate allocation of resources or complete neglect through stigmatisation in society.

The World Health Organisation (WHO) approximates that one-quarter of the world’s population has a TB infection that is waiting for an opportunity to manifest when one’s immune system is compromised. Being an airborne disease, case reports have shown that TB can attack the lungs and other body organs (extra-pulmonary TB).
 
It can be transmitted from person to person through coughing, singing, spitting or sneezing, especially in enclosed and non-ventilated settings. Its signs and symptoms can take long to manifest but generally, it is associated with cough of any duration, fever, night sweats or weight loss.

A report released by Global Tuberculosis for 2020 has some shocking statistics that warrant urgent action to avert the situation. The report estimates that 9.9 million people fell ill with TB and of these, 1.5 million died from the disease, including 214,000 people with HIV.

This translates to over 4,100 people dying each day globally from TB and close to 28,000 people falling ill with the disease. However, there is hope since the situation was worse several decades ago, but now, through concerted efforts from various countries, agencies and partners, more than 66 million lives have been saved from the year 2000 to date.

High burden country

Back at home, Kenya remains a high burden country for TB, TB/HIV and Drug-Resistant TB, with a prevalence of 426 per 100,000 population. Although, prior to Covid-19 pandemic, Kenya had made a steady progress in combating TB, when you compare the data pre and during Covid-19 (2019 and 2020), annual TB report (2020) recorded a case notification rate of 154 per 100,000 population, a decline from 165/100,000 population in 2019.

The decrease signifies 48 per cent estimated incident TB cases were either missed or not notified in the year. This is perilous in that this population is freely interacting with everyone in the community and exponentially transmitting the infection.

Astonishingly, there is now a worrying trend of Drug-Resistant TB (DRTB), which even attacks people who have never taken anti-TB drugs in their entire lives. Statistically, Kenya recorded 40 per cent increase in DRTB from 689 in 2019 to 961 in 2020. This is where the rubber meets the road, hence necessitating declaration for investment in TB control.

From the health economics point of view, Value-TB research that was conducted by Kairu et al (2021), showed the cost of treating Drug Sensitive TB (DSTB), including monitoring tests, in Kenya ranged between $135 and $160 (Sh15,400 and Sh18,300) while for DRTB ranged between $3,230.28-$3,926.52 (Sh369,700 and Sh449,400).

Despite TB being curable and preventable, and cost-free drugs and tests, patients are still incurring catastrophic costs directly and indirectly. This has been cemented and augmented by TB patient cost survey that was carried in 2017 showing appalling figures of how people have been impoverished with TB due to out-of-pocket expenditures. The survey unveiled the agony of patients in spending a whopping Sh26,041.49 and Sh145,109.53 for an episode of DSTB and DRTB, respectively.

In cognizant of the above information, the world is uniting to commemorate World TB Day on March 24 every year. In this year’s theme, ‘Invest to End TB. Save Lives’, WHO conveys the urgent need to invest resources, which include but are not limited to human resource for health, health products and diagnostic technologies, infrastructure and staff capacity building to cobble up the fight against TB in a mission to achieve the milestones and targets that were unanimously agreed upon by the global honchos.

More investment

The investment will be of great impetus towards ensuring equitable access to prevention and quality of care, which is in tandem with WHO’s and Kenya’s Big 4 Agenda towards achieving the Universal Health Coverage.

As a country, we are grappling to put more investment in the fight against TB as per the TB programme national strategic plan, with a projected annual budget of $60,072,511.39 but only gets allocated $34,169,895.81, conspicuously leaving a 43 per cent unfunded gap.

In conclusion, for us to reduce and control TB, we need to recognise that everyone has the responsibility to fight and destigmatise TB through gather all scatter none phenomenon right from the community to the executive level, private to public sectors (public-private mix), civil society organisations to technical partners, healthcare workers, care givers to researchers. Otherwise, if you are not infected, you are affected. 
 
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