Tag: Muslims

China’s human rights violations: Persecution of the Uyghurs
Asia, Opinion

China’s human rights violations: Persecution of the Uyghurs

Despite its continued repression and persecution of Uyghurs in Xinjiang, China now finds itself at the “top table” of an international human rights forum.In a largely unheralded election last month, the UN General Assembly voted to elect a new tranche of 15 Human Rights Council (HRC) members, including China, which won a seat over objections from critics who challenge its rights record, not least against the Uyghurs.China joins 47 other nations on the UN council and will serve for three years from January.China faced stiff competition in the Asia-Pacific region where six nations were competing for five spots. China secured the last of the five spots as Saudi Arabia failed to cross the needed vote threshold.Support for China at the election was actually its weakest since the council’s found
Soldiers without ranks
Asia, Business, Conflict, Opinion

Soldiers without ranks

Young Muslims trained in arms and light ammunition are sought after pawns in the markets of conflict and turmoil. Wearing the masks of Islam, they are out to create mayhem and massacre. In most cases, theses forces are out to challenge the State and its well-structured armies and police forces. In old times, such confrontations were a part of the game between rulers and their opponents.However, in modern times, the rules of the game have changed. Generally, the confrontations take place according to rules of war, as well as according to the international law approved by international community. But in this case, the engagement and employment of pawns is either overlooked or ignored. This strategic game was being played in pre-colonial and even colonial era as a state craft.The rulers who u...
Madrassah education: A wrong reverse gear
Conflict, Opinion

Madrassah education: A wrong reverse gear

The knowledge imparted in Madrassah has been an important constituent of Islamic Education all over the world. This education has equally been a target of censure and critical appraisal from time to time. It has been argued that this type of education is structured to take the young minds back to more than 1500 years. The objective, according to strategic experts, is to land them back psychologically and emotionally in those very social and cultural settings that existed at that time.It is an interesting psychological, emotional and political game. The case studies reveal that terror tactics tethered with this type of education have produced radicalized cadres and their allies to either be engaged directly with the state in the armed conflicts or get involved with low key proxy wars. The e...
Article 370 abrogation impact: Four lakh domicile certificates issued in J&K
Asia

Article 370 abrogation impact: Four lakh domicile certificates issued in J&K

As a consequence of the abrogation of Article 370 and with it, Article 35A, over 4 lakh people in Jammu and Kashmir have been issued domicile certificates, giving them the legal rights of a citizen of getting jobs and availing education.A total of 3, 68,500 domicile certificates were issued in Jammu and 79,300 in Kashmir Valley.Among the 4 lakh people, Bhola Ram (57) in Jammu, expressed gratitude to Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah for giving him "justice and dignity".The laws introduced eight months after the abrogation of Article 370 on August 5, 2019 have led to fear in the Valley among residents as they believe that it could trigger floodgates for outsiders to settle in Jammu and Kashmir and alter the Muslim majority character of the region.With domicile certifi...
How erstwhile J&K discriminated between Muslims, non-Muslims
Opinion

How erstwhile J&K discriminated between Muslims, non-Muslims

In the erstwhile Jammu and Kashmir (J&K) Hindu and Sikh refugees arriving in the valley from Pakistan during India-Pakistan partition were always considered outsiders and were not given the status of "Permanent Residents" under the J&K state legislature. However, the same legislature enabled the Muslims to return from Pakistan and become permanent residents.Enabling Muslims and disabling non-Muslims can thus be a correct summing up of the intent of successive state governments. Under these laws, contained in Part III (Sections 6 to 10) of the erstwhile Jammu and Kashmir Constitution, there were provisions enabling Muslims to return from Pakistan and obtain the status of being a permanent resident (PR).It can be said that the definitions of PRs were meant to welcome those Muslims wh...
Relish in the flavours of authentic Kashmiri dishes
Asia

Relish in the flavours of authentic Kashmiri dishes

Kashmir is not just defined by its snow-clad mountains and astonishing beauty, but also its exquisite cuisines that attract food lovers across the world.The food in Kashmir is renowned for burst of flavours which are soothing and yet hits all the taste buds. The rich dishes have evolved through several generations and have two distinct styles -- that of Muslims and Kashmiri Pandits.A signature dish in the Kashmiri cuisine is “rogan josh”, also called “rogan ghosht”. It is a heavenly aromatic curried meat dish of Persian or Kashmiri origin. It is made with red meat, traditionally lamb or goat. The delicacy is coloured and flavoured primarily by alkanet flower or root and Kashmiri chillies.The dish is cooked with onions, garlic and cardamom, and is prepared on special occasions in the Kashmi
British Journalist questions Muslim nations’ silence over Chinese treatment Uyghur Muslims
World

British Journalist questions Muslim nations’ silence over Chinese treatment Uyghur Muslims

A noted British journalist, Nick Cohen has questioned the silence of Muslim nations over China's continuous atrocities carried out against Uyghur Muslims, saying that these nations only use the idea of Muslim solidarity when it suits them."The main reason why Muslims suffer in silence is that the Muslim-majority countries that raged against Rushdie, Jyllands-Posten and Charlie Hebdo have decided to stay silent. They use the idea of Muslim solidarity only when it suits them," Cohen said. "In July 2019, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, the United Arab Emirates, Algeria and other Muslim-majority states that pose as defenders of the faith helped to block a western motion at the United Nations calling for China to allow 'independent international observers' into the Xinjiang region”, he said."Ira
Is Xi’s persecution of China’s Uighur Muslims a genocide in the making?
Opinion

Is Xi’s persecution of China’s Uighur Muslims a genocide in the making?

From the mid-1970s Deng Xiaoping and his successors sought consensus at home and trade and rapprochement with the west after the abominations of Mao’s “cultural revolution”. There was a golden moment when even this one-party state might have been negotiable, but it was tragically crushed when the tanks rolled into Tiananmen Square on 4 June 1989.Even then, however, it was tyranny tempered by trade, capitalism and a degree of circumspection, including term limits on communist party bosses. By contrast, XI is an unfettered emperor in the tradition of Mao.The world now faces not a pragmatic one-party state but a doctrinaire one-man dictatorship. And the dictator, into his second decade of power, is determined to stamp out latent as well as actual dissent, even at the price of western trade an
China violates human rights of its citizens but urges US to secure human rights of ethnic minorities
China

China violates human rights of its citizens but urges US to secure human rights of ethnic minorities

While several human right organizations continue to report gross mistreatment of thousands of Uighur Muslims and Hong Kong citizens in China, Chinese Foreign Ministry has urged the United States to secure the human rights of ethnic minorities in the country.Zhao Lijian, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson, during a press conference said: “We are following the latest developments of the situation following the death of George Floyd. ‘Black lives matter.’ Their human rights should be protected. Racial discrimination against ethnic minorities remains a social ill in the US. What is happening right now once again shows the seriousness of racial discrimination and violent law enforcement by the police, and the urgency for the US to address them.”“We hope the US government will take concrete m
US warns companies of potential risks from human rights-related Chinese entities
World

US warns companies of potential risks from human rights-related Chinese entities

In an advisory, the US State Department has warned American companies of the potential exposure they could face from maintaining supply chains with entities that engage in human rights abuses including the forced labor of Uighurs, ethnic Kyrgyz, ethnic Kazakhs and other Muslim minority groups, in China’s Xinjiang region and beyond."Today, the U.S. Department of State, along with the U.S. Department of the Treasury, the U.S. Department of Commerce, and the U.S. Department of Homeland Security is issuing an advisory to caution businesses about the risks of supply chain links to entities that engage in human rights abuses, including forced labor in Xinjiang and elsewhere in China," the State Department said in a statement."Since 2017, the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) has ramped up its campai