A comparison of images before and after China’s internment of Uighurs Muslims in camps revealed that the Chinese government has been destroying Islamic cemeteries.
Satellite images compiled by CNN revealed that more than 100 cemeteries have been flattened by the Chinese government as part of its campaign against Uighurs Muslims. Nearly 1 million Muslims have been targeted by the Chinese government as it works to abolish the Islamic faith within its borders. Uighurs, most of whom live in the Xinjiang province, have been forced into concentration camps, which the Chinese government has brushed off as reeducation centers to prevent extremism.
As more Muslims were detained in Chinese camps, their holy sites have been destroyed. A flattened cemetery was first noticed by Aziz Isa Elkun, a Uighur Muslim living in exile in the United Kingdom. He routinely visited his father’s tomb via satellite images, given that he could not safely visit it in person. During one of his cyber visits, he realized that the cemetery had been flattened. A similar comparison revealed that more than 100 other burial sites were left in a similar state.
“This is not a normal state like it is. This is pure evilness,” said Aziz.
Aziz admitted that he has “no idea” where his father’s remains are now. Several of the cemeteries were flattened and had other structures built atop the ground. Others remain desolate fields after being destroyed. Human remains have been uncovered in these burial sites by AFP reporters.
The Chinese government also posted a few notices to the Uighur people warning that they had just over two weeks to relocate the remains before the cemeteries would be destroyed. The did not deny that they had flattened the holy sites.
The Chinese government passed the blame onto local authorities in Xinjiang, saying, “Governments in Xijiang fully respect and guarantee the freedom of all ethnic groups to choose cemeteries and funeral and burial methods.”
Those local authorities said they destroyed the former burial sites to build more “civilized cemeteries.”
Congress has been unified in condemning the Chinese government for the human rights atrocities being committed against Muslims in Xinjiang. The House passed the Uighurs Human Rights Policy Act of 2019 with all but one member, Kentucky Republican Rep. Thomas Massie, voting for it.
Republican Florida Sen. Marco Rubio has taken leadership of the issue in the Senate. It is unclear if the bill will pass through the Republican-controlled Senate as a condemnation of China could disrupt President Trump’s efforts to renegotiate trade in the region.
