Uyghur Muslims

For centuries, leaders have repeated devastating and traumatizing events without recollecting what happened the last time a leader, arguably a dictator, tried to wipe out thousands of civilians. Individuals with similar religious beliefs, appearances, and ethnicity are targeted because they tend to be minorities and appear as a threat to the dictator's agenda.

The Holocaust by Adolf Hitler. Genocides by Pol Pot. A regime of terror by Idi Amin. Ethnic cleansing by Saddam Hussein. And so many more. The cost for their desperate desire to obtain state and world domination came to the expense of innocent lives. Trump and Xi Jinping are no different.

The Uyghur Muslims were brought into media attention sporadically throughout 2019 because of how bad the situation had gotten in China. Forcing them to go against their religious beliefs by drinking alcohol, eating pork, selling Uyghur Muslim women, and persecuting Uyghur Muslims. They were trapped in internment camps so that the Chinese government could simultaneously brainwash them and separate them from their religious freedom. The world was in an uproar but the American government did not react until this past week. However, some revelations were made from Trump's former national security advisor. He claims Trump supported President Xi Jinping's decision to put over a million Muslims in internment camps but put on a show to the American people.

To put a bandaid on his decision to support China's ethnic cleansing, Trump signed the Uyghur Human Rights Policy Act of 2020. Both the House and Senate are in favor as the policy aims to hold individuals accountable for eradicating Muslim minorities in China. Trump being a controversial president, to say the least, has repetitively attacked the Muslim population in America from building his campaign on ostracizing Muslims to the 2015 travel ban. It does not come as a surprise for his former staff member to come forward and share this information as history tends to repeat itself.

There have been Uyghur Muslims who escaped the concentration camps in Northwest China and now share their story. In local events, DePaul Umma hosted their annual Fast- A -Thon in February where they invited Uyghur Muslims to shed light on the catastrophic events taking place in China. Their story is both inspirational yet a reality check. Despite coming to America and building a life for themselves here, they continue to find ways to protect their family members and the Uyghur Muslim community as a whole. By amplifying and offering a platform where hundreds of college students and adults can learn and educate themselves on the privilege they have, the DePaul Umma held an informative evening.

Hearing the survivor stories, they are traumatized from what they saw, heard, and experienced. I can not speak on behalf of Uyghur Muslims but I can amplify their voice and help their situation. There are ways YOU can help, by signing petitions and donating, we can push the United States to dive into a deep investigation on the Chinese government's terrorizing of Uyghur Muslims. The horrid experiences they experienced should alone justify a deep investigation into the Chinese government.

Listed below are some links to access more information on Uyghur Muslims and places to donate:

1. Save Uighur: https://www.saveuighur.org.

2. https://www.saveuighur.org/act-now/