Recently, the situation of China’s government’s crackdown on Muslims has resurfaced. It has revealed that the government of China is keeping Turkic Muslims/the Uighur Community in Xinjiang and Beijing in Northwestern China in internment camps and “re-education” programs.

According to Vox news, the crackdown “includes programs that focus on psychological indoctrination — like studying communist propaganda and giving thanks to Chinese President Xi Jinping,” as well reporting violent acts of torture committed against the Muslims kept in these camps. The Chinese government has also been keeping these Muslims under very high surveillance along with restricting them to practice Islam and their culture.

The acts of torture and violence the Chinese government is putting onto the Muslim community can be paralleled to times of the Holocaust which is a frightening thought for many. It is also frightening that due to China’s tight media control, China’s government constantly denies their violent, inhumane practices against Muslim communities. According to the Guardian, Li Xiaojun, the director for publicity at the Bureau of Human Rights Affairs of the State Council Information Office, claims that the camps and program “is not mistreatment” and that all camps are “educational centers.”

What the world may not see is how the unfair association of violence towards all Muslims can be an excuse to treat Muslims in an unfair way. China’s government is a perfect example of this as Li also justifies the camps and program as a way “to deal with Islamic or religious extremism” because “the West [Paris, Belgium] have failed to do so.”

If China feels that their actions of violence against are justifiable due to past acts of terrorism (i.e. November 2015 Paris Attacks and 2016 Brussels Bombings) by ISIS, then we have a lot to change and improve as a society.

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