09/12/2013

Asiaone.com reported on Monday 25th November that in the area of Xinjiang, Kashgar City where the Uyghur Muslims live that the Chinese government began a campaign against the niqab of Muslim women and the beards of Muslim men on the premise of ‘security reasons'. One action in their campaign is to intercept veiled women in the public crowd, take their data under the gaze of camera surveillance, and then invite them to hold talks discussing their experiences, leading eventually to promising them a job with a decent salary on condition that they should leave their Islamic dress. Veiled Muslim women are even forced to watch a movie about "the beauty of life without the veil."

The Xinjiang Daily, run by the ruling Communist Party, warned of the potential dangers of Islamic dress in a July opinion piece. "Some people with ulterior motives are distorting religious teachings" and "inciting young people to do jihad", it said, adding that black robes induced depression and scared babies. The ruling party has sought periodically to stamp out the Islamic dress since taking power in 1949, first launching an atheism drive and then banning the headscarf altogether in the 1960′s and 70′s.

Previously it has also been reported that Uyghur Muslim women have experienced serious discrimination in public places due to their Islamic dress. Not only that, a few months earlier the Chinese government also made a rule that prohibits youth under 18 years, including the women, to go to the mosque, as well as forcing every mosque to fly the flag of China. This is alongside curbing of fasting by Muslim officials and students during the month of Ramadan.

Comment:

The Chinese government is clearly desperate to inhibit the rise of Islam in East Turkestan, by conducting this open campaign against veiled Muslim women and bearded Muslim men by using cheap enticement or fear tactics to pressure them to abandon the commands of Islam. Indeed, these hostile actions against Muslims in East Turkistan which is occupied by China does not only reflect their hatred towards the Islamic laws and values, but their fear that the ideology of Islam will influence communities in China - a state that today does not have a clear ideological direction due to the erosion of communism within the country.

On the other hand, the aggressive stance of the Chinese government towards Islam demonstrates that remnants of the repressive communist doctrine and values that have a legacy of persecuting religious minorities still remain firmly rooted within the state. In its heyday the Chinese Communist regime under the leadership of Mao Tse Tung slaughtered 4.5 million Muslims and officially announced Islam as illegal. Today, the Uyghur Muslims continue to face intense pressure to leave their Islamic beliefs and obligations and our Uyghur sisters endure much difficulty in order to maintain their Islamic dress. However, the Chinese government's bullying tactics and black propaganda against Islamic law have failed to intimidate or shake the Iman of the strong Muslim Uyghur community. By the help of Allah swt their firmness in Islam has ensured that within their community, the Islamic values have dominated over the atheist ones which have been propagated by the communist regime for many decades.

O our dear Uyghur sisters! Be patient with the pressure and oppression from the tyrant Chinese regime! The dawn of the Khilafah "Caliphate" is very near and we are one Ummah, we belong to one Deen, our Prophet is one, our Qur'an is one, our flag is one, and our struggle is one. It is the Khilafah "Caliphate" state alone that will enable you to live by all the Commands of Allah swt and have active political and public lives while also guaranteeing you the right to wear your Islamic dress with complete honour and under the protection of the State. It is the Khilafah "Caliphate" that will liberate the oppressed East Turkistan lands and their daughters, establishing for them security and dignity. Thus join the struggle for the establishment of the Second Khilafah "Caliphate" Rashidah which will silence through the rule of Islam those who attack and besmirch the honor of Muslim women around the world.

Written for Central Media Office Hizb ut Tahrir by

Fika Komara

Member of Central Media Office Hizb ut Tahrir

Source: Independence for East Turkestan

Organised by Swinburne Islamic Society in conjunction with Al Kauthar Institute. Held on Friday 20th September, 2013 in Melbourne, Australia
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VIDEO TIMINGS
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MC intro - 00:30
First Atheist speaker (Dr John Perkins) - 06:10
First Muslim speaker (Hamza Tzortzis) - 20:55
Second Atheist speaker (Ian Robinson) - 40:45
Second Muslim speaker (Faraz Nomani) - 58:15
Atheist side's reply - 1:15:40
Muslim side's reply - 1:24:30
Cross-examination - 1:35:00
Q/A from audience - 2:00:00
Atheist side's conclusion - 2:11:40
Muslim side's conclusion - 2:14:12

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SPEAKERS
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* Muslim side *

1) Hamzah Tzortzis

Hamza Andreas Tzortzis is an international public speaker on Islam, a writer, lecturer, instructor and researcher. He is particularly interested in Islam, politics, western and Islamic thought and philosophy. Hamza delivers workshops, seminars and courses on the foundations of Islamic thought. He is an instructor for iERA and AlKauthar Institute. Hamza has also delivered a short course on the intellectual foundations of Islam for the Islamic Online University for their Diploma course. Hamza has debated prominent academics and intellectuals including Professor Lawrence Krauss, Professor Simon Blackburn, Professor Ken Gemes and Professor and Dan Barker. Hamza delivers presentations across the world on various topics; ranging from 'Does God Exist', 'Why Islam?', 'The Miracle of the Qur'an', 'Islam or Atheism?' to 'Can we live better lives without Religion'.

2) Faraz Nomani

Faraz Nomani is an activist within Australia's Muslim community, and has been actively involved in Islamic apologetics for several years, including theist/atheist and inter-religious discourse. A graduate of combined Economics and Law, Faraz is also a student of Islamic sciences, specifically interested in the sciences of the Qur'an, theology and legal theory. He speaks regularly on a variety of Islamic issues and has engaged in debates with other theists and atheists.

* Atheist side *

1) Dr John Perkins

Dr John L Perkins, an economist, mathematical modeller, software developer and writer. He has qualifications from universities in Melbourne and London, and is a member of the Humanist Society of Victoria, the Rationalist Society of Australia, the Australian Skeptics, is a Public Relations team member of the Atheist Foundation of Australia, and is the founding President of the Secular Party of Australia. He has participated in several campus debates on Islam, Christianity, atheism and secularism.

2) Ian Robinson

IAN ROBINSON has been studying spirituality and religion for over fifty years. He has been a member of the Rationalist Society of Australia for over four decades, editing its journal, the Australian Rationalist for a number of years, and becoming President, and then President Emeritus, in the 2000s. He has a degree in Philosophy from the University of Melbourne. He has spoken on many topics related to atheism and spirituality, including Islam, at a wide variety of forums, including the 2010 International Atheist Convention in Melbourne. He has written many articles on such topics, including "Atheism as a Spiritual Path" in The Australian Book of Atheism (ed Bonett, Scribe, 2010). He supports the Carlton Football Club.