IRAN: Are China's Muslims worthy of Islamic Republic's support?

Although Iranian authorities were quick to condemn the killing of a Muslim Egyptian woman by an alleged racist in a German courtroom last week, allowing protesters to organize a demonstration and hurl eggs at the German Embassy in Tehran, they've been less than compassionate about scores of Muslims killed in western China.

"The United States is behind the riots in Xinjiang," said an analysis published by the official Islamic Republic News Agency, or IRNA. "Living conditions have improved for the Chinese Muslims. These riots have no religious aspect and they are just the outcome of a U.S. conspiracy. However, the Western media have exaggerated the events in Xinjiang."

The government's domestic critics have been outraged by its response. Already emboldened and angered by the marred reelection of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, they have been quick to pounce. 

Grand Ayatollah Nasser Makarem Shirazi demanded that the Foreign Ministry quickly condemn what he described as the Chinese government's "horrible" backing of "racist Han Chinese" violence against Muslim Uighurs. Here are excerpts from a statement by the high-ranking cleric, carried by the Iranian Labor News Agency:

The Chinese government seeks to describe what is happening there as a tribal dispute, but the worst clashes have erupted between Muslims and racist Han Chinese. The Chinese government's backing of the violent suppression of Muslims and the closure of mosques indicate that a conspiracy is underway against Muslims in the region. . . . Our people expect the government of the Islamic Republic of Iran to not remain silent and adopt a stronger position instead of abandoning our Muslim brethren to their own fate.

The news website Tabnak, backed by conservative Ahmadinejad challenger Mohsen Rezai, carried an even sharper commentary, accusing the government and state-controlled media of hypocrisy in ignoring violence against fellow Muslims by a communist government:

When Israel was striking Gaza, state radio and television aired round-the-clock reports and analyses about the massacre of Muslims, but now only short reports are heard. . . . During the Israeli invasion of Gaza, nearly 1,000 died in 20 days -- or 50 per day. In China's riots, nearly 100 Muslims were killed in a day. Our government is silent regarding clear carnage.

The Ahmadinejad government's explanation for the violence in China has startled some observers, especially after the row it is continuing to make over the death of Marwa Sherbini, who was stabbed 18 times in a courtroom in Dresden, Germany, by a man identified as Axel W. But Iran also supported Moscow when it cracked down on rebellious Muslims in the breakaway republic of Chechnya during the 1990s.

According to the IRNA analysis, the West stirred up all the trouble in western China out of jealousy of the Beijing government's economic successes: 

Due to its unique features, the Chinese economic model has been a hard sell for the Westerns. The Chinese never respected the standards set by the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank, and they did not tie their fates to dishonest Western institutions. That is why China was spared the spiraling East Asia crisis. That, along with other reasons, prompted the Americans to target the internal unity and integrity of China in a last-ditch attempt.

But some senior clergy have dismissed such convoluted explanations as not in keeping with Islamic principles. 

"Iran's Foreign Ministry should not remain indifferent, and it has to take a stance against the killing of defenseless Chinese Muslims in order to fulfill its Islamic and human obligation," Grand Ayatollah Lotfollah Safi-Golpayegani said, according to the Fars news agency.

"Muslims should condemn any onslaught on their coreligionists, and they have to offer sympathy to Muslims who may be Chinese, European or of another nationality," he said. "Muslim governments should not discriminate between Muslims in China and other parts of the world."

-- Borzou Daragahi in Beirut

Photos: Top, a woman and a boy belonging to the ethnic Uighur minority sit outside a shop as security forces march past in Urumqi, in China's Xinjiang region. Credit: Diego Azubel / EPA

Below, Iranians shout slogans during a symbolic funeral for Marwa Sherbini, a pregnant Egyptian woman who was stabbed to death in Germany, after weekly Friday prayers in Tehran. Credit: Atta Kenare / AFP/Getty Images

Comments

[shanterrio crawford]

hae this is real good

[al thor]

its a shame as a muslim to see how low muslim countries have sunk to when dealing with matters other than palestine. it seems that when palestinians are getting killed then there is an outcry of anger. but when uighur muslims have been systematically cleanesed from their own homeland there is no word being uttered.

just to put it into perspective. israel allows muslims the right to worship and carry out their religious duties.

in xianging however muslims under china's comunnist rule are told not to fast or even pray their daily 5 prayers. shame on muslim countries. shame on them truly.

[q]

Uighurs are being exploited and eradicated from their own homeland. Sounds like Palestine and Israel, right Ahmadinejad? The hipocrisy is beyond belief, let me guess all your trade with China shut you up, didnt it IRAN?

[Heretic Crusader]

Not one of the poseters here seems to have noticed that is was teh Muslims that attacked the Han Chinese!!!
Scores killed? Try hundreds of Chinese who did nothing but get in the way.
A local Imam threw three knive weilding Jihadists out of the mosque for trying to foment Jihad. THen they were expelled into the street and the police shot them. This is not an attack by the Chinese on the Muslims but an attack by the Muslims on their host society.

[charles]

Han Chinese are racists, of course. Kalibaba is a paid government agent (like the israeli online troll corps).

[Omid]

Sadegh,
Not only do I know who poor Neda's killer was or at least which filthy strain of Iranian society he came from, I know you, too: a vabesteh, a rant-receiving appendage of the Islamic Republic elite or security apparatus, perhaps a graduate of Imam Sadegh University or some bright kid who received a scholarship to pursue "Islamic studies" in the West so that you can come back to Iran and share all of your wisdom with other vabesteh filth.
Cheers,
Omid

[Sadeq]

Omid
It's rather bizarre that you seem to know the killer of Neda so well, were you there then??? Why didn't you catch him/her.
Your way of talking shows that you hold some serious (perhaps personal) grudge against the Iranian political system.
BTW if you think the killer of Marve will be condemned to years in prison, I invite you to follow the case. Most probably he will be diagnosed with some protracted Islamophoby, which of course is a mental illness, and you guess the rest of the story, 2 years??! 5 years??
Have a good time.

[Parvaz From Iran]

everything in these days in Iran just have a direct purpose and that is "killing of humanity in any way", so it's natural that Iran government react like this, we are so sorry about these reactions from this forced government and with all our being want from Unique God to help us.

[Joh]

100 Muslim killed a day? Where do they get that nice number, out of their ass. I hate when people make lies to further there aim.

[Omid]

Hey Sadeq,
The only problem with your asinine analogy is that the killer of this Egyptian girl is locked up in prison and will be going away for a long time while the killer of Neda is sitting on his fat butt at some Basiji base eating greasy chelo-kabab and chanting "allahu akbar, khamenei rahbar" while laughing because he killed some poor girl and got away it.
Omid

[Sadeq]

It's all about politics and national interests. Iranian condemnation of Germany and west's silence about the killing of the Egyptian woman is mainly in order to expose their double standards regarding human rights. Germany was among the states which uttered harsh remarks about the death of Neda Aqasoltan but didn't seem to be concerned about a similar incident in one of its courts. If China had interfered in Iran's internal affairs it would have faced the same thing in return.

[Ben]

kalibaba!, Go back to China!
America doesn't need Chinese immigrants who doesn't pay royalty to America. Go back and join the PLA and communist if that will make you happy.

[Alex A , Los Angeles]

Communist Chaina has no value for human being! So they get support from stone age PERSIAN regime in Tehran. So, Why Persians supported Gaza and Hamas, Armenia and Hizbullah? The main reason which most Ameriacan don't understad is PERSIANS are very rascit and chauvinst towards ethnic minorities insde the IRAN, they hate Turks of any kink and Uighurs are Turkish and their national movement are demokratic not based on religion. They are not Shia muslem, but they are harmless Sunni muslems Like Malaysiya!
China took over East Turkestan 60 years ago by force and moved Han Chinese into Uighur's homland to wipe out East Turkistanfrom world map and eleminate its people day by day from their homeland.
Shame on Obama, UN head,EU and Islamic countries for their silent, onece again political Interests and China's Veto power, overcom to care for human rights.

[Shirin]

Where is Ahmadinejad? Why is he not defending the Chinese Muslims? Is he that scared of Chinese Communists that he has decided to abandon Muslims of China. Oh I forgot. His stick doesn't reach China. Only his own back hole.

[ACM]

The only reason why Turkey goverment and Iran clerk supported the killing of 184 people who were killed by uighurs on July 5th when they were working in their shops, were on the way to hospital and on the way to shoping is that they are Muslim.

[ACM]

The only reason why Turkey goverment and Iran clerk supported the killing of 184 people who were killed by uighurs on July 5th when they were working in their shops, were on the way to hospital and on the way to shoping is that they are Muslim.

[ACM]

The only reason why Turkey goverment and Iran clerk supported the killing of 184 people who were killed by uighurs on July 5th when they were working in their shops, were on the way to hospital and on the way to shoping is that they are Muslim.

[ACM]

Whoever committed the crime of killing 184 people, they have to be punished. Most of people who were killed by uighur on July 5th are the people who were working in their shops, on the way to shoping and on the way to hospital. I don't understand why Turkey goverment and Iran clerk came out to support the killers. The only reason why Turkey goverment and Iran clerk support them is that they are Muslims. Muslim support Muslim does not they committed crime or not? I really have no respect to this religion after read what Turkey goverment and Iran clerk said

[kalibaba]

Chinese Americans do not have sympathy for "mother mullah" Kadeer or any of her uighurs muslim thugs who butchered Han Chinese families including women and children. Chinese Americans do not have ill wishes towards either China - our ancestors' home land or Chinese people -- our brothers and sisters by blood.

China has Chinese Americans' full support! China should and will rule these crazy uighurs thugs by "blood and iron". As a Chinese, I am really proud of the bloody blow Chinese government has dealt to these uighurs thugs.

Chinese leaders should follow the footsteps of Bismarck - China " must collect and keep its strength for the right moment, which has been missed several times already"; China's "frontiers ?. are not conducive to a healthy national life; it is not by means of speeches and majority resolutions that the great issues of the day will be decided-that was the great mistake ?.-but by blood and iron"!

in Just one night - 2000 crazy muslim nuts/uighurs seperatists rioters and 140+ shot dead and 1400+ arrests and 800 casualties - wow! That will surely teach those uighurs mulah nuts and tibetan monks a serious lesson - do not ever mess with CHINESE!

the extraordinary harshness and swiftness of the crack down and the promptness the government handled it and anounced it tells the world loud and clear - the Chinese Nation bears absolutely no mercy towards seperation by any minorities.

China has Chinese Americans' full support!

[Clinton]

Hilary, all civilized societies should condemn any form of terrorist activity, no mention a scale like this one.----- Bill