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In a weekly lesson delivered at the Al-Aqsa Mosque, Palestinian scholar Yasser Al-Khatwani said: "The least the decision-makers [in the Arab and Muslim world] could do... would be to sever economic ties [with China], to protest against the way China treats the Uyghur Muslims." The statements were posted on the Internet on September 24, 2014.
Following are excerpts:
Sheik Yasser Al-Khatwani: It is well known that the Muslims in East Turkestan, which is called Xinjiang – the New Chinese Province – have been subjected to all kinds of torment and oppression for a long time, at the hands of the Chinese.
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Women were arrested for the sole reason that they were wearing the hijab. Men were arrested for the sole reason that they let their beards grow. Students and civil service employees were forced to eat during Ramadhan. They were forced to attend atheist lessons instead of Friday sermons. Chinese police launched raids throughout the month of Ramadhan. These raids climaxed with the crime of crimes, on the last day of Ramadhan, when they shot 20 Muslims in cold blood, merely because they protested these oppressive measures.
Despite all this, the Arab and Muslim rulers continue to maintain economic ties with the Chinese. Most of the products in Arab markets are made in China. One would assume that the least the decision-makers could do, if they had an ounce of devotion, conscience, faith, or piety, would be to sever these economic ties, to protest against the way China treats the Uyghur Muslims. But they could not care less about their brothers in East Turkestan, and it is "business as usual" – as if China has done nothing.
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