Good and Bad Muslims in Xinjiang

Abstract

To justify its repressive polices towards the Turkic-speaking Muslims of Xinjiang, Beijing taps into a global discourse of counterradicalisation that has developed in the context of the US-led War on Terror, a discourse that rests on the dichotomy of extremist vs. moderate Islam. Western commentary, while critical of China’s policies in Xinjiang, often reflects this same way of thinking. A more effective critique will challenge the terms of this Islamophobic discourse, and the West’s role in popularising it.