Arab Media Portrayals of Anti-Uyghur Repression: Chinese Propaganda, Anti-Islamist Anxiety, and Anti-Westernism

Abstract

China is looked upon warmly in the Arab world. Allegations about extreme hu-man rights abuses by the Chinese government of Muslim populations in the Xin-jiang Uyghur Autonomous Region, however, put the durability of this popularity into question. This article uses Arabic-language media sources to illuminate Bei-jing’s efforts to neutralize this controversy for Arab audiences and the nature of the debate around the topic in the Arab media sphere. Widely sympathetic cove-rage reflects a synergy between Beijing’s propaganda efforts and anxiety about Islamism among Arab regimes. In addition, this article argues that the leitmotif of anti-Westernism in Arab media suggests China’s reputation reaps considerable reward from the fraught legacies of Western involvement in the Arab world.