CIMES Panel: CHINA AND THE UIGHUR MUSLIMS: A HUMAN AND CULTURAL GENOCIDE

CHINA AND THE UIGHUR MUSLIMS: A HUMAN AND CULTURAL GENOCIDE

The Center for Islamic & Middle Eastern Studies and the History Department invite you to a panel presentation and discussion with Drs. Nurnisa Kurban and Dru Gladney on the Uyghur (also known as Uighurs or Uigurs) people in a historical and contemporary geopolitical context, both in China and around the world. The Uyghurs are a largely Muslim ethnic minority people living mainly in China's northwestern region of Xinjiang, who also have a significant diasporic community. Gladney and Kurban will bring their scholarly expertise and personal experience to our campus community. Kurban will provide a personal perspective on Uyghur identity, diaspora, and activism in recent years. Gladney will situate the Uyghur experience within the broader Muslim world of China, which also includes the Hui and Kazakh people. Recent developments in the region, including the mass internment of Uyghurs and proscription of some cultural and religious practices by the Beijing government, have made this an urgent topic around the world. According to The Guardian, MORE THAN 1 MILLION UIGHUR MUSLIMS HELD IN CHINESE DETENTION CENTERS?

Dr. Dru C. Gladney is Chair and Professor of Anthropology at Pomona College in Claremont, California and recent President of the Pacific Basin Institute. He is author of the award-winning book, Muslim Chinese: Ethnic Nationalism in the People's Republic (Harvard University Press, 1996, 2nd edition) as well as Ethnic Identity in China: The Making of a Muslim Minority Nationality (Wadsworth, 1998); Making Majorities: Constituting the Nation in Japan, China, Korea, Malaysia, Fiji, Turkey, and the U.S. (Editor, Stanford University Press, 1998); and Dislocating China: Muslims, Minorities, and Other Sub-Altern Subjects (Chicago University Press, 2004).

Dr. Nurnisa Kurban is an Uyghur American and Board member of Uyghur LA. She is also an assistant principal at Helen Bernstein High School. Her goal is to educate people about Uyghurs and the human rights violations and atrocities that they are facing in China.

The panel will be moderated by History Professor Jeremy Murray.