What are Uyghurs doing in Syria? Special report

Ya Libnan

24-05-2025

An image released by the Turkistan Islamic Party in Syria shows Masked Uyghur fighters in camouflage stand in lines holding guns
DAMASCUS—On a recent Friday afternoon at the Umayyad Mosque in Syria's capital, Uyghur fighters joined thousands of other worshippers for weekly prayers as just another group of rebels in uniform. Since the fall of dictator Bashar al-Assad, Uyghurs have become increasingly visible around Damascus, but their future in the country is tenuous and could prove an obstacle for a new government in Syria seeking to assure global powers that it can keep foreign fighters from threatening those beyond its borders.
Over the last decade or so, thousands of Uyghurs made their way to Syria from China via Turkey. Today, Uyghur leaders in Syria say their community numbers around 15,000, including 5,000 fighters. Most live in the rebel-held city of Idlib or in enclaves near the city of Jisr al-Shughur. The 'Turkistanis,' as many Syrians refer to them, have opened schools and operate gas stations and restaurants. At neighborhood bakeries, they churn out traditional round, thick flatbreads, which some of their Syrian neighbors have developed a taste for as well. The vast majority do not have passports, but like others in the rebel-held areas, they have ID cards, and hundreds are enrolled in Idlib University, where the interim government has announced they, like local Syrians, can attend tuition-free.
Uyghurs face discrimination in China
Uyghurs and other Muslim minorities face systemic repression and discrimination in the Chinese region of Xinjiang, but what's it like to live there?
Xinjiang is synonymous with trouble and stigma and with being remote and backward. But many people in Xinjiang claim it's the safest place in the country – they are proud of it.
Government's control has increased. Enter any building – restaurant, shopping mall, cinema, hospital, supermarket – and it's the same: security check, bag check, swipe ID card. it feels like being in a science fiction film.
Negative views and attitudes towards Muslims in China are widespread, and some Muslim communities in China face legal restrictions on their ability to practice.
Muslim prisoners in detention centers and internment camps have faced practices such as being
force-fed
pork. Prohibitions on
fasting during Ramadan
for
Uyghurs
in
Xinjiang
are couched in terms of protecting residents'
free will
In the 21st century, coverage of Muslims in Chinese media has generally been negative, and Islamophobic content is widespread on Chinese social media.
Anti-Muslim attitudes in China have been tied to both narratives regarding historical conflicts between China and Muslim polities as well as contemporary rhetoric related to terrorism in China and abroad
Recent scholars contend that historical conflicts between the Han Chinese and Muslims like the
Northwest Hui Rebellion
have been used by some Han Chinese to legitimize and fuel anti-Muslim beliefs and bias in contemporary China. Scholars and researchers have also argued that Western Islamophobia and the '
War on Terror
' have contributed to the mainstreaming of anti-Muslim sentiments and practices in China
Concentration camps
In 2023,
NPR
reported on ways that the
Chinese government
is actively preventing Chinese Muslim from going on the
Hajj
such as confiscation of passports. In
Uyghur
communities, Islamic education for children has been prohibited and teaching the
Quran
to children has resulted in criminal prosecution. In 2023, government efforts to '
sinicize
' a mosque in
Yunnan
by destroying its minaret and dome roof led to clashes with worshippers.
Leaked documents detail China's systematic brainwashing of hundreds of thousands of Muslims in a network of high-security prison camps
More than a million Muslims have been arbitrarily detained in China's Xinjiang region since 2017. The reeducation camps are just one part of the government's crackdown on Uyghurs.
The United States determined that China's actions constitute genocide, while a UN report said they could amount to crimes against humanity.
Reports and investigations suggest that the Chinese government has implemented policies and practices in Xinjiang that have significantly reduced birth rates among Uyghurs and other Muslim minorities
Uyghurs in Syria threaten the Chinese government
China's abuses in Xinjiang, where it is accused of arbitrary detention and forced labour, have caused tens of thousands of Uyghurs to flee the country. In the 2010s many travelled to Turkey, where they struggled. Across the border in war-torn Syria, rebels in control of the area around Idlib offered the Uyghurs a haven. It is not known exactly how many went. Most were civilians. But in 2017 Mr Assad's ambassador to China said that between 4,000 and 5,000 Uyghurs were fighting in Syria.
A week later, with Assad fall, Abdul Haq al-Turkistani, the leader, of the Uyghur fighters released a statement. 'The Chinese disbelievers will soon taste the same torment that the disbelievers in Syria have tasted, if God wills,' it read.
The Chinese government has long expressed concern about their presence in Syria. In 2016 it began holding monthly talks with the Assad regime to share intelligence on the group's movements, reported the
AP
. On December 31st a Chinese foreign-ministry spokesperson called on all countries to 'recognize the violent nature' of the
Uyghur fighers and 'crack down on them'.
.
News Agencies