China seeks to improve dialogue with Muslim world

Religious Affairs Directorate Deputy President Mehmet Görmez told Today’s Zaman that he had witnessed a sincere effort on the Chinese side to discuss and find solutions to problems the Muslim communities living in China face during a visit by an official delegation two weeks ago.

A committee composed of delegates from 10 countries visited China to convey the demands and expectations of the Organization of the Islamic Conference (OIC) to Chinese authorities regarding Muslim minorities in the country. Görmez represented Turkey on the committee, which included high-ranking officials from Sudan, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Jordan and Bosnia and Herzegovina.

Görmez explained that this visit, which was held to observe the living conditions and social realities of the Muslim community in China, yielded positive results and would continue to do so. “The talks with Chinese authorities were held in a positive atmosphere. We observed that the Chinese are willing to fraternize with the Islamic world, and we acquired the chance to obtain a glimpse of Chinese understandings and perceptions of the Islamic world by analyzing the information on the Islamic world from Chinese sources,” he explained.

Görmez underlined that they visited regions inhabited predominantly by Muslims and talked with leaders and representatives from Muslim communities in order to be better informed about living conditions there. Deputy President Görmez drew attention to the vitality of currently developing relations with China and stressed that the current relationship between the two should be viewed from a historical and strategic point of view. He also added that the visit strengthened the relationship between the two sides.

Görmez also noted that they obtained valuable information about the education system in the areas they visited by going to schools and institutions that offer religious education, and that they had the chance to observe the needs and demands of Muslim communities. “We conveyed our intention to visit China as a committee that represents the voice of the Organization of the Islamic Conference in 2007. Our request to visit China was not denied. However, we had to postpone our visit to 2010 due to the Beijing Olympic Games held in 2008 and the Urumqi riots in 2009. Our talks and meetings with Chinese authorities were fruitful. Both sides made immense progress by showing a mutual desire to improve their dialogue, which, in my opinion, should have taken place earlier,” he said.

He added: “Moreover, this visit paved the way for increasing the prospect of organizing meetings between higher authorities. Chinese authorities reported that 44,000 mosques are available for use in China and that religious freedom is constantly being promoted in the country. Representatives of the Muslim community informed the delegation about the problems that hinder religious education. They stressed that authorities are expanding freedoms for religions; however, a lack of financial resources make it difficult to train religious officials as they need to be supported during their training. There is shortage of religious officials in schools and institutions offering religious education due to financial difficulties. They said there are even cases where 20 children must share a single Quran during a hafiz session.” “Therefore, it is vital that this community begins to strengthen its bonds with Islamic countries in order to receive economic support that will serve to settle these financial problems,” Görmez advised.

Report will be released soon

Görmez noted that the Islamic Institute of China in the capital city of Gansu province established by OIC played a significant role in meeting the educational needs of Hui Muslims, and he confirmed that Turkey has undertaken the task of addressing the shortcomings of religious education in the Xinjiang Autonomous Region by sending Qurans and by taking other necessary steps.

Görmez also stated that the impressions and thoughts of committee members would soon be compiled and published as a report by the OIC.