Ethnic Violence In China Draws Muted Response From Many Muslim Nations

July 13, 2009

Author: Josef Federman

Source: The Chicago Tribune

Wire Service: AP

http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/nationworld/sns-ap-ml-china-protest-muslims,0,2172448.story

The riots in China's Xinjiang region and subsequent crackdown on the Muslim Uighur minority have drawn a muted response from many Muslim countries that may be wary of damaging lucrative trade ties with Beijing or attracting attention to their own attitudes toward political dissent.

The non-Arab countries of Iran and Turkey have been among the few to criticize China. Iran is busy dealing with its own unrest following a disputed presidential election, while Turkey has ethnic ties to China's Uighur minority.

But throughout much of the Middle East and the Arab world, the violence in China has generated little reaction.