This content was originally published by Radio Free Asia, and it is now being reprinted with permission.
During a visit to the northern region, a group of Palestinian and other Muslim politicians praised China’s guidelines, drawing criticism from specialists and Uyghur rights advocates because they neglected to highlight the plight of another Muslims living there.
The group was led by Bassam Zakarneh, a part of Fatah’s Revolutionary Council of Palestine and made up of officials from Syria, Egypt, Lebanon, Iraq, Yemen, Jordan and Tunisia, according to , a statement by the , Global Times.  ,
On March 27, Xinjiang’s Communist Party main Ma Xingrui welcomed them to Urumqi, the provincial capital.
The goal of the explore, according to , a , Xinjiang Daily , report, was to provide a complete understanding of the situation in Xinjiang and present a narrative of a quiet and attractive region to the global community.
That contrasts sharply with the US and some European governments, which have accused China of staging a murder against the 11 million-strong Uyghurs who reside in Xinjiang, a region that the Chinese Communists took over in 1949, by imprisoning, tormenting, and sterilizing those who do not conform.  ,
Beijing has  , denied the claims , and said that reported concentration camps are in fact vocational training centres that have since been closed.
To the visiting members, Ma touted the state’s growth, security and assurance of human rights for all ethnic parties, and accused the United States and the West of spreading rests, according to Chinese media reports.  ,
” Their objective is to restrict and control China through Xinjiang”, Ma was quoted as saying.
” See it for yourself” is a good idea.
During their meeting with Ma, the delegation praised China’s creative governance measures and “unprecedented progress in economic development”, the , Xinjiang Daily , said.
According to the report, which did n’t give the names of the speakers or any direct quotes, “people of all ethnic groups live a good life, enjoy full freedom of religion, and have smiles on their faces.”
The delegation continued, claiming that the United States and other Western countries are” smearing” China’s Xinjiang policy and fabricating rumors.
” Why not come and see it for yourself”? the delegates said, according to the , Xinjiang Daily. ” We will tell more people what we saw and heard in Xinjiang, China, so that Arab countries can better understand the real Xinjiang, China”.
However, experts in the area claimed that China planned what the delegations would and would n’t see during their travel to cover up the Uyghurs ‘ persecution.  ,
According to Robert McCaw, director of the Government Affairs Department at the Council on American-Islamic Relations, the visitors should have been able to communicate directly and freely with the Uyghur Muslims living in the area.  ,
” Apparently, China wants to reach out to these leftist movements in the Arab world, and China wants to use them as its own propaganda”, said Mustafa Akyol, senior fellow at the Cato’s Institute’s Center for Global Liberty and Prosperity. The Arab world ought not to be influenced by China.
Political dynamics at play
According to experts, China has reportedly made these visits to Xinjiang to entice other Muslim groups and drive them away from the United States and other Western powers. In order to grow its influence in the Middle East, it has also supported the Palestinians.
Ten months ago, during a visit to China, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas stated that he believed the Xinjiang issue, frequently viewed as a human rights issue, was actually a fight against terrorism, extremism, and separatism.  ,
And in an effort to promote its optimistic tale of Uyghurs ‘ peace and prosperity and the blunt international criticism, China invited delegates from the 57-nation Organisation of Islamic Cooperation to Xinjiang in August.
Ma Ju, a native American Muslim Hui scholar, stated that” China seeks to build consensus and strengthen its global influence.”
Meanwhile, Muslim nations may be unwilling to criticize China because they need its political support and investment, experts said.
Some Muslim nations have endured a difficult history under Western colonialism, but Ma Ma believes that China has successfully colonized the Uyghur homeland.  ,
” For them, the primary concern seems to be finding a method to counter the influence of the U. S. and the West”, he said.
