The War on the Uyghurs: China's Internal Campaign against a Muslim Minority

by Sean R. Roberts

How China is using the US-led war on terror to erase the cultural identity of its Muslim minority in the Xinjiang region

Within weeks of the September 11 attacks on New York and Washington, the Chinese government warned that it faced a serious terrorist threat from its Uyghur ethnic minority, who are largely Muslim. In this explosive book, Sean Roberts reveals how China has been using the US-led global war on terror as international cover for its increasingly brutal suppression of the Uyghurs, and how the war's targeting of an undefined enemy has emboldened states around the globe to persecute ethnic minorities and severely repress domestic opposition in the name of combatting terrorism.

Of the eleven million Uyghurs living in China today, more than one million are now being held in so-called reeducation camps, victims of what has become the largest program of mass detention and surveillance in the world. Roberts describes how the Chinese government successfully implicated the Uyghurs in the global terror war--despite a complete lack of evidence--and branded them as a dangerous terrorist threat with links to al-Qaeda. He argues that the reframing of Uyghur domestic dissent as international terrorism provided justification and inspiration for a systematic campaign to erase Uyghur identity, and that a nominal Uyghur militant threat only emerged after more than a decade of Chinese suppression in the name of counterterrorism--which has served to justify further state repression.

A gripping and moving account of the humanitarian catastrophe that China does not want you to know about, The War on the Uyghurs draws on Roberts's own in-depth interviews with the Uyghurs, enabling their voices to be heard.

Genres: China, History, Nonfiction, Politics, Islam, Asia, Race

328 pages, Hardcover

First published September 8, 2020

Reviews

[Kayli · Rating 5 out of 5]

Well-researched and highly informative--Roberts has spent three decades studying the Uyghur people. This book reads like a historical narrative spanning the history of the Uyghurs and the ongoing colonial practices enacted against them, along with the strategic framing by the PRC of them as "terrorists". This framing has been detrimental to their entire population--not only in the XUAR (Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region), but has played into the 'Global War on Terror' (GWOT) narrative spiking after 9/11, and acts as a sort of 'justifier' in China's case for their abuse of human rights.

As many may know by now, the re-education camps functioning in Xinjiang these past years act more as a landmark of ongoing cultural genocide; the entirety of the XUAR is highly controlled by security infrastructure, requiring identity confirmation biometrics at checkpoints throughout the region, and state-of-the-art AI alongside built-in facial recognition features in CCTV cameras evaluating the smallest of actions by anyone profiled as Uyghur. It's so unfortunate especially how the slapped-on label of "terrorism" upon the Uyghur people has acted as a self-fulfilling prophecy--their reactions to the securitization of their region has provoked some increase in violence, facilitating an escalating cycle of repression followed by violence and more repression, and so on. This label also undermines any claims against their treatment and yearns for their own territory. Seeing trends of this framing in Chinese media is what inspired me to do a cross-comparative news analysis this semester on the difference in framing that a state-led media like Xinhua may use in comparison with an American media outlet to describe the "re-education" camps.

This book has greatly helped to broaden my historical understanding of the root issues at-hand.
What I appreciated most about this book include analysis of the origins of the "terrorism" label China employs to their benefit, alongside the rarely-discussed theme of colonialism in China.

I want to also note that Roberts ended his work with a very solid conclusion highlighting three emerging global trends that have played a role in China's actions against the Uyghurs: (1) our transition toward a post-privacy world and how big data collection & analysis is present and ubiquitous in our daily lives, and could technically be used by any gov't to replicate what is currently occurring in Xinjiang; (2) The decline of respect for human rights globally (and the US being a prime example in recent years); (3) The racist logic of settler colonialism is re-emerging alongside nationalistic tendencies. "..the Uyghur cultural genocide may not be as exceptional as it seems, but is instead a symptom of a greater malaise in the world".

[Saadullah · Rating 4 out of 5]

Although this was a seamless read and the book is a good primer for modern Xinjiang history, there are many things I disagree with.

First and foremost, the author refers to Xinjiang as a textbook case of settler colonialism. The way this term is used conventionally indicates colonialisms in which a colonizer has no need of an indigenous population, and therefore, pursues their extermination. The author also uses the examples of Native Americans and the Rohingaya to further emphasize how this manifests, which is all great, and highlights we are on the same page on what settler colonialism means. But there is no segment in the book that indicates the Chinese state seeks to exterminate the Uyghur population. Their policies are Islamophobic, and premised on very racial conceptions of what Uyghurs are like, but their constant description as genocidal and settler colonial in this context seem more alarmist than accurate.

The author prefaces this by categorizing this entire phenomenon an act of 'cultural' genocide. I really, really did not like this word. There is assumably much milder language to describe the erasure Han Chinese encroachment, as well as the camps, all entail for the Uyghurs. But the author does not claim the Han intend to entirely eliminate the Uyghur population. There is no convincing indication that this is anything but a very, very aggressive and racially-motivated integration program.

I honestly would not have had such a problem with this aspect of the text had I felt the author was genuinely engaging with the literature and theory of genocides. But when the author fails to declare the genocide of Palestinians a case of "settler colonialism", or that of Kashmiris in India as something eerily similar, I could not respect his commitment to the vocabulary of genocide in the context of the Uyghurs. He refers to these examples only in the ending pages -- and the Palestinians are only hesitantly and vaguely connected to settler colonialism.

But the book is again, a great read. While I do think it is sensationalist in many of its framings, many other themes are well-delivered. The racism of the Chinese state, and its incredibly farcical attempts to convince the world that its extreme policing and internment measures in Xinjiang are stemming from fears of Islamic fundamentalists rather than a diseased perception of Uyghurs is extremely convincing. It is also well worth reading how much clout China commands over other countries involved in the One Belt Initiative, and brief examples from Pakistan and Kazakhstan convey this effectively.

[Minam · Rating 5 out of 5]

Definitely a must read for people who want a deeper understanding of the Uyghur/China conflict, esp in context of Uyghur history as well as in context of international policy on terrorism and the global war on terror.

[Sam · Rating 5 out of 5]

A sober and sobering look at the holocaust unfolding in Xinjiang. The author, an Uyghur-speaking anthropologist, neither exaggerates nor pulls his punches. This is a terrific work of serious scholarship with tremendous practical significance. Top-notch.

[Ben · Rating 5 out of 5]

I found this a very interesting and important read on race and political science.

Would recommend giving it a read to bring more awareness.

4.8/5

[Matthew · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of the most profoundly disturbing books I have ever read. Roberts lays out in precise language and clear detail the cultural genocide currently being perpetrated by the CCP against the Uyghurs in Xinjiang-the internment camps, the forced labor regiments, the Orwellian panopticon of a surveillance regime, the physical destruction of Uyghur communities, family separation and on and on and on. Roberts also paints this genocide as the mechanism for finally achieving the project of Han settler colonization of Xinjiang, a project well over a hundred years old at this points.

Reading this at the same time as Richard White's history of the Gilded Age only emphasizes the disturbing and obvious parallels between current developments in Xinjiang and the destruction of American Indian communities. It's very easy to imagine that, had America's genocide occurred in the 21st century instead, it would take on much of the shape and character of what the CCP are doing to the Uyghur people. Everyone should read this book, if only to fully absorb the fact that what is happening in Xinjiang may be the greatest human rights catastrophe happening in the world today.

[Hadrian · Rating 4 out of 5]

Sean Roberts, an anthropologist at George Washington University, writes on the campaigns of mass surveillance, forced assimilation, and repression committed in Xinjiang since 2016. the destruction of mosques and other cultural sites, banning religious practices, forcibly resettling the rural population, restricting the use of the Uyghur language, and imprisoning prominent intellectuals. Roberts calls it, and I quote directly, "cultural genocide".

Roberts identifies two distant causes: a legacy of settler colonialism which has its roots in the late Qing Dynasty; and also the rhetoric of the Global War on Terror, which was appropriated as a justification for an expansive security regime. He also describes the process of a "self-fulfilling prophecy", where there was almost no violent activity against civilian populations before the crackdown, and he describes a violent separatist movement as being isolated and unpopular, basically an armed camera crew, and one that the Taliban government was willing to give up to the PRC authorities before 2000. Harsher policies, by contrast, have apparently driven a more extreme response, with some tens of thousands fleeing to Syria or Turkey.

[Zico · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a summary rather than a review. In short, this book details the history of the relationship between Uyghurs and mainland China since 1759 with an updated (2021) account of the cultural genocide taking place in the Uyghur homeland. It is a phenomenal achievement of scholarship by Sean R. Roberts. One could easily spend months following up on the hundreds of endnotes if one were to study the topic academically.

I recommend the review by Goodreads user Kayri. As for me, I’ll provide an outline and a summary of each chapter.

Introduction

After 9/11 and the launch by the U.S. of the global war on terror (GWOT), terrorism became an integral part of international geopolitics. The Chinese government used this international climate to accuse the Uyghurs of being part of a global network of terrorism and to justify the persecution of Uyghurs. The introduction compares the very different definitions of terrorism used by the U.S. and the Chinese governments and proposes a more objective definition that belies both the U.S. and China’s agendas.

1. Colonialism, 1759-2001

This chapter describes the ebbs and flows of the relationship between China’s rulers and the Uyghurs, as well as the changing status of the Uyghur region from 1759 until 2011. Despite the ever-changing degree of cultural freedom and political independence afforded to the Uyghur minority, their homeland’s status remained that of a colony throughout this period.

2. How the Uyghurs became a ‘terrorist threat’

This chapters examines how the terrorism accusation against Uyghurs was first created by China in the aftermath of 9/11 and explains the regional and international political factors which allowed this argument to develop despite its glaring inaccuracy. The author also examines the burgeoning network of ‘terrorism experts,’ or the counterterrorism industrial complex, which opportunistically helped to shape this argument.

3. Myths and realities of the alleged ‘terrorist threat’ associated with Uyghurs

In this chapter which covers the period between 2002 and 2012, the author relates the history of ETIM and TIP, the two Uyghur organizations accused of terrorism by the US and China, through primary and Uyghur language sources. He debunks these accusations and shows ETIM as a mere community of exiles and TIP as a media company specialized in propaganda video production with no military wing.

4. Colonialism meets counterterrorism, 2002-2012

Post 9/11 the China suppressed dissent in the name of ‘counterterrorism’ and the struggle against alleged ‘extremism,’ controlling the ways Uyghurs behaved and thought. A new strategy called ‘Open up the West’ consisted in development projects combined with Han settler colonization and led to a massive displacement of Uyghurs, the disfigurement of Uyghur culture, and the destruction of many Uyghur communities.
Chinese became the only language of education for all Uyghurs students from an early age. Thousands of them were sent to boarding schools with the aim of wiping out their Uyghur identity and creating a divide between generations.

China used many small incidents before the Olympics to create an exaggerated or imagined terrorist Uyghur threat. Draconian security measures led to protests by Uyghurs. In July 2009, when the police tried to stop a large peaceful protest in Urumqi, the protest turned into a riot with hundreds killed among Hans and Uyghurs. The riot resulted in widespread arrests, forced disappearances, a communication blackout on the region, and a crackdown on religious activities.

The Chinese Communist Party (CCP) changed its approach towards ethnic minorities, promoting a singular civic identity in place of ethnic distinctiveness and autonomy.
After 2010, the Uyghur region resembled the Palestinian West Bank after China implemented massive surveillance, profiling, and division of cities through physical barriers and frequent checkpoints. Uyghur violent resistance to police became a common occurrence, leading to a self-perpetuating conflict between Uyghurs and security organs.

5. The self-fulfilling prophecy and the ‘People’s War on Terror,’ 2013-2016

The constant escalation of the repression of Uyghurs led to desperate acts of violence like the one committed on 29 October 2013 in Beijing when a Uyghur man ran his SUV, with his wife and mother inside, into tourists, killing two. The author then gives the definition of the self-fulfilling prophecy according to sociologist Robert Merton. Violence continued to erupt in several instances in 2013, each time officially described by China as acts of terrorism, in reality most likely confrontations between Uyghurs resisting repression by state security with no Chinese civilians targeted.
2014 saw the first attacks by Uyghurs that can be accurately qualified as terrorist acts per the book definition. China initiated a new escalation of repression, attacking all Muslim practices inherent to Uyghur identity, setting up the stage for the upcoming cultural genocide. With the increase in the repression of religiosity, violence went up a notch. Thousands of Uyghurs were killed. Uyghur neighbourhoods were fenced off in cities.
Some 30,000 Uyghurs left China via legal and illegal means between 2010 and 2016. Thousands of Uyghurs who went to Turkey moved with their families from to Syria to fight with TIP, pushed by impoverishment and the enticement of building their own communities, and manifesting the self-fulfilling prophecy of China’s War on Terror into existence.

6. Cultural genocide, 2017-2020

The origins of the genocide go back to 2014. Its implementation started in 2016 when Chen Quanguo, the former party secretary in Tibet, was assigned to Xinjiang which he immediately turned into a police state. A vast network of internment camps was created. Reports of mass imprisonment of Uyghurs start to surface in September 2017. A million minority Muslims were jailed in a hundred prison-like camps. Torture of all kinds –educational, psychological, physical and sexual– took place in the camps. Eyewitnesses’ accounts abounded, from both internees and staff. Factories were established at varying proximity to the camps where Uyghurs were forced to work under the threat of or after internment. On top of the internment camps, hundreds of thousands of Uyghurs are sent to actual prisons. The surveillance of Uyghurs was done through high technology and homestays of CCP cadres at Uyghur homes. Hundreds of mosques and shrines were destroyed, and with them Uyghur history and culture. Cemeteries were uprooted without reburying the dead. The Uyghur human capital was destroyed through forcing anti-Islamic practices unto Uyghurs; preventing Uyghur children from studying in high school and sending the brightest of them to Han boarding schools, especially children of interned parents who become wards of the state; and coercing Uyghur women into marrying Chinese Han men.

7. Conclusion

China’s goal is not to counter Uyghur terrorism but to eradicate Uyghur culture so that the CCP can develop the region as an integral part of a culturally homogenous state. The author’s predictions for the future of Uyghurs is grim, but the resilience of Uyghurs in China and the activism of the diaspora give him hope that the erasure of Uyghur culture will not occur.

"GWOT [Global War On Terror] has never really been about ‘terrorism.’ It has always been about finding a justification for the pursuance of other interests."

Until the international community agrees on a common definition of terrorism and on rules of addressing terrorism, GWOT will continue to be used as a justification for genocide.

"The only real action that can put significant pressure on China at the moment must come from the grassroots, and it must target the PRC in the only way that can create real leverage, economically."

The cultural genocide of Uyghurs is a symptom of three current trends towards a post-privacy world, a post-rights world, and a racist logic of settler colonialism.

[Gök Börü · Rating 5 out of 5]

well-written, solid and reliable; starting with a brief history of uyghur-chinese conflict then proceeding to more detailed sad story of uyghurs facing chinese state-led genocide.

[Oktay Yagiz · Rating 5 out of 5]

The War on the Uyghurs, Sean R. Roberts

Of the eleven million Uyghurs living in their East Turkistan homeland (dubbed as Xinjian by the Chinese invaders as a prelude to their settler colonialization of the region) more than one million are incarcerated in concentration camps built and run by the PRC and euphoniously labeled as centers for ‘re-education’.

These camps make up a major network systematically programmed for the replacement of the Uyghur identity with that of the Han majority through means ranging from indoctrination to extreme forms of physical abuse of the inmates.

For those Uyghurs not yet ‘recruited’ by this network, another state-run network is employed. It is an all-pervasive system for the tracking, intimidation, and incrimination of the indigenous populace by means of a surveillance system that surpasses even fictionalized dystopia in terms of its technological savvy and totalitarian inclusivity.

And, all is done in the relentless pursuit of an ethnic eradication campaign the result of which is almost ensured to be no less than a cultural genocide.

Sean Roberts knells the bells of sound judgment for us all to wake up to the reality of this human tragedy of historic proportions. His bells knell particularly for policy makers worldwide who are to be blamed for the formulation of an equation that correlates terrorism with domestic opposition against state sponsored suppression of political and social dissent. The bells also knell to alert the international community to the illusory nature of this equation, which has been embraced and is conveniently used as an excuse by China in line with its interpretation of the global war on terror.

Almost of equal gravity with the East Turkistan tragedy is the oblivious attitude of the international community towards its blatant perpetration, an attitude upheld by reasons that range from naivety to self-preservation and even to self-identification. This is what leads Roberts to remind us of some final words uttered elsewhere and within another historic context: “first they came for” the Uyghurs.

Sophisticated, educational, forthright, shattering of rhetoric and misrepresentations, the book is a timely document of indispensable value for those who might choose forming their own opinion of what has come to Uyghurs to draw conclusions about what would come next and to whom in these post-liberal times of mounting suspicion, fear and exclusion of the other, erosion of universal values, and on-line violation of personal space and marketization of privacy --all in line with the rising tide of absolutism.

[Ciaran Monaghan · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'll caveat this review at the start by saying I expect I would feel differently had I read a physical copy. On audio, I found it hard to stick with, as most chapters were between 45 mins and 1 hour long and were quite dense. It also feels like it's been adapted from a thesis or academic research paper, with Roberts outlining his terms and definitions at the start and consistently referencing them throughout - e.g., " this does not fit the definition of terrorism as outlined in this book". Again, this is not necessarily a bad thing, but did not really work for me as an audiobook.

In terms of content, it's very comprehensive, briefly covering the position of Uyghurs in China prior to September 11 2001, before explaining how this event and the vaguely defined Global War on Terror which followed allowed China to gradually ramp up its repression, developing into the cultural genocide that continues even today.

To summarise, if you have heard about this story in the news and wanted to learn more, then this is certainly recommended, but I would suggest opting for a physical copy.

[Jen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Amazing, well written book. Doesn't show bias, as in the author doesn't skip over some of the not-so-great parts. It's very thorough. I think this is an important book that should be read by a vast majority of people. Will be an excellent reference for a paper I'm writing.

[Gabit · Rating 5 out of 5]

It takes courage to write this kind of book. The author is a hero. This book is a must read for Asian Americans who can come together once again to stop hate.

[Stephanie Carr · Rating 5 out of 5]

'First they came for the Uyghurs'

Have you heard about the current plight of the Uyghurs in China? Wanna understand more? Here's a book for you!

This book takes you through their history with China and the Soviet Union and more, gives a more specific definition of terrorism than what the word conjures on its own, and then puts China's claims that 'what they're doing to the Uyghurs is counterterrorism' to the torch.

This book also critiques western liberal democracies for the global war on terror and what the US and others have done makes it difficult to smack China around since they can easily point to our own sins under this guise. So yeah, that's fun. 🙃

[Lucy · Rating 5 out of 5]

The West must not look away from China's actions in Xinjiang: As this book convincingly describes, Western actions played a key role in facilitating the horrifying actions there through the War on Terror, islamophobia, and ignorance.

[Walaa Shaaban · Rating 3 out of 5]

It’s painful to read about what has been happening to Uyghurs for years now without enough attention on the media.

And I think the reason of that is that the Chinese government first of all doing it silently and slowly. It’s a very smart, effective and ugly strategy to ethnically cleanse a nation without bringing any attention to their actions. Because they’re doing it slowly.
It’s torture, many people think of it as only concentration camps, but the book tells about what is actually happening in those camps. It’s not just “re-educational” but it also contains rape, sexual violence, not allowing people to speak their own language to each other, threading anyone working inside if they want to report an assault. Prisoning important Uyghur figures such as writers, doctors, musicians or anyone that might keep a bit of knowledge and information about the culture and the community.

The reason why I give this book 3 stars, when I wished I could give it 3.5 stars, is for 2 reasons: 75% of the book talked about the beginning of the ethnic cleansing of the Uyghurs and gave very little space to mention what is happening in the camps.
the second reason is that he mentions that only “liberal and democratic” countries have spoken against actions of China, such as the US and Europe. which I find very hypocritical… because we all know these countries are no longer considered liberal nor democratic. They only speak out against someone when it’s convenient for their own political interests and agendas. The US only speaks out against China because it’s their enemy, and European countries do so because the US is an ally! We’ve all seen how the US backed up and funded and defended many breaches of international law done by Israel, provided them weapons to kill more than 40,000 Palestinians in Gaza in a couple of months. As well as Germany, the UK, and many other Europeans countries. We’ve seen very very few countries in Europe condemning the actions of Israel. So dear author, I find it hypocritical to say that only “liberal and democratic” countries have stood against China. Because these countries are no longer liberal nor democratic.

Last but not least, I recommend everyone to read this book if they don’t know much about what’s happening to the Uyghurs and what the Chinese government is doing to them.

[Gary · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of the great tragedies of our time is the genocide being enacted by the Chinese government in Xinjiang, a.k.a. East Turkestan, against the Uyghur people and other Muslim minorities in the province. Sean Roberts, a regional specialist with a deep knowledge of Uyghur culture and history, has written a very well-informed backgrounder that looks at the recent—since 1750—history of the Uyghurs, basically stopping at 1949 and the communist take over of the region. The book then digresses into an examination of Chinese communist rule in Xinjiang which vacillated between accommodative coexistence and assimilationist approaches until the 1990s. From the mid-nineties the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) started to adopt a more aggressive assimilationist approach, and the current genocide is the logical and extreme endpoint of this approach. Along the way, the CCP turned the Uyghurs into enemies in a self-fulfilling prophesy. However, the claim that there was a “terrorist” problem in Xinjiang has always been bogus. One of the impressive aspects of The War On The Uyghurs is the close examination of this “terrorist” myth, and the implicit connection between China’s search for a justification for what it was doing and the West’s Global War on Terror that provided the cover required. As part of the discussion, Roberts analyses the history and activities of the East Turkistan Islamic Movement (ETIM) and the Turkistan Islamic Party (TIP), two organisations on the State Department’s list of terror organisations since 2003. The CCP pushed hard to get these two resistance groups branded “terrorist”, even though neither group had any presence in Xinjiang or actually managed to fight there. (Practically all the violence in Xinjiang over many years was isolated and spontaneous incidents of resistance with larger incidents a reaction to overbearing Chinese policing and/or assimilationist policies.) The CCP then used the “terrorist” button as a justification for it’s increasingly insane policies and finally cultural genocide on a large scale. It’s a sorry tale.

[Mikey · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very well articulated and thoughtfully presented. Goes deep into an issue that many have heard of on at least the surface level and examines the wide-ranging events that have gotten us to this point today and why we’ve let it come this far.

[Alex · Rating 5 out of 5]

A brilliant read on what seems like a less researched topic. Only praise for Roberts' work.

[Bob · Rating 4 out of 5]

Summary: An account of the People’s Republic of China’s suppression of the Uyghur minority within its borders, including its use of the U.S.-initiated Global War on Terror to pursue religious and political persecution, re-education, internment camps, and intermarriage to effect what the author calls “cultural genocide.“

The Uyghurs are a predominantly Muslim people of the Turkic linguistic family. The largest portion of the population lives in Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region (XUAR) in the western part of the People’s Republic of China (PRC). There are also Uyghur populations in several other Central Asian countries as well as a refugee community in Turkey. Since 2001 they have undergone increasingly repressive treatment. They have a long history in this part of the world, first becoming subject to China under the Qing dynasty.

Sean R. Roberts has spent the last several decades studying this people, first for his doctoral work. He has interviewed people both inside the XUAR, when this did not put them at risk, and lived in homes of Uyghurs in surrounding countries. In this work he recounts their history and describes the growth of increasing repressive treatment of the PRC’s Uyghur population in what amounts to what he calls “cultural genocide.” He begins by describing early colonial efforts of Qing and Han dynasties, rising nationalist hopes during the 1940’s under Soviet control, the early accommodation under Mao, with increasing efforts at assimilation during the Cultural Revolution. The 1980’s represented the last breath of accommodation before growing settler colonialism and efforts at integrating the XUAR into the rest of the PRC.

After disturbances in Baren in 1990 and Ghulja in 1997, resisting government policies, the PRC responded with increasing security crackdowns. Then 2001 came and with it, the U.S. led Global War on Terror (GWOT). Roberts traces how China used GWOT to designated a tiny group, the Eastern Turkestan Islamic Movement as a Uyghur terrorist organization, one operating outside its national boundaries but intent on terrorist acts within the country, with the aid of indigenous Uyghur populations. A good part of the book examines this claim, showing that the group and its successors typically consisted of 5 to 25 individuals more adept at creating threatening videos than any actual terrorist acts. Yet this justified further crackdowns on the PRC’s Uyghur population. Threats around the Beijing Olympics in 2008 including a bus bombing in Shanghai and a 2009 riot in Urumqi, within XUAR, served as further proof of “terrorist” threats.

All of this justified PRC’s efforts at settler colonialism to dilute Uyghur influence and counterterrorism efforts that involved increased surveillance, bans on religious practices, state-run schools, and the suppression of the Uyghur language. Much of this took place between 2002 and 2012.The next several years were a self-fulfilling prophecy, as Uyghur resistance rose in recognition that their cultural identity was under attack. Then came brutal measures from 2017 on to wipe out the Uyghur identity in what would become simply Xinjiang. Some were able to flee, Many men were sent to internment camps. Uyghur settlements were destroyed and replaced with apartment blocks settled by Han settlers. Due to male internment and “one child” policies among the Han, there were many “forced” intermarriages of Uyghur women to Han men. Internees were dispersed throughout China as factory workers.

Roberts’ account depends on two key concepts: his definition of terror as acts that are “violent, politically motivated, and deliberately target civilians” and his use of the idea of “cultural genocide” which is the cultural if not bodily destruction of a people. As to the first, he argues that there is scant evidence of a real Uyghur terrorist threat with only a few isolated incidents that are not a part of a premeditated scheme. Furthermore, almost none of the indigenous Uyghur population could in any way be associated with this threat, yet China’s use of the GWOT served as pretext for its campaign against this Muslim minority. “Cultural genocide” argues that there are more ways to eliminate people than mass killings and that the systematic campaign of settler colonialism, educational assimilation, interment, forced intermarriage, dispersion, and religious suppression is also genocidal even if there are few dead Uyghurs as a result.

Roberts’ conclusion is chilling. He argues that indifference to the fate of the Uyghurs gives permission for others to do the same. Where will it end? He points to three concerning global trends 1) the eclipse of privacy with the rise of electronic surveillance ubiquitous among all of us, 2) the decline of respect for human rights, a decline that during the GWOT includes the U.S., and 3) the re-emergence of settler colonialism and nationalism, justifying the suppression and assimilation of minorities. Do we really want a situation where it may be said, “First they came for the Uyghurs…”?

[Aviram · Rating 3 out of 5]

The thesis of Roberts' book is that China took advantage of the Global War on Terror's loose definition of terrorism in order to exaggerate the terrorist threat posed by the Uyghur people. This then allowed China to accelerate their decades-long project of settler colonialism in the Uyghur homeland, which then culminated in the ongoing cultural genocide of the Uyghur people. While I agree with the thrust of this argument, some quite shoddy scholarship undermines his thesis and does a disservice to his goal of bringing attention to the suffering of the Uyghur people.
While there are many examples of Roberts misrepresenting various works that he cites, the one that I found the most frustrating, and which prevented me from engaging straightforwardly with his clear, fluid and well-constructed narrative, concerns how he defines terrorism. On pages 12-14, he claims to borrow Israeli scholar Boaz Ganor's definition of terrorism, which he differentiates from guerilla warfare by describing it as the deliberate use of violence against civilians in order to achieve political aims. However, he attributes an overly narrow definition of 'civilian' to Ganor, which is unsupported by Ganor's actual words in the work Roberts cites. Indeed, while Ganor explicitly indicates that "guerilla warfare involves "targeting a specific urban military facility or attacking a member of the military/security forces, or a political leader at the decision-making level"" (Ganor, 2002, p. 128) and rejects symbols of the state or lower level officials as legitimate targets, Roberts pretends that Ganor considers *any* person or building affiliated with the government as a legitimate target, and therefore not terrorism.
This allows Roberts to greatly reduce the instances of terrorism perpetrated by Uyghur groups, for example by refusing civilian status to an Imam who is coopted by the local government and assassinated by Uyghurs. If that wasn't enough, Roberts doesn't even consistently apply his own minimal definition of terrorism. While in the introduction he says that he will use the word 'terrorism' in scare quotes when indicating an exaggerated claim on the part of China, and use the word without scare quotes when talking about attacks that meet his definition, there are several instances where he puts scare quotes around 'terrorism' even when the victims of violence are considered civilians according to his own narrow definition.
In the context of what is arguably an ideological war between the 'West' and China, of which the Uyghur people seem so often to be simply a pawn, it is extremely important not to supply apologists for China's crimes with excuses to dismiss the charges made against them. By misleadingly casting the, albeit exaggerated, terrorist threat posed by Uyghur nationalist groups as "minor to non-existent" (p. 196), he misses an opportunity to provide an even-handed interpretation of China's actual security situation. As he himself admits, China's repression of the Uyghurs "would be unjustifiable even if the PRC had faced a significant 'terrorist threat'" (p. 197), so it is unfortunate that he spends so much effort minimizing that threat.

[Harris Layson · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read this book to create a case position of the Uyghur Muslims in China. I do high school debate, and the topic during November and December pertains to China. As such, I wanted to construct an aff that discusses China's settler colonial position in its Western regions, notably Xinjiang. I was looking for a specific set of arguments that would help explain why other countries are not doing as much as they can to help this ongoing humanitarian crisis, and this book has exactly that. Unfortunately, many of these issues are very far attached to me. However, I was able to draw connections to the PRC's settler colonialist project of erasure and that of the United States.
As I hinted at previously, this book discusses many important arguments. One of which has to do with the ongoing cultural genocide of Uyghur Muslims. China is importing millions of eastern Han settlers to eradicate the minority populations in the Western region of Xinjiang. China is excluding them from many economic opportunities found in the state-led Bingtuan, but also justifying its treatment of these people by calling them terrorists. China is using the "war on terror" to claim that the Uyghur people are violent terrorists because a minority of the already minority population engaged in violent acts of protest against the colonial government. China also uses its economic strength to force other countries into staying quiet about the event due to fear of sanctions and other powers.
The ideas in this book are extremely important to understand. However, there are many others like this book, so perhaps not this one in particular. Another author, Dibyesh Anand, writes in a similar book that the role of scholars in the west is to recognize atrocities like this across the world. Colonialism is still going on and we can't be quiet about it just because it may seem far attached. Of course, we have an ongoing project of settler colonialism here in America, but that doesn't mean we should leave the Uyghurs helpless. I advise anyone who wants to make any change in this world, or anyone with political aspirations, to read this book and understand how this conflict could shape the future of global geopolitics.

[Matt · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book served as a primer on the history of the Uyghur region and Uyghur relations with the Chinese government for me, as much of the reporting on the situation in Xinjiang in the past few years did not extensively cover the history. This was a good primer and meticulously researched book that is extremely informative. I recommend and believe it is an important book and an obviously urgent topic. That being said, much of this book serves as the author's attempt to correct the record on the extent of extremist threat posed by Uyghur groups. Roberts writes that many counter terrorism experts relied on Chinese propaganda to categorize small Uyghur groups in Afghanistan and Pakistan and thus vastly overestimated the threat posed by these groups. To be clear, that is true, the threat posed by these small groups was vastly overestimated, repeated often without care for the motivation of Chinese sources, and used opportunistically by Beijing to crack down on Uyghurs generally. But, the author's framing of the GWOT being the catalyst for the cultural genocide happening today seems out of place. He does make excellent points about the GWOT and his frustration with it seeps through whenever he comes back to implicate the GWOT. But, China's designs on Xinjiang did not need 9/11 and the US invasion of Afghanistan and Iraq to be realized or pursued. It just seems forced. China suppressed the Tibetans before the GWOT, and other genocides have happened throughout history where entire people's have been persecuted because of an alleged, real, or over-exaggerated terrorist threat from within that culture, the Armenian Genocide for example. While the author's framing does seem out of place, the book is still well written and full of good information.

[sube · Rating 4 out of 5]

I've found this a worthwhile writing on the topic of the colonial assault on Uyghur and Kazakhs in East Turkestan (ET); the author proceeds from a general left-wing position, as he traces his work from a critique of the "global war on terror" (GWOT) and the vague application of the "terrorist" label, applied in a dehumanised way - which was then appropiated by China, and to which the international community generally consented.

The book begins with a very brief history of colonialism in ET, and then moves onto the shift from "seperatism" as the 'enemy' in ET, to "terrorism" - relying on, as above explained, the concept of the GWOT & how this caused a self-fulfilling prophecy in ET, causing actual incidents, some of which to be dubbed terrorist, to emerge. Chapter 4 & 5 discuss the general construction of the security apparatus in ET, and chapter 6 finally discusses the full on cultural genocide after 2017 (though whose seeds were already planted by 2014). Lastly, there's a short conclusion on the potential conclusion of the genocide in ET, what this means for the GWOT & what we should do.

The book, in my opinion, gives a very good overview of the topic at hand; and makes a convincing case, even if it has to keep itself short always in lots of ways. But, I think, it's the best introduction work on the topic. However, despite its left-wing critique of GWOT, settler-colonialism, etc. I felt at times it was not strong enough in criticism on the u.s. in their role re: the genocide & how western companies have helped implement the implementation of mass databases, digital control, internment camps, etc. However, it's worth a read nonetheless.

The book

[Alexander Boyd · Rating 4 out of 5]

A truly important work, one which I will recommend to everyone who asks the question, "What is going on in Xinjiang (or the Uyghur homeland)? Why?"

As Roberts' himself points out, his research on Uyghur militancy in Afghanistan and Syria is truly original. Contextualizing the ETIM (if it ever existed) and how it fundamentally differs from TIP is fascinating and important nuance. He successfully shows how the Global War on Terror "flattened" these distinctions, giving cover for authoritarian states (do we count the United States here?) to pursue their own violently assimilationist policies under the banner of fighting terrorism.

The entire book is well-researched, well-contextualized, and well-framed. An interesting survey history of the Uyghur region in Chapter 1 is a bit too bogged down in historiography for the casual reader. But after that, Roberts moves with great precision and originality through the development of the Global War on Terror and how the PRC folded their own campaign against the Uyghurs into it. Infuriating, heartbreaking, and informative.

[Mark Snekvik · Rating 4 out of 5]

Super interesting how he argues that China uses GWOT as an excuse to persecute Uyghurs.
Opens your eyes to GWOT’s massive influence in enabling war crimes.
Very comprehensive history of XUAR region and Uyghur people.
The 2014-16 terrorist attacks by Uyghurs against Han civilians did feel passed over, but of course his argument is these attacks are only logical actions by a people subjected to settler colonialism and cultural genocide for centuries.
Interesting as there is a tendency in the west to criticize China too much while ignoring their own treatment of Muslims, but this book makes it pretty clear that Robert’s doesn’t vibe with the West’s GWOT policies either.

Interested in how Robert’s views Israel’s genocide in Gaza considering he cites an Israeli scholar’s use of terrorism at the beginning as the one to use, and doesn’t really reference Palestine at all throughout the book.

[FellowBibliophile KvK · Rating 3 out of 5]

On the positive side, it shows the actual of the Uyghurs, compared to which the whinging of the #BLM and #IdleNoMore crowds are #FirstWorldProblems.

On the down side, in typical college perfessor fashion, he comes up with this theoretical "construct" of a definition of "terrorist." He says that the Turkistan Liberation organisations cannot be called "terrorists," since, unlike SFIRA, SWAPO and ZANLA, they lack a large organisation and basing infrastructure. Well, by that definition, Timothy McVeigh was not a terrorist. Moreover, the French DST and Gendarmes did not need a fancy "theoretical construct" definition of terrorism to zap the FIS in France in only two years in the 1990s. If they had waited around until a perfessor approved a "theoretical construct" of the FIS as terrorists, it would have taken longer to zap the FIS and more people would have died.

[Joanna · Rating 4 out of 5]

Roberts might define terrorism a bit too narrowly, and for obvious reasons he hasn’t done fieldwork among Uyghurs living in China recently. Nevertheless, he puts together a compelling argument that China took advantage of the Global War on Terror to stigmatize and oppress the Uyghurs, and to the extent that Uyghurs have become affiliated with terrorism movements (such as in Syria), it is largely the result of China’s oppression.

[forky wood · Rating 4 out of 5]

very interesting and informative, really shows the complexity of the human condition and how tribalism works in areas where tribes clash.

[Abdullah]

Hehe