In the picture, two Uyghurs were greeting, they’re shaking hands and talking in Kashgar, an ancient town in the Silk Road, and cultural capital of Uyghurs. Who are they? Can we see them again, ask them questions?Can we listen to them once more?
Muhemmet Salih is on the right, Ablimit Abdulla is on the left. They were two prominent Imams in modern Uyghur history. Two historical figures chose different ways to sustain Uyghur culture, preserve Uyghur faith and promote modern Uyghur identity, but their destiny was the same, their lives ended up at the camps.
Mr. Muhemmet Salih was a traditionalist, he was not only an Imam, he is also a religious scholar. He had written academic papers and transcribed Middle Age Uyghur texts, books.
The most attention taking contributions was, Muhemmet Salih translated Quran into Modern Uyghur, of course he was not the first one who translated the Islamic holy book into Uyghur, there various interpretations, the first translation had been done in 11th century in Kashgar by an unknown Uyghur Islamic scholar.
Ablimit Abdulla was the famous religious reformist, modernist and educator. He was the first Uyghur religious scholar who opened a private secular college. He taught students technology and foreign language at his college in Kashgar.
In China he was the first one who opened such a private school, especially as an Islamic scholar who educated in Kashgar really traditional way, he had never been in a modern college, he didn’t get modern education.
Ablimit Abdulla’s college opened in April 1988, his school had dentists, nursing, clinic and foreign languages. The school recruited more than 600 students for English,Russian, Arabic, Urdu, Japanese, Chinese majors.
Unfortunately, the school shut down in 1996, due to the students participating underground political activities. At time, he argued “Chinese students set up statue of liberty in Tian an men, but no one shuts down Beijing university for its students, why a few students involved something politically motivated, they are accused of and school shut down “. Since then he lived in home arrest for 21 years.
Muhemmet Salih and Ablimit Abdulla were arrested in 2017, both of them died in Chinese concentration camps.
-Abduweli Ayup
