A statement about the prominent Uyghur scholar, Abdulahad Mahsum, who was martyred
The family of the late Abdulahad Barat Mahsum Hajim was informed by the Chinese government that he passed away in prison a few months ago. Around mid-2017, the sons, son-in-laws and grandchildren of Mahsum Hajim were all detained and sentenced to time in prison.
Mahsum Hajim was detained in Novemeber 2017, despite his age of 88 and despite having been imprisoned 5 times already. Up until this week his family did not know which prison he was in or whether he was dead or alive. No information was given to his family.
Abdulahad Barat Mahsum Hajim spent his entire life preserving his peoples’ religious and cultural identity. He sacrificed his life to serve and educate his people. Not only was he the pride of the people and an esteemed scholar but he was also a father figure and guide.
Aside from his work training and educating people Mahsum Hajim did not cease his religious teaching despite the difficult situation (i.e. regarding religious freedom). He wrote many literary works and translated many others.
Mahsum Hajim was born in 1930 in the Hotan prefecture in a religious family (his father Barat Ahun was martyred in 1937 in prison under the rule of the Colonial Chinese Shingshisay government). Mahsum Hajim comepleted his religious education in the schools in Qashqar between 1950-1958. Six months after returning home he was imprisoned and served a 15 year sentence. In 1974, after his release he immediately resumed teaching. In 1979 he was again imprisoned for one year. In 2001 he was detained with his son Abdurup Hajim and released after two months. On the 2nd of January 2004 he was captured in the house where he was teaching his students and sentenced to 5 years. After his release he was placed under house arrest indefinitely. In novemeber 2017, at the age of 88 he was again detained and
imprisoned. Around the same time his son Abdurup Hajim was sentenced to 10 years. His entire family, young and old, were all detained.
Abdulahad Mahsum Hajim was a beloved Uyghur scholar who was imprisoned and martyred despite his age and despite the respect his people had for him. His body was not returned to his family nor were they informed that he had passed away in prison 6 months ago. This is living proof of the crimes against humanity that the Chinese government is committing against the people of East Turkistan.
Prior to this, Ablimit Damolam Hajim from Qashqar, Muhammad Salih Damolam from Urumchi, Qambar Damolam from Hotan and hundreds of other prominent scholars are being martyred n Chinese prisons.
The East Turkistan Association of Scholars strongly condemns the actions of the colonialist Chinese government and their massacre of the Uyghur people. We demand these severe crimes against the Uyghur people to be stopped immediately.
We ask the Muslim world, all the countries of the world, human rights organisations, Organisation of Islamic Cooperation, the Turkish Ministry of religious affairs, the Muslim World League, the International Union of Muslim Scholars and all other such organisations to take responsibility against the unimaginable oppression that the Uyghur people are facing.
All our people pray for peace of mind. We pray for peace of mind and patience for all family and relatives. May Allah accept the martyrdom of Abdulahad Mahsum Hajim and may his resting place be in Paradise.
Surely we belong to Allah and to Him we shall return.
With respect,
The East Turkistan Association of Scholars