Uyghur nationalism

Uyghur nationalism is a form of nationalism which asserts that the Uyghur people, an ethnic minority in China, are a distinct nation. Uyghur nationalism promotes the cultural unity of the Uyghur people, either as an independent group or as a regional group within a larger Chinese nation.

Because Uyghurs do not possess their own independent sovereign nation-state, the notion of Uyghur nationalism is highly controversial. Uyghur nationalism is often linked in varying degrees to the East Turkestan independence movement, also known as the Uyghur independence movement. Currently, the primary and traditional population base of the Uyghur people is Xinjiang, an autonomous region of China, which is also known as "East Turkestan" by advocates of independence.

Uyghur identity

The Uyghurs are a minority Turkic ethnic group originating from and culturally affiliated with the general region of Central Asia and East Asia. They are especially closely connected to the Taklamakan Desert comprising the Tarim Basin, both of which can be found in Xinjiang UAR, China.

Uyghur identity is largely shaped by Uyghur nationalism, and vice versa. Uyghur nationalism is an ideological mindset which is based more strongly in politics in comparison to Uyghur identity. Whereas Uyghur identity is more closely associated with cultural traditions and practices, Uyghur nationalism is more closely associated with the East Turkestan independence movement and other much more assertive expressions of Uyghur identity. The primary counter to Uyghur nationalism is Chinese nationalism, which is actually a form of multi-ethnic nationalism distinct from Han Chinese nationalism (though the two concepts are commonly conflated).

Ethnic ancestry

Like most Central Asian ethnic groups, the Uyghurs are descended from a diverse range of people groups. Uyghur ethnic composition and identity has its origins in many different regions, cultures, and civilizations. The name of the Uyghurs originates from the Uyghur Khaganate, an historical country which was located primarily in what is now Mongolia and Xinjiang.

The Uyghurs are postulated to carry at least some ancestry from various more ancient peoples who inhabited the Taklamakan Desert and Tarim Basin, who are known to have been living in the region for at least 3800 years due to the discovery of "Tarim mummies". Links to ancient inhabitants of the region are contentious since this might grant the modern Uyghurs with the right to claim "indigenous status".

Linguistic identity

Religious identity

Ever since the 10th century CE, the Uyghurs have been gradually Islamized, the religion of Islam having originated from the Arabian Peninsula (Saudi Arabia) and now being dominant across many regions of Western Asia, Central Asia, North Africa, East Africa, maritime Southeast Asia and Southeast Europe. Prior to this, the Uyghurs practiced Buddhism, a religion which originated from South Asia (India and Nepal) and which still remains the dominant religion of the neighboring Tibetan and Mongolian peoples in Western China and Mongolia as well as much of mainland Southeast Asia and Sri Lanka.

Geographic identity

The Uyghur people have formed a strong national identity largely due to their very strong geographic identity. Uyghur identity is closely tied to life in the Taklamakan Desert and the Tarim Basin. The Uyghurs as a people or a nation are held together largely by their distinct lifestyle as sedentary farmers living in several oases scattered across the Taklamakan Desert.

Pan-Turkic nationalism

Pan-Turkic Jadidists and East Turkestan independence activists Muhammad Amin Bughra and Masud Sabri rejected the imposition of the name "Uyghur people" upon the Turkic people of Xinjiang by the Soviets and Chinese warlord Shen Shicai. They wanted instead the name "Turkic ethnicity" (Chinese: 突厥族; pinyin: tūjué zú) to be applied to their people. Masud Sabri also viewed the Hui people as Muslim Han Chinese and separate from his own people.[1] The names "Türk" or "Türki" in particular were demanded by Bughra as the real name for his people. He slammed Sheng Shicai for his designation of Turkic Muslims into different ethnicities, which could sow disunion among Turkic Muslims.[2]

During the First East Turkestan Republic, the Turkic nationalist ideology of the Republic led to hostility between different Muslim ethnic groups. The Uyghurs and Kirghiz, who were both Turkic Muslim peoples, fought against the Chinese Muslims of southern Xinjiang and sought to expel them with the Han Chinese. This led several Chinese Muslim Generals like Ma Zhancang, Ma Fuyuan, and Ma Hushan to fight against the Uyghur attempts and independence.

East Turkestan independence movement

Responses to Uyghur nationalism

References

Wei, C. X. George; Liu, Xiaoyuan (2002). Exploring Nationalisms of China: Themes and Conflicts. Greenwood. p. 181. ISBN 978-0-313-31512-1.
Millward 2007, p. 209.

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[1] Wei, C. X. George; Liu, Xiaoyuan (2002). Exploring Nationalisms of China: Themes and Conflicts. Greenwood. p. 181. ISBN 978-0-313-31512-1.

[FOOTNOTEMillward2007209-2] Millward 2007, p. 209.

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Xinjiang conflict	1989 Ürümqi unrest Baren Township riot 1992 Ürümqi bombings Ghulja incident 1992 Ürümqi bombings 1997 Ürümqi bus bombings Xinjiang raid 2008 Uyghur unrest 2008 Kashgar attack Shaoguan incident July 2009 Ürümqi riots September 2009 Xinjiang unrest 2010 Aksu bombing 2011 Hotan attack 2011 Kashgar attacks Pishan hostage crisis 2012 Yecheng attack Tianjin Airlines Flight 7554 April 2013 Bachu unrest June 2013 Shanshan riots 2013 Tiananmen Square attack 2014 Kunming attack 2014 China–Vietnam border shootout April 2014 Ürümqi attack May 2014 Ürümqi attack Assassination of Juma Tayir Vocational Education and Training Centers
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Related	Uyghur people Migration to Xinjiang East Turkestan Independence movement World Uyghur Congress China–Kazakhstan relations China–Kyrgyzstan relations China–Pakistan relations China–Turkey relations
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Ethnic nationalism
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