Arab Media Portrayals of Anti-Uyghur Repression: Chinese Propaganda, Anti-Islamist Anxiety, and Anti-Westernism

Abstract

China is looked upon warmly in the Arab world. Allegations about extreme human rights abuses by the Chinese government of Muslim populations in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region, however, put the durability of this popularity into question. This article uses Arabic-language media sources to illuminate Beijing's efforts to neutralize this controversy for Arab audiences and the nature of the debate around the topic in the Arab media sphere. Widely sympathetic coverage reflects a synergy between Beijing's propaganda efforts and anxiety about Islamism among Arab regimes. In addition, this article argues that the leitmotif of anti-Westernism in Arab media suggests China's reputation reaps considerable reward from the fraught legacies of Western involvement in the Arab world.