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Uyghurs in Turkey

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Uyghurs in Turkey
Total population
>10,000–50,000[1][2][3]
Regions with significant populations
Istanbul, Antalya, Alanya, Kayseri, Ankara
Languages
Turkish, Uyghur, Chinese
Religion
Sunni Islam
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The Uyghurs in Turkey are members of the Uyghur diaspora that live in Turkey.

History

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There is a long history of the connection between the Turkish people and the Uyghurs.[3] Both groups speak a Turkic language and the two groups share significant ethnic and cultural bonds.[3]

With Turkey being a Turkic country, the Uyghurs have been largely able to integrate within Turkish society. Turkey has been the home of a sizable Uyghur population in the Middle East fleeing from the Xinjiang conflict.[4] Often Uyghurs who wished to migrate to Europe and the United States often choose Turkey as the transit point.[5] Turkey has been concerned by the Uyghur situation, although it had been criticized for being helpless.[6]

Since the Syrian Civil War, Uyghurs have participated in several jihadist battalion groups, some of which are believed to have connections with the Turkish government. Uyghurs in Turkey have partly contributed to them, notably the Turkistan Islamic Party in Syria.[7] In 2017, Reuters reported that exiles and human rights groups stated that Uyghurs had escaped Chinese human rights abuses by fleeing to Turkey.[8] At that time, the Syrian Ambassador to China had stated that up to 5,000 Uyghurs were fighting in the Syrian Civil war, citing Syrian statistics on casualties and prisoners of war captured by Syria.[8] The ambassador said that most Uyghur fighters in the region had been fighting "under their own banner" of separatism, though he stated that a minority had fought with ISIL.[8]

Demographics

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The estimate for the number of Uyghurs living Turkey varies across sources. In 2018, The Economist reported that over 10,000 Uyghurs live in Turkey.[1] Voice of America estimated over 45,000 Uyghurs live in Turkey, based from Uyghur advocating groups, with 10,000 as refugees.[2] In 2021, Tokyo-based English language online news magazine Nikkei Asia[3] and online news publication Coda Story[9] reported that 50,000 Uyghurs lived in Turkey, with Nikkei Asia reporting that the diaspora was "largest outside of Central Asia."[3]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ a b "China has turned Xinjiang into a police state like no other". The Economist. 31 May 2018.
  2. ^ a b "Uighurs Concerned China Is Luring Turkey into Silence on Xinjiang | Voice of America - English". www.voanews.com.
  3. ^ a b c d e Tavsan, Sinan (25 March 2021). "Uyghurs in Turkey protest against 'genocide' in China's Xinjiang". Nikkei Asia.
  4. ^ Jomana Karadsheh and Isil Sariyuce (12 May 2019). "China's persecuted Uyghurs live 'freely' in Turkey". CNN.
  5. ^ Beydulla, Mettursun (November 6, 2019). "Experiences of Uyghur Migration to Turkey and the United States: Issues of Religion, Law, Society, Residence, and Citizenship". Migration and Islamic Ethics. Brill. pp. 174–195. doi:10.1163/9789004417342_011. ISBN 9789004417342. S2CID 211450601 – via brill.com.
  6. ^ Balci, Bayram (October 10, 2019). "The Uyghur Tragedy: An Embarrassment for Turkey". Orient XXI.
  7. ^ Zenn, Jacob (10 October 2014). "An Overview of Chinese Fighters and Anti-Chinese Militant Groups in Syria and Iraq". China Brief. 14 (19). The Jamestown Foundation. Archived from the original on 18 June 2015. Retrieved 14 June 2015.
  8. ^ a b c Blanchard, Ben (May 11, 2017). "Syria says up to 5,000 Chinese Uighurs fighting in militant groups". Reuters – via www.reuters.com.
  9. ^ Cockerell, Isobel (13 January 2021). "Uyghurs in Turkey fear China is leveraging its Covid-19 vaccine to have them deported to Xinjiang". Coda Story.
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