Politics & Religion Online: Uyghur Diaspora Identity Construction On Facebook Rizwangul Nur-Muhammad (Unitec NZ) Giles Dodson (Unitec NZ) Evangelia Papoutsaki (Unitec NZ) Heather Horst (RMIT)

 Turkic origin ethic minority, accepted Islam in mid 10 th Century  Homeland – Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region (XUAR). Incorporated into Chinese state in 1949; history of both independence from & control by China  Ethnic assimilation: Chinese policy to assimilate Uyghurs into Han Chinese majority through ongoing Han immigration- between increased from 6.7% to 40%  Political repression: Uyghurs have been treated with suspicion of ‘Three Forces’: separatism, religious extremism, and international terrorism  Widespread Uyghur discontent – increasing internal social & political unrest Fig. 1 Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region (XUAR), CHINA

CountriesPopulationCountriesPopulation Central Asia1,500,000Germany1,500 Turkey40-50,000Japan1,500 Australia7,000Mongolia1,000 Canada5,000France500 Middle East3,000Taiwan200 Scandinavia2,000UK100 USA2,000Switzerland30  Significant outward migration & diaspora since early 19 th century  Previous research findings show Uyghur diaspora identity is ‘under construction’  Internet use is contributing to an emergent Uyghur diaspora identity  Exploring how the Uyghur diaspora identity is being constructed on Facebook.

 Exploratory research a presentation of preliminary, empirical findings of the Uyghur diaspora and their usage of Facebook with a focus on Uyghur diaspora identity construction  Examined emerging trends in identity construction of diaspora Uyghurs as observed in Everyday Online Communication  Quantitative & Qualitative Content Analysis of the user-generated Messages which are reflections of identities (Goffman, 1984; Hecht,1993; Hine, 2000)  Stage One quantitative content analysis Mapping : - Identified Facebook sites - Generated typology - Chose small number of samples.  Stage Two qualitative content analysis Interpretation of messages from Facebook discussion archives - Identified emerged themes - Developed codes based on different dimensions of identity.  Chosen Facebook Groups Generalist, Open for public Frequently updated everyday communication.

 Empirical Findings  Express concerns on religious suppression  Express reliance on religion for maintaining ethnicity  Promoting Islamic knowledge  Use Islamic terminology – indicating nascent religious identity, not yet solidified “Kongzi had grow beard, why Uyghurs cannot?” The word “ 禁 ” means prohibited. Kongzi, also called KongFuzi: Confucius, (551–479 BC)

 Characteristics of Uyghur Diaspora Religious Identity  Emerging, Under construction, Homeland orientated  Ascribed or Chosen Identity  Discontent with religious prohibitions  With strong ethnic links

 Empirical Findings  Mainly sharing political information about issues at homeland  Express discontent against the political regime  Fragmented political views and sentiments  Anxiety expressed over Chinese repression (self-censorship)

Limitations & political fragmentation – fear of expressing political identity Raise the flag or not!  Do not: “Uyghurs will not want to take a photo with this flag on it, so let’s not set up the flag and do not make this social activity political”  Do: “we have to have clear goal towards the freedom of our mother land, the Uyghurs who do not want the flag can miss this picnic, and they are not welcomed”  Middle way: “do not set up the flag earlier so that Uyghurs are not to be frightened to join the picnic. Set it up when everyone arrived, so that the ones who are afraid of the flag cannot escape”

 Characteristics of Uyghur Diaspora Political Identity  Emerging, under construction, homeland orientated  Existing within political limitations  Weak alignment between political activists and general diaspora members  Political identity strongly focused on preservation of ethnicity/culture

Political Identity:  Emerging political consciousness and identity  No strong political participation  No political mobilization Religious identity:  Much related to discontent with political restrictions imposed on homeland Uyghurs by the Chinese government  Religious identity closely connected with ethnic and cultural preservation  Rather than a highly politicised pan-Islamism, frequently caricatured in both Western and Chinese media

 Religious, political identities are subsumed beneath the ethnic identity  Everyday Facebook communication reveals the Uyghur diaspora identity has an emerging character strongly connected to ethnic and cultural preservation  The extent to which Facebook facilitates a strong diaspora identity construction is uncertain. National Identity Ethnic Identity Political Identity Religious Identity Cultural Identity

Thank You for Your Attention! Any Questions? Presented by Giles Dodson and Rizwangul This presentation is based on a research “Identity Construction Online: The use of Facebook by the Uyghur diaspora”

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