Chinese Muslim website shuttered after Xi Jinping petition

Chinese President Xi Jinping speaks to Gabon's President Ali Bongo Ondimba in Beijing, earlier this month. (Reuters)

BEIJING: One of China鈥檚 most popular online communities for Muslims has been shuttered after posting a petition asking Chinese President Xi Jinping to stop his 鈥渂rutal suppression鈥� of activists, the letter鈥檚 authors said on Wednesday.
Since 2003, the 鈥淶hongmu Wang鈥� website, or 2muslim.com, functioned as an 鈥渙nline network of Muslims sharing Islam,鈥� according to archived descriptions.
But as of Wednesday the site was inaccessible, showing only a message stating it was 鈥渦nder maintenance.鈥�
Two of its affiliated social media accounts were also unavailable, displaying messages that declared one account 鈥渁bnormal鈥� and the other 鈥渋n violation of required guidelines.鈥�
China officially has more than 23 million Muslims, though some independent estimates say there may be as many as 50 million 鈥� which would put China among the world鈥檚 top 10 Muslim nations.
While China鈥檚 constitution enshrines freedom of religious belief, authorities keep strict limits on it, recognizing only five belief systems and seeking to control their messages.
The closure came after the posting of an open letter to Xi calling for a halt to the 鈥渂rutal suppression鈥� of activists and the immediate release of those still detained by the state, according to students who wrote the petition.
The letter criticized Xi for overseeing a crackdown on dissent since coming to power in 2012, with hundreds of lawyers, activists and academics detained and dozens jailed.
鈥淵ou are not responsible for all of the crimes of the totalitarian system, but as the totalitarian system鈥檚 head and its commander-in-chief of repression, you must take responsibility for the blood and tears which now flow,鈥� it said.
鈥淚n the next spring of China鈥檚 new Jasmine Revolution, who will drive your tanks to crush us, the new generation of students after 1989?鈥�
Yi Sulaiman Gu, a Muslim student studying in the US at the University of Georgia, told AFP the website shut the day after he posted the letter to a forum that had previously hosted sensitive discussions on issues such as China鈥檚 persecution of Muslim dissidents.
鈥淲e believed it would be safe for Zhongmu to post it there,鈥� Gu said.
Phone calls to the website鈥檚 owner went unanswered.
But the letter gained attention when screenshots of it were reposted to China鈥檚 Twitter-like Weibo by opinion leader Xi Wuyi, a professor of Marxism at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, who said it proved the site supported Xinjiang separatists.
Violence in Xinjiang, the homeland of China鈥檚 10-million strong Uighur ethnic minority, has killed hundreds, with Beijing attributing it to extremism and foreign influence.
鈥淭he Chinese government is very unfriendly to the Muslims inside China, especially the Muslims in Xinjiang,鈥� Anthony Chang, a co-author of the letter completing his bachelor鈥檚 degree at the University of Queensland in Australia, said.