Ablajan Awut Ayup

Ablajan Awut Ayup
ئابلاجان ئاۋۇت ئايۇپ
Born (1984-11-11) 11 November 1984
Sanju, Xinjiang, China
Alma materXinjiang Institute of Art (Graduated in 2006)
OccupationsSinger, songwriter, dancer
Years active2009–2018

Ablajan Awut Ayup (Uyghur: ئابلاجان ئاۋۇت ئايۇپ, Chinese: 阿卜拉江·阿吾提; pinyin: Ābolājiāng Āwútí; born 11 November 1984) is a singer, songwriter and dancer who wrote over 400 songs and was known for promoting Uyghur culture and identity as well as singing bilingual songs, in both Chinese and Uyghur.[1]

In 2018, Radio Free Asia reported that Ayup had been detained by police in Guma (Pishan) County.[2] His brother reported that Ayup had been sent to one of the Xinjiang internment camps.[3]

Early life

Ayup was born as one of five children to a peasant family in Sanju[4][5] near Guma, Pishan County. After attending a Uyghur-language school and finishing middle school in 1998, he went to a pedagogical school in Turpan on a stipend grant, studying painting for three years. He decided to become a musician at age 14, after seeing Michael Jackson on television.[5][6]

Between 2001 and 2006, Ablajan was employed as an arts and music teacher in his hometown, also working as a wedding singer. In September 2006, he enrolled at Xinjiang Arts Institute, graduating with a degree in musicology in July 2008.[5][6]

Career

Ayup made his debut with his song "Meshrep Nawasi" in January 2010 in the "Meshrep Concert". "Meshrep Nawasi" was republished in the English and Chinese languages. Later, "Meshrep Nawasi" became one of Ayup's iconic songs. He published his first album "Bashlamduq (Shall We Start?)" on 10 July 2011, selling over 100,000 copies. Local businesses vied to endorse Ayup and his face graced billboards in Xinjiang's capital, Ürümqi.[5][7] He also performed children's songs.[6] Anthropologist Darren Byler noted frequent themes of Uyghur culture in his music[5] and described this choice as a means to "inspire hope in his audience of young Uyghurs".[4]

English media coverage noted that despite the ongoing Xinjiang conflict, Ayup avoided political commentary, once stating "Actually I am just a singer not a politician. I only know about music".[4] On 28 July 2014, a concert by Ayup, meant to broadcast live and promote ethnic unity in collaboration with local officials, was cancelled an hour before opening due to violent clashes near Kashgar that ended with at least 100 deaths. Time reported that Ayup subsequently posted a selfie on Instagram with the caption "My name is Ablajan! I am not a terrorist.", apparently in response to the shutdown.[5]

In 2017, BBC portrayed him as a model of integration for his appeal to both Han and Uyghur audiences.[8][9] Rui Wenbin, Ayup's manager and a former employee of Xinjiang's culture ministry described him as a potential "messenger of peace".[5]

Honors and awards

His single "Vacation" (Chinese Edition) was awarded second prize in "Xinjiang New Music Competition".[10]

Arrest and imprisonment

Radio Free Asia reported that in February 2018, Ayup was detained and interrogated by the Sanju branch of Guma police. He was released, but arrested on 15 February.[11] His disappearance occurred amidst a number of other arrests and disappearancs of those known to promote the Uyghur identity and Uyghur culture, as well as wider Turkic culture as a whole.[12][3][13] Radio Free Asia cited a social media post by one of Ayup's friends, claiming he had been previously detained following a trip to Malaysia, due to concerns over Islamist indoctrination abroad. There was further speculation whether Ayup's arrest was related to his involvement in a "charity that benefited Uyghurs" or his outspoken identity as an Uyghur through his music.[4] Ayup's brother reported that Ayup had been detained in a Xinjiang internment camp.[3]

In December 2022, the US-based Uyghur Human Rights Project and Chinese Human Rights Defenders reported that Ayup had been sentenced to an eleven year prison sentence by Hotan City District Court in December 2018. He is due for release in March 2029.[14][15]

See also

  • Abdulla Abdurehim
  • Amannisa Khan
  • Dilber Yunus
  • Erkin Abdulla
  • Murat Nasyrov
  • Perhat Khaliq
  • Abdurehim Heyit

General

  • List of Uyghurs

References

  1. ^ Byler, Darren (14 July 2017). "Ablajan and the Subtle Politics of Uyghur Pop". Art and Life of Central Asia.
  2. ^ Lipes, Joshua (18 May 2018). "Popular Uyghur Singer's Whereabouts Unknown, Believed Detained in Xinjiang Re-Education Camp".
  3. ^ a b c Emily Feng (13 March 2018). "Security spending ramped up in China's restive Xinjiang region". Financial Times. Retrieved 30 December 2019. Even those who enjoy local celebrity status are not immune. Ablajan, a Uighur rapper, was recently detained and sent to a re-education camp, according to his brother.
  4. ^ a b c d Shohret Hoshur; Joshua Lipes (18 May 2018). "Popular Uyghur Singer's Whereabouts Unknown, Believed Detained in Xinjiang Re-Education Camp". Radio Free Asia. Translated by Mamatjan Juma. Retrieved 30 December 2019. Ayup was born in Sanju township in 1984 and relocated to Turpan at the age of 15 to study art.
  5. ^ a b c d e f g Rauhala, Emily (24 October 2014). "It's a Long Way to the Top (if You Wanna Be a Uighur Pop Star)".
  6. ^ a b c "Case of Ablajan Awut Ayup, a missing Uyghur pop singer". Uyghur Times. 6 April 2022.
  7. ^ Wong, Chuen-fung. Even in the Rain: Uyghur Music in Modern China. ISBN 978-0824895020.
  8. ^ Goddard, Matthew (17 March 2017). "The Uighur pop singer trying to build bridges". BBC News.
  9. ^ Wadsworth-Jones, Emma (21 June 2018). "China: Uyghur pop musician and lyric writer detained, concerns for his well-being". Archived from the original on 2 December 2022. Retrieved 16 February 2019.
  10. ^ Han (21 December 2012). "第二届新歌唱新疆获奖歌曲名单公布" ["New Songs Xinjiang" second edition award-winning songs list] (in Chinese).
  11. ^ "ئابلاجان ئاۋۇت ئايۇپنىڭ ئۈرۈمچىدىكى ساقچىلار تەرىپىدىن تۇتۇلغانلىقى ئىلگىرى سۈرۈلمەكتە". Radio Free Asia (in Uyghur). 16 May 2018.
  12. ^ Rachel Harris (11 June 2018). "Uyghur pop star detained in China". Freemuse. Archived from the original on 14 September 2019. Retrieved 30 December 2019. Ablajan disappeared in February, on his way home to Urumchi following a recording trip in Shanghai, reported the Financial Times on 21 March 2018.
  13. ^ "PHOTOGRAPHER'S ARREST SPARKS OUTRAGE OVER PERSECUTION OF UYGHUR CULTURAL FIGURES IN CHINA". Artforum. 4 January 2019. Retrieved 31 December 2019. The detention of the New York–based photographer Lu Guang, who was arrested in China while visiting Xinjiang in early November,{...}Pop star Ablajan Awut Ayup; poet, writer, and screenwriter Perhat Tursun; academic translators Abdulqadir Jalaleddin and Muhammad Salih Hajim (who died in custody in early 2018); Uyghur folklore expert Rahile Dawut; and Xinjiang University president Tashpolat Teyip are among the Uyghur cultural figures who have vanished in recent years.
  14. ^ "維吾爾人權項目對維吾爾歌手阿卜拉江．阿尤普被報導遭判處 11 年徒刑深表關切". Uyghur Human Rights Project (in Simplified Chinese). 8 December 2022.
  15. ^ "阿布拉江·阿乌提·阿有普 ABLAJAN AWUT AYUP". Chinese Human Rights Defenders. 19 January 2023.
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