Washington —
An event celebrating Muslim Heritage month in the U.K. on March 11, sponsored by TikTok, is being criticized by Uyghur rights activists.

The event’s organizer, Muslim Women’s Network UK, sent out an invitation that stated “The event will bring together interfaith organizations, content creators and parliamentarians to celebrate the cultural contribution of Muslims in the UK.”

Exiled Uyghurs concerned about the sponsorship accuse TikTok of restricting content on human rights abuses in China against the mostly Muslim Uyghurs.

Uyghur activists express concern

“I do not believe [Muslim Women’s Network UK] supports violence and genocide, but its cooperation with TikTok sends a deeply troubling message,” Nefise Oguz, an Istanbul University student, told VOA in an email.

Oguz has used social media — including TikTok — to advocate for relatives detained in China. She accuses TikTok’s parent company, China-based ByteDance, of systematically censoring content about Uyghurs.

In China, TikTok operates as Douyin, where content is heavily controlled, she said. Oguz and other activists claim that posts about Islam, Uyghur identity, or criticism of the Chinese Communist Party are routinely blocked on both TikTok and Douyin.

Due to these restrictions, Oguz said she also cannot use Douyin’s direct communication function to contact relatives in China.

For years, she had been advocating for her uncle, Alim Abdulkerim, who she says was imprisoned for eight years. His family does not know why he is in detention, but Oguz believes it’s because he contacted her while she was in Turkey. Her TikTok videos about his detention attracted hundreds of thousands of views, raising awareness — but also drew censorship.

The United Nations Human Rights Council Working Group on Arbitrary Detention released a report in September 2024, that said Abdulkerim’s imprisonment was arbitrary and demanded his release. It further described China’s internment facilities as “prison-like.”