| Sabit (Sawut) Damulla Abdulbaqi | |
|---|---|
| Prime Minister of the Turkish Islamic Republic of East Turkestan | |
| In office 12 November 1933 – 6 February 1934 |
|
| Preceded by | Office instituted |
| Succeeded by | Office abolished |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 1883 Artush, Eastern Turkistan |
| Died | 1943 Urumqi, Eastern Turkistan ? |
| Political party | Committee for National Revolution/ East Turkistan Nationalist Party[1] |
| Religion | Islam |
Contents |
Sabit (Sawut) Damulla Abdulbaqi was born in 1883, in county of Atush in the Kashgar vilayet, in Qeshqer ([[Eastern Turkistan]), Turkestan, where he received religious education. In 1920s he graduated from Urumchi Academy of Politics and Laws in Urumqi (later becoming Xinjiang University), that was opened by Governor Yang Zengxin in 1924 and originally performed courses in Chinese, Uyghur, and Russian. After completing university, he visited the Middle East, touring Egypt, Turkey, and Saudi Arabia; he also visited the Soviet Union, where he continued his studies. In 1932 he returned to Eastern Turkistan through India, where he joined Emir Muhammad Amin Bughra in preparing a rebellion in Khotan district. Sabit Damulla was convinced that the Islamic world was not interested in supporting Uyghur independence, and so he turned to the Great Powers instead.
Between November 12, 1933 and February 6, 1934 he was selected the prime minister of the short-lived Turkish Islamic Republic of East Turkestan (TIRET) in Kashgar. While Sabit Damulla Abdulbaki favoured the co-official "Republic of Uyghurstan" moniker, Muhammad Amin Bughra opposed it, considering that to create a broad anti-Chinese and anti-Tungan front in East Turkistan, all of the Turkic peoples should be called "Turks", with no distinction of nationality. Sabit Damulla was also behind a creation of Independent Government in Khotan on March 16, 1933, which he proclaimed together with Emir Muhammad Amin Bughra. Later this Government expanded its authority to Kashgar and Aksu through the "Eastern Turkestan Independence Association" and contributed to the proclamation of a republic in the Old City of Kashgar on November 12, 1933. Khoja Niyaz Khaji, the former leader of Kumul Rebellion, was invited by Sabit Damulla to Kashgar to assume presidency of the self- proclaimed republic.
The circumstances of Abdulbaki's death are unknown. Contemporary sources say that Abdulbaki was executed by hanging in June 1934 in Aksu by Sheng Shicai's forces with the support of the Soviet Union. Later sources allege that he was imprisoned by Sheng in Urumqi, where he traded his translation skills for better conditions in his cell. Fellow Chinese Muslims such as Kuomintang officer Liu Bin-Di provided him the Koran and other Arabic and Chinese Islamic texts to be translated into Uyghur. (The establishment of Islam in China in 650 stemmed from the delivery of a Quran by Caliph Usman to Tang Emperor Gaozong in 650 and headed by Envoy Sa'ad ibn Abi Waqqas, one of Muhammad's first companions) Liu had been dispatched from Urumchi to pacify the Hi region, but he was too late.[2] It's unknown if this job was finished, Liu Bin-Di himself was shot dead by rebels in Ghulja in November, 1944 during revolt, that led to establishment of Second East Turkestan Republic on November 12, 1944.