IN CHINA’S far western region of
Xinjiang, the authorities are fearful. What they call terrorist attacks carried
out by Uighurs, a Muslim ethnic group that regards Xinjiang as its homeland,
have killed 400 people in the past couple of years. The latest such incident,
on June 22nd, left 18 people dead near the southern city of Kashgar.
In
recent months officials in Xinjiang claim to have broken up more than 180
terrorist groups—at least one of them reportedly set up by Uighurs who had
fought with Islamic State in the Middle East. State television recently aired
footage of children being turned into “killing machines” for global jihad at a
training camp near the border with Afghanistan and Pakistan.
China’s rhetoric is overblown, but the
country is right to worry about terrorism. In March last year a group of
Uighurs knifed 31 Chinese civilians to death at a railway station in the
south-western city of Kunming.
China recognises that part of the problem
is a home-grown one: that many of Xinjiang’s 10m Uighurs have felt left out of
the country’s economic boom. Thanks, not least, to its oil and gas industries,
Xinjiang’s own economy has been growing fast, too. But this has mainly
benefited ethnic Hans, who form about 40% of the province’s population.
Firms in Xinjiang often prefer to employ
Hans, because they speak better Chinese and because there is a shortage of
skilled Uighurs. Officials say, plausibly, that better education for Uighurs is
crucial for improving stability (see article). Overcoming racial prejudice
among employers would help.
In 2009 long-simmering ethnic tensions
erupted into an orgy of rioting in Xinjiang’s capital, Urumqi, leaving around
200 people dead and the region even more ethnically divided than before.
The terrorist murder of civilians is
wrong, however beleaguered a people. But China can help bring about the calm it
seeks by treating Uighur culture and faith with more respect. Even as officials
wage what they call a “people’s war” against terrorism, they inflame Muslim
fury by banning women from wearing face-veils and men from growing long beards.
Other countries, such as Belgium and
France, have also mistakenly banned the veil, but China’s restrictions are
especially draconian. In March a man was jailed for six years by a court in
Xinjiang for “provoking trouble”; his offences included growing a beard. His
wife got a two-year sentence for covering her face.
Before the holy month of Ramadan this
year, officials reiterated a ban on the observance of fasting rituals by
bureaucrats, teachers and students. In January they decreed that pilgrims to
Saudi Arabiamust travel in state-organised groups. (Few win permission to go.)
Small wonder many Uighurs see what officials call “bilingual education” as a
trick to marginalise their language and identity.
Show
a little respect
Last year China launched a
hearts-and-minds operation in Xinjiang: 200,000 officials were told to spend
time living among Uighurs in order to understand their problems. They clearly
failed to listen hard enough. Earlier this month, as Muslims in Xinjiang prepared
for Ramadan, rural officials near the city of Hotan decided to organise a beer
festival.
A local news website showed pictures of
men glugging down beer in a drinking contest. Uighurs in exile expressed
outrage; in a rare climbdown of sorts, the report was censored.
A counter-terrorism law is now being
drafted that could allow officials to brand any unauthorised religious activity
as “extremism”. That would play into the hands of terrorists.
The way to peel violent extremists from
the general population is to give Muslims fewer grievances. Heavy-handedness
will only make Xinjiang—and the rest of China—less safe.
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