The Views Of The Uyghur People Of Xinjiang

“Terrorism's particularly heinous but highly attractive means to achieve political objectives or even radically restructure political foundations is manifest within societies in all reaches of the world. While the practical application of terrorist methodologies comes across as a relatively straightforward craft, the conceptual and ideological understanding, and subsequent evaluation of its socio-political influence, implementation, and psychological impacts present difficult questions, and in some cases conceivably insurmountable obstacles” (Romaniuk 2014, para

They elucidate that terrorism is a “premeditated, politically motivated, violence perpetrated against noncombatant targets by subnational groups of clandestine agents, usually intended to influence an audience,” (National Institute of Justice).

The word “terrorism” was first used during the French Revolution when British statesman Edmond Burke used the term to describe the actions of the Jacobin-dominated French government. Under the leadership of Maximilien Robespierre, thousands of people that were said to be enemies of the state were put on trial and then executed by use of the guillotine (O 'Connor, 2006). However, since the inception of the word, it has taken on a new meaning. One can now hear the word “terrorism” and be overcome by anger or even fear. Terrorism now seems to have turned to attacks against a government rather

Perhaps it is in human nature to turn to violence in turbulent times. We often overlook the violence that goes hand in hand with great historical change. And, as the victors write history, often the violence that acts as the cornerstone of societies are toned down and forgotten. During the Cultural Revolution in China, violence forced its way into the everyday life of the people. Everyday people— peaceful farmers, city folk— became the vehicle for immense violence in both a severe and widespread scope. This violence, while operating within the bounds of human nature, is motivated by a social requirement to prove one’s dedication to the CCP, “soldiers” who become carried away with newfound power and government encouragement, forcing ideology by brute force, retaliation, personal pride or protection, and human instinct to resort to violence; and can occur in any society.

Extremism is often the consequence of forced cultural adaptation and oppression. The China Boxer Rebellion is one such example of extremism. While 9/11 may appear to be an isolated incident led by Bin Laden and his Al-Qaeda fanatics, it is far from being unique. The rise of Stalin, the creation of The Shining Path and the Boxer Rebellion of China to 9/11 all share a commonality; It is that when people are disenfranchised, they are more prone to radical ideologies.

Terrorism has been an important part of social behavior for over 2,000 years. Between the years of 1980 and 1995, terroristic groups motivated by religious beliefs had increased by 43% (Hoffman). Religious beliefs and culture are a main reason groups and individuals resort to terrorism. Groups resort to terrorism as a consequence of seeing their culture demolished, as well as religious motives. Terrorist groups have many intentions when it comes to acts of terrorism. They main ones are they want to create fear globally, weaken the government, and obtain universal recognition for what they have done. Religiously motivated terrorist groups usually have high authority targets. These targets include government offices, banks, and national airlines. From the group’s perspective, terrorism is the only practical option. Groups are formed centered on certain factors like culture and religion. Many terrorists will receive support from their followers

Terrorism is referred by a criminal act which influences someone beyond the immediate victim, and commits an act of violence that draws the attention of the population, government, and the world (Terrorism research). Goodman explains that Terrorists explode the values they claim to fight. Their victims’ blood blurs and blots whatever ends were meant to justify the carnage (Goodman, 2010, p. 89) We all remember September 11, 2001 and how many innocent lives and people where effected, and that that is what they aim for. The more devastating the damage, the more inhumane, the more avidly is it sought by the strategist, ideologues, and theologians of terror (Goodman, 2010, p. 90).

The most alarming similarity between Nazi Germany and Modern China is that they both featured/feature an overtly racist government policy towards its minorities, most notably Jews, in the case of Nazi Germany, and Uighurs, in the case of China. Uighurs are a non-Han (Chinese majority) indigenous population of the Xinjiang Province of China. Since coming under Communist rule in 1949, they have claimed autonomy from the Chinese government and distinction from its people. They are distantly related to the Turks and most practice Islam. In fact, Uighurs constitute half the entire Muslim population in China. They have their own Turkic based language, with the written portion based on Arabic letters. The word “Uighur” means “unity” or “alliance”

Without engaging contextual dimensions and other studies is bound to fail in understanding the complexity reality of terrorism ion the global level, especially on so-called Islamic terrorism. It has become a routine to associate terrorism to religion, particularly Islamic. Finally, a critical approach assesses why literature on religious terrorism has nothing connecting Christian, Hindu, and Jewish to terrorism. Thus, Islamic is regarded as a violent religion, where uncritical research escalates the situation that good in understanding new set of challenges in the post-cold war era. Current literature materials stereotype Muslims as terrorists irrational, violent and consider Islamic as a backward religion that turn an ordinary Muslim into a potential

Terrorism dates to 1605, and the term was coined in the French revolution, Donahoe, H (2006). Whether it be the UK or further a wide, ideologies are set, thus meaning terrorism can exist, because of competing theories of ideologies. This can be better explained by actions of the IRA and IS, and the analysis of their similarities.

Today, in the oil-rich Xinjiang Province of Northwestern China, millions of Turkic-speaking Uyghurs live in constant fear. Beards and headscarves banned. Mosques barred from broadcasting the azan, the Islamic invocation of prayer. Unjustified rape of Uyghur women. Protesting for basic human rights gets you written on a list of pan-Turkist counter-revolutionaries. Receiving phone calls from foreign relatives gets you a visit from the secret police. And still, to the apparent dismay of the CCP, the ethnic identity of Uyghurs still exists, after decades of state-sponsored repression. Why do the Uyghurs vehemently oppose Han Chinese integration? Why has the CCP taken unprecedented steps to forcibly assimilate ethnic Chinese Muslims? The creation of a nationalist Han Chinese identity grounded in an atheist communist state in 1949 engendered conflicts with Chinese ethnic Muslim minorities, due to failed coercive integration and assimilation efforts and socioeconomic policy.

On September 23rd 2014, China found the prominent Uyghur scholar Ilham Tohti guilty of “separatism” and sentenced him to life in prison. This ruling came as a shock to the international community, for he has been the foremost advocate of peacefully resolving Uyghur ethnic unrest in China. Ilham Tohti is an ethnically Uyghur economist, professor, writer, and public intellectual who has been spearheading the vanguard of cultivating mutual understanding and respect amongst Han and Uyghur Chinese. He has been steadfast on working within the system to finding a solution that will be mutually beneficial for the Communist Party and the Uyghur ethnic minorities in Xinjiang, home to many of China’s ethnic Turkic Muslims. Even in the face of adversity, he has been outspoken and quick to criticize the missteps of the Communist Party’s governance and policies towards Xinjiang province and its Muslim minorities. Due to that, the CCP views him as a threat, rather than a solution, to the extreme affairs of episodic ethnic and political unrest in Xinjiang. With the growing resentment from the Uyghur populous towards government’s policies, the tensions in the Xinjiang region between Muslim Uyghur minorities and Han Chinese have escalated to waves of “terrorist” attacks around China, with the recent stabbing in Kunming, being dubbed as “China’s 9/11”. In response, the CCP has imposed a more oppressive campaign to crackdown on the separatists and stabilize the region. In this plight,

Faced with an alarming rise in Xinjiang violence over the last two years, Beijing is searching for a high-visibility, public solution. Most recently, officials’ attention has settled on the Xinjiang Production and Construction Corps (XPCC), known informally in Chinese as bingtuan (‘Corps’). While it has been a martial organization in name and structure since its inception, the international media is getting ahead of itself in playing up the military role played by Xinjiang’s bingtuan. Controlling 700,000 hectares, almost 30% of Xinjiang’s arable land, along with 2.6 million residents in its cities, the is first and foremost a bureaucratic corporation.

Interestingly, notwithstanding a want of the word “terrorism” in Imperial China and workable official legal definition of terrorism in modern China, terrorist-like activities have long existed and been viewed as politically motivated violence against the state.

Out of the fifty-five recognized ethnic minorities within China, Uyghur is the 5th largest population out of the 8.3 million. Uyghur independence movements started in 1933, their primary aim was to create a sovereign state called East Turkestan within the region currently known as Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region of China (XUAR). This thesis seeks to answer the question of how the Chinese government’s policies towards the Uyghur’s, a Turkish Muslim group living predominately in the North Western Chinese province Xinjiang, have influenced the political strengthening of the Uyghur’s. The aspect of this question will be explored: Have the Chinese policies helped to strengthen or weaken Uyghur identity? Additionally, the hypothesis for the research question is that the Chinese policies have not favored nor shaped the Uyghur’s interest.