Last
week, violence in China's westernmost province bordering with India,
took a new turn as Jume Tahir, the government-appointed imam of the
600-year-old, Id Kah mosque in the city of Kashgar, was found dead
in a pool of blood outside the mosque’s prayer house. He was
murdered after conducting morning prayers. Id Kah mosque is located
in the city of Kashgar, which is an old oasis city that was part of
the Silk Road trade route that ran from Europe to Asia. It is the
largest mosque in the province of Xinjiang with a capacity of 20000
people.
The
dead imam, Jume Tahir, was said to be deeply unpopular among local
Uighurs who disliked the fact that he praised Communist Party
policies while preaching in his mosque. According to some local
Uighurs, Jume Tahir consistently cooperated with the government,
aided the monitoring of religious activities, and used his position
in the mosque to promote Chinese policies which are unacceptable to
Uighurs, who believed that he had a special relationship with the
Chinese ministry of security. Confirming this, US based Radio Free
Asia (RFA) had earlier reported on its website, that Tahir had been
critical of violence carried out by Uighurs.
Chinese
media however expressed exactly contrary views. Chinese news agency
Xinhua, who had earlier praised the Imam saying that he condemned
terrorist violence carried out in the name of ethnicity and religion,
now said in its dispatch that Tahir, 74, “enjoyed a high reputation
among Muslims nationwide.” Chinese media were quick in responding
that three thugs influenced by religious extremist ideology have
killed the Imam and gave their names.
Killing
of the Imam came within two days after violence broke out between
Uighurs and security authorities, when an attack was launched on a
police station in Yarkand county in the Kashgar region. Nearly 100
people were left dead or wounded. This attack has come as a latest
episode in series of attacks launched by terrorists. A market attack
in Urumqi, Xinjiang’s capital city, in May 1914 left 39 people
dead, while a deadly rampage by knife-wielding assailants at a train
station in Kunming in China’s southwest in March 1914 killed 29
people. These attacks have come after a fiery vehicle crash at
Tiananmen Square, Beijing’s symbolic heart, in October last year.
Though Chinese have been blaming terrorists for these attacks, fact
remains that the cultural and religious repression by the Chinese
Government is fueling the unrest in Xinjiang.
Another
reaction that sounds almost comical has come from an another city in
Xinjiang region, known as Karamay, about 400 km north of the
region's capital Urumqi. The city officials say that persons wearing
Islamic headscarves and with beards will not be allowed to use public
transport in the city. The ban, which prohibits headscarves, partial
face veils and burkas, would last until 20 August.
Karamay
Daily, a newspaper published a list of "five types of people"
who would be banned from public transport. These are the people
wearing headscarves, veils, burkas, clothes with the crescent moon
and star symbol, and "youths with long beards". "Passengers
who do not co-operate, particularly the 'five types of people', will
be reported to the police and all commuters would be subject to bag
checks.
There
is no doubt that situation in Xinjiang region is rather grave but
this kind of reaction almost seems paranoiac, particularly because
what is banned straight way hurts the religious beliefs of people.
Such measures are only likely to add more fuel to the resentment
among people. Chinese Internet users echoed these feelings in their
comments on Weibo, China's microblogging service.
One
user said: "So every bearded or burka-clad person is a
terrorist? For goodness sake these are traditional customs,"
and another user added that "Having a beard definitely does not
mean you are a terrorist. ” It is obvious that such comical orders
are not likely to reduce the strif and tension in the region. They
are likely to boost them.
9th
August 2014
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