One of the hallmarks of present day Chinese culture, is to make all its citizens, including those in occupied areas, such as Tibet, forcefully adopt the so called "Han" culture. The practice can be seen in the efforts China has made to 'integrate' buddhist monks and Tibetan citizens into tradition and customs, and more often, laws that run contrary to the native's wishes and traditions.
The new effort by the Chinese government to stop Uighurs from displaying their 'separateness' by wearing a head scarf or face veil, has been masked under the guise of a 'beauty' campaign. But, if there ever was a less fortunate moniker, their attempt at stopping Muslim women from wearing traditional garb in this way is falling on deaf ears.
In the city of Kashgar, along the ancient Silk Road, many Uighurs have lived for centuries cultivating and retaining a millennial culture that harkens to the Asian roots from which they all derive.
This Project Beauty, as the Chinese authorities have called it, consists of stopping any woman on the street who is veiled and writing her name on a log, all the while a camera whirs in the background recording the entire thing.
Uighurs have come under increased pressure int he last decade, and are under the Chinese authorities' scopes for the recent 'terrorist' activities both in Beijing and Uighurs populated areas.
The problem with these deceptive or at least not earnest practices of convincing people to abandon centuries old customs, is that they are perceived for exactly what they are: an attempt to erase their identity, and since their identity is dictated by their religious beliefs, also an attempt at stamping out Muslim faith inside China's borders, just as is happening in neighboring Tibet.
The campaign also consists of forcing Uighurs to watch reels in which women with uncovered faces and head are displayed as ideals of beauty, as a sort of rehabilitation for those women 'offenders' whose names had been entered in the logs during the street sweeps.
Furthermore, the annexation of the areas in which the Uighurs live has only been part of China for little more than a century. It came under the control of the Qing dynasty close to the end of the 19th century.
At stake, China thinks, are the territories in which the Uighurs live. They see any attempt at remaining culturally and religiously separate as a struggle to pave the way for an independence effort, and it believes that such tactics of 'gentle persuasion' to abandon their identity may do the trick.
The problem is that these new efforts are creating anger and hatred even in places or in people who before had little animus against the central government. In a sense, China is creating its own terrorism premise, by pushing so hard to 'integrate' the Uighurs.
Another edict that has sparked anger, prescribed that men had to shave their beards, and women remove their veil, if they wanted to access government buildings. In some cases, the Chinese authorities even instructed hospitals to report which women wore veils. Tailors, to boot, were told to stop making the floor length gowns many Uighur women wear.
Some things are changing in the Muslim areas, due to the pressures made by the Chinese central government, and in any case, progress affects all civilizations in some form or another. But if the Chinese continue the brainwashing, and the finger pointing of all Muslim people in China, even if they are not remotely connected with terrorist activity, they risk creating the premise for more and much more dangerous religious and political strife.
Op-Ed
Source : France 24/ 11.25.13
No comments:
Post a Comment