Summary:
Friday eleven so-called terrorists in the far western part
of China were killed in an attack. The
Xinjiang region is known for its violence and the high Islamic population that
lives there. A leader of the Turkic
Uighur community that is in exile in the region has said that many of the
attacks are in response to the domineering Chinese rule. The Chinese government attributes the attacks
to Islamist militants and separatists who are attempting to establish a separate
state known as East Turkestan. Many
exiles say the unrest is due to China’s policies, which restrict Islam, the
Uighur people’s culture, and oppresses the people. Leaders in Uighar groups claim that violent provocation
causes the people to resist their repression.
Analysis:
This details a very important division we can see within a
global context: the division of government and religion. While those of us who live in Western-thinking,
democratic societies are familiar with the idea of the “separation of church
and state”, many countries around the world struggle with strict governments
dictating the way they should live.
These dictates include the accepted or allowed religion, and often come
with a strict and harsh punishment if the laws and rules are broken. Religion seems to be a very personal and
individual concept, relating to the beliefs of a person and their innermost
ideas. Having a societal pressure to
conform and deny your own beliefs for the safety of yourself and your family
can cause violent reactions from people.
The society in which these people live in essentially is denying their
very selves. When an individual is
denied by their society, there is often a violent reaction, as seen by the “terrorist”
groups in China. The clear division of
two cultural spheres, the political and religious, leads to a conflict between
the often oppressive government and those struggling to practice what they
believe.
http://news.yahoo.com/china-says-39-several-terrorists-39-shot-dead-105350043.html
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