Moderation in political ideology, religious practice and feeding among other things, ultimately results in peace and harmony in human nature and in what constitutes human society. Extremism results in violence, rebellion and war for failure to accept the very austere position of ideas and ideology especially in religion and politics.
Nations and states battle on how to deal with extremists in all ramifications as absolute nationalism is a bane of societal peace, which in the records of history, has caused the outbreak of great wars. Violent extremism has become the order of the day within the Sahel region, Lake Chad, Horns of Africa, the Middle East, Europe, Asia and the United States. States have an obligation to protect the lives and property of their citizenry by all means and at all cost within the ambit of the law. Intelligence reports may also place individuals and groups under active surveillance and flash points are usually well monitored.
The 9/11 attacks on the World Trade Centre in New York has paved a way of state extremism under President Bush since 2001with the invasion of Iraq and Afghanistan and the application of absolute force in dealing with the invasion. The war was uncalculated as it lasted longer than expected and the resources spent higher than budgeted. Such state extremism has caused the death of about 6,951 American troops where 2,401 died in Afghanistan and 4,550 died in Iraq. Twenty-one (21) American civilians died in the war (6 in Afghanistan and 15 in Iraq). This was how extremism opened up windows of American extremism in the fight against terrorism.
The fatalities transcended the civilian and military boundaries, as about 3,937 American contractors died in Afghanistan, 90 died in Pakistan and 3, 793 got killed in Iraq, which gave the total number of killed American contractors to 7,820. These records were for the American casualties not for the invaded states of Afghanistan, Pakistan and Iraq. It was estimated that about 58, 596 Afghan Military and Police officers died as a result of the invasion. It was also recorded that about 8,832 Pakistani Military and Police officers died, and about 41, 726 Iraqi Military and Police officers died, making a total of 109,154 due to the post-September-11invasions.
The war on terror in the designated states was not without the contribution of other American allies in the coalition forces. The allied forces also recorded fatalities as 1,141 died in Afghanistan and 323 died in Iraq, which brought the number to 1,464. The most pathetic of all is the killing of the civilians of these invaded places, where records show that 38,480 Afghan civilians died, 23,372 Pakistani Civilians were killed and 204,575 Iraqi civilians killed as a result of the invasion. This brought the number of civilians killed in the three countries to 266, 471.
China’s modified way of dealing with extremism has taken a different path, which does not involve invasion of any country, nor aerial bombardment, no deployment of allied forces, but preventive measures and a strategy not to make the same mistake as did the United States in the fight against terrorism. The Western Media coverage shows that China has created a concentration camp, persecuting the Muslim Uyigurs with torture and rape, a claim that has not been verified. What China established in Xinjiang is a rehabilitation centre, to transform and de-radicalize people seen as potential threat to the society. Such people learn skills and vocational training; so that when they come out they have skills and could stand the taste of time in helping themselves, the society and others.
On the issue of rape, the People’s Republic of China does not take it likely when people break or disrespect the constitution of the land and that is why the Chinese have become well disciplined and well behaved. Article 139 of the Criminal law of the People’s Republic of China states that “Whoever by violence, coercion or other means rapes a woman is to be sentenced to not less than three years and not more than ten years of fixed term imprisonment .” this shows that if found guilty, an individual may be imprisoned for a period between 3 and 10 years. The question is how could it be, those under rehabilitation be subjected to rape in a country where the law prevails on people regardless of position, political or socio-economic background? The people of Xinjiang cannot be so hated primarily because of their religion. Citizens of China enjoy freedom of religious belief and no state organ, public organization or individual may compel citizens to believe in or not to believe in any religion nor may they discriminate against citizens who believe in, or do not believe in any religion.
China is a country with a great diversity of religious beliefs. The main religions are Buddhism, Taoism, Islam, Catholicism and Protestantism. Citizens of China may freely choose and express their religious beliefs, and make clear their religious affiliations. According to incomplete statistics, there are over 100 million followers of various religious faiths, more than 85,000 sites for religious activities, some 300,000 clergy and over 3,000 religious organizations throughout China. In addition, there are 74 religious schools and colleges run by religious organizations for training clerical personnel. Buddhism has a history of 2,000 years in China. Currently China has 13,000-some Buddhist temples and about 200,000 Buddhist monks and nuns. Among them are 120,000 lamas and nuns, more than 1,700 Living Buddhas, and 3,000-some temples of Tibetan Buddhism and nearly 10,000 Bhiksu and senior monks and more than 1,600 temples of Pali Buddhism. Taoism, native to China, has a history of more than 1,700 years. China now has over 1,500 Taoist temples and more than 25,000 Taoist priests and nuns.
Islam was introduced into China in the seventh century. Nowadays in China there are ten national minorities, including the Hui and Uygur, with a total population of 18 million, whose faith is Islam. Their 30,000 mosques are served by 40,000 Imams and Akhunds. Catholicism was introduced into China intermittently in the seventh century, but it had not spread widely until after the Opium War in 1840. At present, China has four million Catholics, 4,000 clergy and more than 4,600 churches and meeting houses. Protestantism was first brought to China in the early 19th century and spread widely after the Opium War. There are about 10 million Protestants, more than 18,000 clergy, more than 12,000 Churches and 25,000-some meeting places throughout China. China has the following national religious organizations: Buddhist Association of China, Taoist Association of China, Islamic Association of China, Chinese Patriotic Catholic Association, Chinese Catholic Bishops’ College, Three-Self Patriotic Movement Committee of the Protestant Churches of China, and China Christian Council.
We live in the times of violent extremism and terrorism which serve as a great threat to human existence ubiquitously. Extremist groups are found across all religious groups in the world such as in Islam, Christianity, Buddhism, Hindu and Jewish religion among others and the world has suffered a great set back due to such trends. The United States has established detention camps such as Guantamo bay, where captured terrorists have been persecuted and tortured with the name of fighting terrorism. All allies of the United States have joined hands in this fight including Asian and African countries where terrorism has been on the rise. Nigeria is on the fight against Boko Haram; Afghanistan, United States and coalition forces against Taliban; the Sahel region against the Islamic State and AQIM among others; Somalia is suffering from the attacks of Al-Shabab, while Uganda has recovered from the activities of the Lord Resistance Army.
Xinjiang is a key battlefield in the fight against terrorism and extremism in China. For some time Xinjiang has been plagued by terrorism and religious extremism, which poses a serious threat to the lives of the people in the region. Addressing both the symptoms and root causes and integrating preventative measures and a forceful response, Xinjiang has established vocational education and training centers in accordance with the law to prevent the breeding and spread of terrorism and religious extremism, effectively curbing the frequent terrorist incidents and protecting the rights to life, health, and development of the people of all ethnic groups.
Professor Sheriff writes from Department of Political Science and International Relations, University of Abuja via [email protected]
