In recent years, growing terrorism across the world has stirred wide fear of and finger-pointing at Islam, which casts a shadow on the life of Muslims. China also has the problem. The entirety of Muslim population in the country sometimes is blamed for brutal attacks by a small number of terrorists and extremists in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region and the rest of China, and misunderstandings of as well as clashes with Islam take place.
However, it is critical to make some clarification. Behind the attacks are the extreme forces that utilize Islam out of political ends and misinterpret Islamic texts to lure young people onto an evil path.
Be it a deadly attack in Kunming, Yunnan Province, or in Xinjiang, what the perpetrators do utterly deviates from the ideas of Islam and has no connection to the religion, but just their political ambitions. And the majority of ordinary Muslims also fall victims. These should be sorted out and clearly identified.
Rather than the cruelty and resentment shown in the terrorist attacks, Islam always advocates peace, unity, tolerance, amicability, affinity and giving help. The Quran has explicitly said that Muslims must respect all civilizations, cultures and races, equally treat and learn from them to improve ourselves.
This is in fact consistent with the core socialist values that the Chinese government has been promoting. Those that object to diversity and love are faking being religious.
It's important for media reports to refrain from linking a religion with a small number of extremists, which could become an attack against the religion and be no good in creating an inclusive society.
To rein in the extremist activities needs continuous efforts of ordinary Muslims in China to tell the positive side of Islam and a lot of work has been done. Numerous religious texts have been compiled and sent out for both Muslims and non-Muslims to better understand the religion.
Meanwhile, training is provided for religious personnel in Xinjiang and other parts of China to improve their knowledge and teaching capabilities. Brilliant students are sent to Islamic countries to conduct exchanges and qualify them as teaching staff. As the efforts reach out to as many people as possible, they strongly refute the misinterpretation of the Islamic texts and contribute to preserving social stability.
As China carries out the
13th Five-Year Plan, Muslims also have a part to play in the process to promote the country's economic and social development. We can call for those well-off Muslims to participate in charitable work and offer a helping hand to those needy and meanwhile continue our current efforts to help the elderly.
It has to be noted that while some foreign reports often question the freedom of religion in China, Islam has witnessed sound development in the country. Mosques are always open for Muslims. Preaching and religious activities such as Ramadan are held regularly, which helps unite people and make them love each other.
As long as the positive and true side of Islamic ideas are widely and effectively made known to both Muslims and non-Muslims, those evil forces will not be able to take root in China.
The article was compiled by Global Times reporter Sun Xiaobo based on an interview with Adiljan Hajkerim, vice president of China Islamic Association and a member of the 12th National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference. sunxiaobo@globaltimes.com.cn