中国存在极端伊斯兰问题吗？

作者：Kathleen E. McLaughlin

编者按：奥萨马•本•拉登的死真的改变了一切吗？在这持续不断的激战中，基地组织里谁将步拉登后尘？从阿富汗到埃及和突尼斯、印度、中国、非洲、东南亚以及前苏联共和国等，国际邮报高级通讯员就国际恐怖主义和宗教极端主义不确定的未来进行了全球性的调查。

中国北京——本•拉登虽然在阿富汗等与中国接壤的国家训练“基地”组织成员，可是他从未提及中国的维吾尔人。

没有同情的言论，没有对中国政府的谴责，也没有针对中国的威胁。

然而，美国的反恐战争令生活在中国新疆的一千万维吾尔穆斯林噤若寒蝉。即使中美遇到不同的问题，可是两国政府同意在反恐战争方面进行合作。

结果，22名维吾尔人（大多数在阿富汗训练营接受训练）被关押在关塔那摩。后来，多数人被确定为非敌方战士。

直至今天，维吾尔人仍然在践行宗教信仰、旅游和生活的其他领域面临着种种限制。不能始终保持平静，作为对政府在当地的严厉管控的回应，数千名维吾尔人终于在2009年的血腥冲突中爆发了。

和其他国家反恐不同，中国面对着一个更为基本的问题：中国到底是否存在极端伊斯兰问题？

“问题的症结在于中国政府一直说服国际社会相信他面临着极端主义的威胁。”位于华盛顿特区的维吾尔人权项目的负责人Henry K. Szadziewski说。

“到目前为止，公开的事实并不令人信服，因为它还未通过（中国）国内外的独立机构的证实。”他说。

中国与其两千二百万穆斯林的关系错综复杂，以至于他们在什么是伊斯兰极端分子这一问题上存在着根本的分歧。

中国政府声称维吾尔人中的分裂分子和世界上其他地方的伊斯兰恐怖分子一样都是极端主义者。而那些分裂分子并非典型的极端原教旨主义者。

相反，维吾尔人因对越来越多的基本问题感到失望却极少被原教旨主义所吸引。这些年来，他们因零星的爆炸案和其他暴力事件备受指责，但宗教原教旨主义不是问题的核心。

专家指出分歧凸显了中国政府本身对伊斯兰——很大程度上对宗教的——误解。

“我想在中国和中国人当中存在着对伊斯兰的无知，” 加州波莫纳大学中国和维吾尔问题专家Dru Gladney说。“我确信，因为不了解，中国政府官员、学者甚至普通百姓对伊斯兰抱有明显的恐惧感。”

Gladney说，回族——被描绘成爱国的少数民族穆斯林族群——这些年来更易受到原教旨主义的影响。

即使在2009年7月的冲突中，Gladney指出，维吾尔人并没有要求发动针对中国的战争。

“09年的冲突并未涉及吉哈德和极端伊斯兰主义” Gladney说。

“他们更关心社会公正和就业问题。”

中国政府一直坚持发生在新疆的冲突和骚乱受境外“三股势力”的煽动，但根据他们的定义，原教旨主义与其他地方的又存在着很多不同。

“极端主义对人们有潜移默化的影响” 中国现代国际关系研究院反恐研究中心（政府智囊）主任李伟说。“当冲突爆发，他们便已受到极端主义思潮的影响。那使他们对其他想法变得更为敏感。”

李伟说，根据中国的定义，极端主义者拒绝政府的包括计划生育、经济发展和教育等方面的政策。他承认，真正的威胁是分裂主义。

本•拉登被击毙后，美国对中国在反恐战争中的依赖将有可能减少，Gladney说。中国前面的道路是不确定的，但是可以确定的是，中国政府不会放松在新疆打击恐怖主义的力度。

Szadziewski说本•拉登死后五天，中国便在喀什（古丝绸之路要道和维吾尔文化的中心）开展了反恐演习。

“中国只有在诠释他国的恐怖威胁时才能感知其影响”他说。拉登死后，中国似乎在重构对穆斯林极端主义的修辞以证明自己确实在遭受着威胁。

原文：
                   China: Does it have a radical Islam problem?
22 Uighurs ended up at Guantanamo Bay, most of them rounded up in a training campaign in Afghanistan.

Kathleen E. McLaughlinJune 6, 2011 06:20

Editor's note: The killing of Osama bin Laden has changed everything. Or has it? In this ongoing series Al Qaeda: What's Next?, GlobalPost senior correspondents worldwide investigate the uncertain future of global terrorism and religious extremism – from Afghanistan to Egypt and Tunisia, India, China, Africa, Southeast Asia, the former Soviet republics and beyond.

BEIJING, China — Even as he operated Al Qaeda from just across the border, Osama bin Laden never mentioned China’s Uighurs.

No expressions of sympathy, no condemnations of the Chinese government, no threats against China.

Yet America’s war on terrorism created a tougher atmosphere for China’s 10 million Muslim Uighurs, most of whom live in western Xinjiang province. The Chinese and U.S. governments agreed to cooperate on anti-terrorism efforts, even though the two countries face very different problems.

In the end, 22 Uighurs ended up at Guantanamo Bay, most of them rounded up in a training campaign in Afghanistan. (Most were later determined not enemy combatants.)

Even today, Uighurs still face growing restrictions on practice of religion, travel and other areas of life. Rather than being pacified or quieted, thousands of China’s Uighurs erupted in deadly riots in 2009, partly in response to increasing government controls in the region.

As other nations have wrestled with threats posed by Muslim extremism, China faces a far more basic question: Does it actually have a radical Islam problem?

“The burden of proof is on the Chinese government to convince the international community that it faces the threat of extremism,” said Henry K. Szadziewski, manager of the Washington, D.C.-based Uyghur Human Rights Project.

“So far, the evidence presented has been unconvincing. It remains unconvincing because it has never been publicly examined by any kind of independent body inside of or outside of China,” he said.

China’s relationship with its 22 million Muslims is so complex and convoluted that there is basic disagreement over what makes an Islamic extremist.

The Chinese government contends that separatists among its Uighur population are extremists in the same category with Islamic terrorists elsewhere. But those separatists are not typically radical religious fundamentalists.

Rather, Uighurs are upset over more basic issues and rarely drawn to fundamentalism. Over the years, they’ve been blamed for sporadic bombings and other violence in the region, but religious fundamentalism is rarely at the core.

Experts say the disagreement underscores the Chinese government’s own misunderstanding of Islam, and potentially of religion at large.

“I think there is a vast chasm of ignorance of Islam in China and among Chinese people,” said Dru Gladney, a China and Uighur expert at Pomona College in California. “I do think there is a palpable sense of fear among Chinese government officials, scholars and even the general public about Islam, which they don’t understand.”

Gladney said the Hui Muslims, another large Muslim group in China often characterized as a patriotic minority, have been far more susceptible to strains of fundamentalism over the years.

The Uighurs, meanwhile, are central Asian. They typically practice a more laid-back brand of Islam, are frequently barred from international travel and much less prone to outside cultural influence.

Even during the July, 2009 riots, Gladney pointed out, Uighurs were not calling for war against China.

“The 2009 riots were quite revealing in that there was no mention of jihad or radical Islam,” said Gladney. “They were more interested in social justice and labor issues.”

Still, China insists the riots and unrest in Xinjiang are the work of outside agitators and extremists. But even by their definition, fundamentalism is very different than elsewhere.

“Extremism has a long-term and slow effect on people’s minds,” said Professor Li Wei of the China Institute of Contemporary International Relations, a government-affiliated think-tank. “When the riots erupted, they had already been affected by extremist attitudes. That made them more susceptible to other ideas.”

Li said by China’s definition, extremists reject government policies including limits on the number of children they can have, economic development and education practices. The real threat, he admits, is separatism.

With bin Laden dead, America’s need for Chinese support in the fight against terrorism could diminish, said Gladney. The road ahead in China is uncertain, but it’s clear the government isn’t going to ease up on Xinjiang.

Szadziewski said five days after bin Laden’s death, China conducted anti-terrorism drills in Kashgar, the old Silk Road oasis and heart of Uighur culture.

“The impact will mostly be felt in how China frames the terror threat it faces to the outside world,” he said. “After the death of Osama bin Laden, China is likely to re-up the rhetoric of Muslim extremism to demonstrate that it is confronted with a significant threat.”

来源：国际邮报       译者：维吾尔在线  

（中文为维吾尔在线首发，转载请注明出处！）