![](\"https:\/\/cdn.asiancorrespondent.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/01\/AP_36406013601-1024x683.jpg\")
<\/p>\nFOR centuries, acts of terror have been employed to instill fear in the populace, however today the world is witnessing an unprecedented amount of attacks.<\/p>\n
By Matthew Abbey
14th January 2017
\u200b\u200b\u200b\u200b\u200b\u200b\u200b @MatthewAbbey94<\/p>\n
FOR centuries, acts of terror have been employed to instill fear in the populace, however today the world is witnessing an unprecedented amount of attacks.<\/p>\n
Most of the terrorist attacks striking European capitals are a result of marginalised communities challenging the status quo, only indirectly influenced by events across the Middle East.<\/p>\n
But Europe is not the only part of the world facing homegrown terrorism.<\/p>\n
For decades, the Muslim Uighur population have challenged Beijing\u2019s authority in the Xinjiang Uighur Autonomous Region in far west China, resorting to terrorist attacks that attempt to undermine the central authorities.<\/p>\n
The Uighurs are native to Xinjiang, also known as East Turkestan, and are culturally and linguistically related to Turkey, defying the influence of the Han Chinese in the region.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
(File) In this 2014 photo, Uighur residents gather at a road side stall in the city of Aksu in western China\u2019s Xinjiang province. Source: AP\/Ng Han Guan<\/em><\/p>\n In the same way that many second-generation immigrants in Europe live on the fringe of society, the Uighur have been marginalised to such an extent that a growing amount of young men and women are being radicalised. Ostracised within their own home, many find acceptance among extremism.<\/p>\n The process of marginalisation, therefore, plays a role in igniting homegrown terror. Almost every attack in Europe is linked through this tragic phenomenon of predominantly young Muslim men feeling ostracised in society, but nobody is attempting to fix this societal problem.<\/p>\n Rather than orchestrating a \u2018war of terror\u2019, China and Europe, among other governments facing homegrown terror, must attempt to fix the underlying causes of marginalisation that lead to radicalised violence.<\/p>\n The most recent attack<\/a> in Xinjiang occurred on Dec 28, 2016. Three people in a vehicle entered the courtyard of the Moyo County Committee of the Communist Party of China (CPC), detonating an explosive device and attacking workers with knives. Two people were killed and another three injured before the attackers were shot dead on site.<\/p>\n Almost immediately, official news agency Xinhua referred to the incident as an act of terror without providing further information. Similar reactions are commonplace across Europe. After the attack<\/a> on a Christmas market in Berlin, it was quickly denounced as Islamic before the Islamic State had time to think of a response.<\/p>\n Labelling of an attack as terrorism allows for the \u2018war of terror\u2019 to indoctrinate society, influencing people into believing the government\u2019s response is justified. Every attack gives further impetus to the government to continue its crackdown and restrict the civil liberties of, in most cases, a minority of the population.<\/p>\n In the case of Europe, refugees have been targeted despite there being no causal link between immigration and terrorism.<\/p>\n In China, the Uighur population as a whole suffers as a result of a few extremists.<\/p>\n In December 2015, China\u2019s Counterterrorism Law<\/a> was passed. A subsequent local counterterrorism law<\/a> was also passed in Xinjiang in August last year, supplementing the national law and becoming the first of its kind in China. Spread across 61 items in 10 chapters, the law defines terrorism and terrorists, details security precaution and countermeasures, lists intelligence and investigative powers, and details necessary punishments.<\/p>\n The most troubling aspect of the new measures is the emphasis on religious extremism being the ideological basis for terrorism. Most of Xinjiang\u2019s native population are Muslim, but Beijing\u2019s restrictive policy towards the region is far more influential in radicalising the Uighur than Islamic doctrine.<\/p>\n (File) An Uighur man prepares to get his beard massaged at a barber shop in the city of Aksu in western China\u2019s Xinjiang province. Source: AP Photo\/Ng Han Guan<\/em><\/p>\n During Ramadan in 2016<\/a>, where Muslims are required to fast throughout the day, China banned teachers, students and civil servants from fasting and forced restaurants to remain open. The CPC views Xinjiang separatist claims as a threat to national unity and therefore religious freedom, an integral aspect of many Uighur\u2019s lives, has been targeted in the province. Among other religious restrictions in Xinjiang, the government banned<\/a> men from growing long beards and women from wearing veils and headscarves.<\/p>\n Uighurs have been pushed into the hands of extremists by the central authorities. After experiencing decades of oppression at the hands of Beijing, the only way out is perceived as an armed struggle against the authorities. Neither Beijing, Paris or Istanbul have yet formed a cohesive strategy to combat terrorism, rather mimicking Washington after Sept 11, 2001.<\/p>\n Governments are quick to mobilise a \u2018war on terror\u2019, but fail to build the bridges necessary for a society to move forward after an attack.<\/p>\n In the past, terrorism brought society together in unexpected ways, but today, the effect is the opposite. The way to fight extremism is through tolerance, acceptance and education, not placing further restrictions on a minority group already living on the periphery of society.<\/p>\n Beijing\u2019s restrictive policies towards Xinjiang have only radicalised the population, creating yet another narrative of Muslims resisting the government after being oppressed.<\/p>\n If China wants to end the terrorist attacks, it needs to change its course and rebuild the fractured society in Xinjiang.<\/p>\n ** This is the personal opinion of the writer and does not reflect the views of Asian Correspondent<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" FOR centuries, acts of terror have been employed to instill fear in the populace, however today the world is witnessing an unprecedented amount of attacks.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":3333,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"topic":[],"class_list":["post-3334","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/iuhrdf.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3334","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/iuhrdf.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/iuhrdf.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/iuhrdf.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/iuhrdf.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3334"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/iuhrdf.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3334\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/iuhrdf.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/3333"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/iuhrdf.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3334"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/iuhrdf.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3334"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/iuhrdf.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3334"},{"taxonomy":"topic","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/iuhrdf.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/topic?post=3334"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}![](\"https:\/\/cdn.asiancorrespondent.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/01\/AP_790977968624-1024x683.jpg\")
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