Escape from a forced 'marriage'

Malign influence

During an interview with Xinhua News Agency on Oct 16, Shohrat Zakir, chairman of Xinjiang, said people in four prefectures in southern Xinjiang, including Kashgar and Hotan, had been seriously influenced by the spread of religious extremism and threatened by terrorism in the past.

According to Ma Pinyan, a researcher at the Xinjiang Academy of Social Sciences in Urumqi, the regional capital, the spread of religious extremism in the region has been a gradual process.

It has changed the lives of many members of the Uygur ethnic group, most of whom are Muslim.

They are told that their children shouldn't attend schools or hospitals set up by the Han "unbelievers", and they should burn their marriage certificates and even bank notes because they aren't halal (permitted under Islamic law).

The hardliners even said walking on roads built by unbelievers is a sin, and people are told that the quick way to heaven is to kill unbelievers, according to residents of Kashgar and Hotan prefectures.

"The goal of the religious extremists is to create estrangement and isolate people from society, so they can draw people to their side in the name of religion and feed them violent, extremist thoughts," said Arken Ali, deputy mayor of Hotan city.

Ma, the researcher, said: "People need to be clear that religious extremists in Xinjiang promote these theories about unbelievers and holy wars in the name of Islam. The goal is to destroy ethnic unity and instigate terrorist activities."

According to Shohrat Zakir, some residents of southern Xinjiang have a limited command of Putonghua, the common form of Mandarin, and a limited sense and knowledge of the law. They often have difficulty finding work due to limited vocational skills, which has resulted in poor living standards and made them vulnerable to the extremists.

There is still a long way to go before southern Xinjiang eradicates the environment and soil of terrorism and religious extremism, he added.