CONCLUSION
The oasis-dwelling, Turkic Central Asian Muslims native to the region in Xinjiang traditionally known as “Seven Cities” (Jete Shahar) has not been consistently under the common identity “Uyghur” before the 1930’s, nor were they consistently under one unified state of their own. However, common language, religion, sedentary economy and shared history, especially the history as conquered subjects in the Chinese-controlled region of Xinjiang since the Qing Dynasty, have brought them under a common modern national identity. Their aspirations to be a self-determined people are hampered by divisive local loyalty and different degrees of national consciousness among occupational social groups. The cultivation of a modern, Uyghur culture and the betterment of their economic conditions are increasingly difficult in a state that systematically deprives the Uyghurs of control of natural resources in their own homeland and privileges the dominant Han nationality in education and economic opportunities.
China’s Xinjiang policies have always been dictated by its strategic interests in the greater region of Central Asia, competing with those of foreign powers, namely, Russian and the West. Over alternating intervals of high-handed measures and relaxation/liberalization, there has been a general practice of the Chinese State to settle non-indigenous populations from China Proper in Xinjiang in order to marginalize the Uyghurs and other Central Asians in terms of economic status as well as in number. Draconic measures of religious, cultural and political suppression usually coincide with ambitions of foreign powers across the border. In this post-September 11 context, China’s alert is heightened by the aggressive American involvement the oil-producing regions of Central Asia and the need among China, Russia and the U.S to define their respective spheres of interest in the region.
The revival of this geopolitical “Big Game” is accentuated by Samuel Huntington’s concept of “the clash of civilizations”: while mindful of each other, the three great powers are heavily deploying their military forces and political resources in the region in order to combat the “resurgent Islamic fundamentalism”. The current political climate gives a pretext for the Chinese State to clamp down on the Uyghur’s religious practices, a common feature that distinguishes them in an atheistic Marxist state built on a traditionally Confucian culture.
In the near future, it will become evident that China’s Xinjiang policy is shifting from a relatively relaxed one with limited tolerance toward Islam and ethnic cultures, to a harsh, sometimes over-reacting and deliberately provocative approach aimed not only at confronting the fringe group among Uyghurs that do support Islamic fundamentalism and terrorism, but also at liquidating the limited autonomy and freedoms gained by Uyghurs throughout the large part of the post-Mao era. The moderately developed Uyghur ethnic culture will give way to the unbridled process of Sinicization, reflecting the Chinese State’s fear of the disloyalty of a Turkic Muslim people straddling its northwestern “frontier”, in constant danger of being won over by Russia, the U.S along with its Turkish ally and possibly Islamic Iran.
In order to survive in the future, the Uyghur people must understand the strategic importance of their identity as a national group and their homeland in the “bigger picture” of geopolitical contention and brokerage among great powers. Being Turkic, Muslim, Central Asian, influenced by Russia and Chinese subjects at the same time, the Uyghurs have many advantages as the “middlemen” among nation states and blocs of states. The commercial tradition of the Uyghurs suggests that they are natural to this intermediary role. However, having ties to different worlds also makes the Chinese State suspicious of the Uyghur’s loyalty, thus implementing harsher social, political and religious policies. This, together with the Chinese State’s determination to flood Xinjiang with Han migrants and marginalize the Uyghurs in their homeland, can possibly create a mass-exodus of Uyghurs into neighboring countries, which already show signs of rejection. As 20th century history shows, great woes befell stateless, diaspora groups and indigenous groups confined in backward “Bantustans”. With such grim prospects looming on the horizon, a voice is again heard, the voice of the Turpan nationalist poet, Abdukhaliq Uyghur, who cried out these lines in the tumultuous years of the 1930’s:
Awaken!
Hey! Uyghur, it is time to awaken…
Open your eyes wide and look about you.
You must contemplate the future,
Think about it a long time.
If this opportunity should fall from your grasp,
The future will bode much hardship, much hardship…
Awakening has brought the modern Uyghur identity to this people, and only awakening can help it survive in the uncertain future.
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