The views expressed in this opinion piece are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the official stance of Uyghur Times.
By Abduweli Ayup
In the Uyghurs’ current facing of genocide and being pushed to the brink of extinction, deprived of language and culture, we – intellectuals like myself – also bear a share of responsibility. We intellectuals either became compilict by playing politics and being deceived by positions offered by China, misleading our people, or we were deceived by the people’s applause and failed to save them from the impending disaster. Far from leading them to salvation, we were caught ourselves.
The most regrettable part is that even in exile, we are glorifying ignorance as nationalism, superstition as national values, ignorance as determination, and savagery as masculinity. In other words, knowledge, education, and even worldly experience for some have been of no benefit.
The mistakes of intellectuals: First, we failed to properly research and warn our people about the Chinese government’s policies. Second, we failed to warn our people about superstition; when people blindly worshipped false caliphates and thousands traveled to Syria, we couldn’t bravely stop them. Third, we elevated the people’s ignorance and poverty as our national traditions, paving the way for more fanaticism. Fourth, Uyghur intellectuals both inside and outside the homeland gave lectures and created programs promoting extremism as a factor that would save us, leading the nation towards madness and loss of reason.
As a result, ideas that defied reason became applauded. Hatred for modernity, progress, and science spread. In the homeland, intellectuals spread lessons that appealed to the masses but were useless for their progress and existence. A situation developed where they gave lectures for large sums of money, becoming merchants profiting from businessmen.
Especially around 2012, preachers, lecturers, and expatriates, while staying in safe places ourselves, gathered Uyghurs for ISIS, promoting jihad, migration, and establishing a caliphate. We distributed religious books, videos, and speeches, effectively telling China whom to arrest.
The people’s applause, support, and Amens heated our heads. As a result, writers, professors, and doctors wielded their pens, wrote books, and gave lessons not for truth but for business, applause, and feasts. I am one of those who did so. Now today, we are facing a genocide that neither Tibetans nor Mongols have faced, and our nation is on the verge of extinction.
We intellectuals made the mistake of giving speeches and preachings that appealed to the masses, portraying the dead-end path loved by the masses as a bright path to paradise. These lessons need to be summarized and not repeated.
If we don’t free ourselves from the corruption of applause, the purchase of money, the desire for power, if we don’t promote reason, emphasize science, use logic, if we continue to praise superstition as culture, slavery as faith, and madness as heroism, we will be accelerating the extinction of the Uyghurs ourselves.
In the world, intellectuals should lead the masses; the applause, patronage, and feasts of the masses should not tie down intellectuals or make them followers.
If a Uyghur intellectual says today that they won’t contribute to the genocide and will learn from the tragedy, that they will be a light against darkness and superstition, that they will be an intellectual against oppression, slavery, invasion, and genocide, they need to think independently. They are neither politicians afraid of losing elections due to fewer supporters, nor businessmen fearing losses due to fewer customers.
Uyghur intellectuals cannot spread light without freeing themselves from the mentality of seeking applause, praise, and gluttony. They cannot lead the nation to enlightenment by fearing politics, engaging in politics, or being subservient or fascinated by political forces. They cannot have independent consciousness by falling for money and profit. As a result, they cannot escape contributing to China’s ongoing genocide against the Uyghurs, which aims to erase Uyghur identity for the sake of economy and China’s eternal security.”
The Uyghur-language version of the article was published on the Uyghur edition of Uyghur Times.
Abduweli Ayup is a Uyghur linguist, activist, and writer. He is the founder of Uyghur Hjelp, a Norway-based organization, and is also a regular opinion writer and contributor to Uyghur Times.
