Root out terrorist organizers both at home and abroad

By launching a terrorist attack on the eve of the annual sessions of the National People’s Congress and the National Committee of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference, the terrorists’ intentions of attracting nationwide and global attention for their political usurpations are clear. But their inhuman deeds — the killing of innocent people, including women and children — can never be acceptable, as the worldwide condemnation of this attack makes clear.

The terrorist forces in China are obviously spreading out from the Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region. The fact that this group of terrorists traveled thousands of kilometers for this attack on vulnerable people shows that they are better organized and totally brainwashed by religious extremism and terrorism, which has extinguished the last flame of conscience in their hearts.

This highlights the necessity of further cracking down on terrorism and preventing the spread of religious extremism, as well as locating the terrorist groups that plan the attacks from faraway. Of course, at the same time, we need to defend the rights of Muslims in China, who are also victims of terrorism and whose cooperation is needed to totally root out terrorism. The fight against terrorism will be a long battle, and we need both to fight the terrorists and improve the living conditions of people in Xinjiang.

The terrorists’ efforts to seek the support of the international community are doomed to fail. Actually, most countries have already realized that terrorism is evil and it is impossible for any country to openly support the attackers. Just as Sheikh Abdul Aziz, Grand Mufti of Saudi Arabia, said, Islam strictly forbids terrorism.

But this attack has stressed the need for China to strengthen international support, so as to cut the separatists’ links with overseas terrorists.

Cai Jiahe, professor of Islamic studies at John Hopkins University – Nanjing University Center for Chinese and American Studies