We Must Protect the Chinese Youth from Being Lured By ISIS

We Must Protect the Chinese Youth from Being Lured By ISIS
thabet_sava May 22, 2015 18:25

Being a Muslim author and educator, I have been. Frequently, asked by some of my students about ISIS and why it is becoming a fixture in the Western as well as the Chinese media. I attempted to explain to them that ISIS has nothing to do with Islam or its principles.

I realized that due to the extensive coverage of the movement, most youth worldwide had acquired a profound curiosity regarding its authenticity and its impact upon the world in which we exist.

It is a common knowledge that it had attracted a great number of confused youth worldwide. One may wonder about the reasons that joining a terrorist organization became so appealing to those young people that they were willing to abandon their families and their environment to travel thousands of miles to become one of its followers.

Despite its horrific acts of massacring unaccountable of innocent people and attempts by several nations to annihilate or abolishing it, ISIS is still powerful enough to cause havoc worldwide. 

Examining the state of our universe, it is clear that many young people are facing tremendous challenges including making a living, facing bleak futures, the spread of diseases, drugs and crimes along with the turmoil of wars in every continent.

They are desperately seeking a glimpse of hope to hang on to avoid falling victims to despondency and desperation.

ISIS, with its false interpretation of Islam and its principles, seized the opportunity to reach out for those who are confused enough to be brainwashed into believing that killing innocent people would bring them close to Allah/God and consequently spend eternity in heaven.

With the spread of the internet and the accessibility of all venues of the media to the Chinese youth, it would be easy for ISIS and its distorted logic to crawl into few of the minds of the struggling young Chinese who are desperate to find a way to survive in today’s complex world.

The Chinese governmental agencies especially the educational institutions are facing two difficult options.

The first option would be focusing on dealing with the fact that ISIS may be able to reach some of the confused Chinese youth and lured them into joining that evil organization.

The second choice would be to ignore it and hope that the Chinese youth is rational enough to resist its appealing false hopes to stay away from becoming one of its members.

It is obvious that facing the challenge of educating the Chinese students about ISIS and its horrendous acts of terrorism would protect them from its evils. Nevertheless, one may ask about the means by which we can accomplish that tedious task without venturing into the religious aspects of the issue.

Universities, colleges and middle and high schools could allocate few classes or hold meetings to discuss the movement and its horrible acts of violence. Teachers need to emphasize that joining a terrorist organization by no means is the answer to the problems faced by young Chinese individuals.

The media should avoid sensationalizing its acts of violence. I am aware of the fact that they have the responsibility of informing the public about current affairs. However, they could minimize its impact by sticking to the authentic facts.

Tags:Lifestyle Expat Rants & Advice General

32 Comments

All comments are subject to moderation by eChinacities.com staff. Because we wish to encourage healthy and productive dialogue we ask that all comments remain polite, free of profanity or name calling, and relevant to the original post and subsequent discussion. Comments will not be deleted because of the viewpoints they express, only if the mode of expression itself is inappropriate. Please use the Classifieds to advertise your business and unrelated posts made merely to advertise a company or service will be deleted.

kiharamillicent

well interesting...my students must be too young to comprehend world issues

May 09, 2023 16:24 Report Abuse

Ozumar123

You sound like the devil here

Nov 07, 2020 16:18 Report Abuse

Guest2781358

They're more likely to set up a general store in Syria than join Isis

Jun 01, 2015 04:41 Report Abuse

oldguy902

well, considering they have such a hardcore anti-religious government, it might be working in the opposite direction.

May 31, 2015 20:48 Report Abuse

nzteacher80

Muslims make such delicious food. I'd gladly be radicalised if I knew that I'd get a mezze platter at the end of each day. Allahu akbar!

May 30, 2015 16:24 Report Abuse

BobC

Insha'Allah!!!

May 30, 2015 19:57 Report Abuse

CinemaFace

Great idea! You just have to give up alcohol, pork and you have to do a ritual prayer to a stone 5 times a day. And, oh yeah, if you decide to leave you have to be killed as apostate. Islam is a dynamite religion. Pun intended.

Jun 02, 2015 09:45 Report Abuse

royceH

More conservative dress is noticeable in Xinjiang nowadays. Less music around, too. As someone married to a Han I must watch what I say, and to whom I am saying it. The eyes and ears are all around.

May 30, 2015 09:55 Report Abuse

Hotwater

Interesting article and well written but it ignores the elephant in the room......Xinjiang. When the author (& replies) talk about Chinese youth you all seem to be referring to Han Chinese. There is growing radicalism in Xinjiang & while a lot will be stirred by outside agitators the Chinese government are doing themselves no favours. By clamping down on Islamic beliefs & traditions in Xinjiang I believe that they are actually radicalising more Uigher Muslim youths than if they tried to be tolerant to their beliefs & allowed them more freedom of religion. The Islam practiced in Xinjiang used to be moderate but with pressures brought on them by the heavy handed Chinese government they are fighting back to keep their beliefs & starting to believe in the Nohas preached by groups like ISIS.

May 29, 2015 23:07 Report Abuse

The-Final-Say

I guess that the majority of people posting thumbs down have nothing to do or are full of hate. This article is very clean in my view and I appreciate it when I see someone of the author's beliefs and stature using the ability to speak out against terrible criminals like the daesh. This is not like in France when people whacked out the editor for allowing photos of the profit to be printed and China Daily, Weibo, and others all lit up and said "Well this was all a result of a great misunderstanding". There is no misunderstanding in murder, only end game. So I personally thank this article's author for having the guts to tackle this very real issue.

May 29, 2015 10:32 Report Abuse

nzteacher80

I think the risk of Chinese youth joining IS is infinitesimally small. Perhaps Chinese Muslim youth may be tempted but Han Chinese youth have too much homework to do to worry themselves about jihad. I'm sure that the CCP would be glad if more Chinese Muslims departed for Iraq to fight for the new Caliphate. ISIS does give Muslims a bad name. Every Muslim I have ever met has been kind, honest, fair and hardworking. Hardly any have tried to kidnap and behead me.

May 26, 2015 12:54 Report Abuse

nzteacher80

You sound like the monster.

Jun 04, 2015 01:07 Report Abuse

Samsara

"Kill them wherever you find them ... Fight them until there is no more disbelief" (Quran 2:191, on unbelievers). "Let those who fight in the way of Allah sell the life of this world for the other. He who fights in the way of Allah, be he slain or victorious, on him we shall bestow a vast reward" (Quran 4:74). "Seize them and slay them wherever you find them; and take no friends or helpers from their ranks" (Quran 4:89, on unbelievers). "They should be murdered or crucified or their hands and their feet should be cut off on opposite sides or they should be imprisoned" (Quran 5:33, on the enemies of Islam). "Strike off their heads and strike off every fingertip of them" (Quran 8:12, on unbelievers). "May Allah destroy them" (Quran 9:30, on Jews and Christians). "Accursed, they will be seized wherever found and slain with a fierce slaughter" (Quran 33:62, on Muslims who refuse to fight in the way of Allah, Jews, and people who speak out against Islam). "When you meet those who disbelieve smite at their necks till you have killed and wounded many of them" (Quran 47:3). And on and on it goes. ----- There are more than a hundred verses in the Quran that endorse violence. The Quran explicitly states that those who kill unbelievers will be rewarded in eternity. Denying the link between Islam and violence by claiming that ISIS "misinterprets" the Quran is extremely dishonest. ----- If we are to educate Chinese youths about Islam, we should start with this: "Basing your understanding of the world, and consequent actions, on a book written over a millennium ago by ignorant, fearful, bigoted people is not sensible. Obviously."

May 26, 2015 11:27 Report Abuse

Guest2391644

Your actual comment starts from, "if we are to educate...". The rest is a copy paste work either from a FOX news post or the pages who claim Obama is also a muslim. You don't realize that Quran has chapters that covers whole areas such as jihad or code of conduct for jihad. Just as 'cut their fingertips' type is something nowhere in the Quran. The number of verses you have mentioned are completely false as well. As per Quran burning alive any living thing is a major sin and mutilating the dead bodies of enemies is also sinful as per Quran. Now what ISIS does is completely opposite doesn't mean they aren't Muslims or at least Muslims in disguise. And most of the fabricated false interpretations of certain verses you have mentioned weren't universal rather for a certain scenario where 300 Muslims including the Prophet were followed by 1000s of quresh to eridicate them. Anyhow this article could have been best if published in the Muslim countries from where people are flocking towards ISIS. Chinese aren't that free to go that far for a stupid war.

May 28, 2015 22:40 Report Abuse

CinemaFace

Prove the Quran doesn't say those things. Samsara gave you each quote, Surrah and verse. Tell us what it really says if you think it's wrong.

Jun 01, 2015 20:00 Report Abuse

BobC

http://quod.lib.umich.edu/k/koran/browse.html

Jun 03, 2015 19:53 Report Abuse

Samsara

Thanks CinemaFace and BobC! Though according to Guest2391644 (aka thefidu881) accurately quoting the Quran is unfair and misleading. ----- So to make him feel better here is a "quote from the Quran" that I totally agree with: "Allah doesn't mind what religion people are and supports feminism, gay marriage and free thought!" What a great religion.

Jun 04, 2015 00:35 Report Abuse

thefidu881

Are you drunk@ Samsara? Why are you dragging me? I do have a point of view about your comment(but I prefer to avoid bigots of every faith and society) I do have the 'Bowls'to say it right in your face without using alias.

Jun 04, 2015 16:18 Report Abuse

Samsara

You are he. I find it tedious arguing with dishonest people.

Jun 06, 2015 22:36 Report Abuse

dokken

This is a very good article. Unlike 90 perent of articles on this site, it has clarity. It is important for China to act pre-emptively against radicalization. Education is key. She also didn't include the usual caveat "but we must also examine the reasons behind their anger and how change in foreign policy by the west is a necessity". I've heard this many times from muslims including a Saudi prince when he visited 9/11 site. Basically saying that all muslims are noble but are just responding to the evils of the west. Makes me sick. But there was no hint of it in this article.

May 26, 2015 06:06 Report Abuse

royceH

I hear what you're saying. I don't think it's drawing a long bow at all to suggest that disenfranchised Chinese people could be sucked up into this evil 'death cult' (Abbottism). And not only Chinese Muslims either. Actually, it's not hard to believe that China has quite a few disenfranchised people. A couple of hundred million is not a far fetched number. To suggest that Islam is somehow condoning this latest burst of subhuman behaviour from I.S. is not entirely correct. But, that said, they could undoubtedly do much more. What I wish for is for these people to be able to empty their heads and begin again.

May 25, 2015 20:27 Report Abuse

Guest2763082

I know many people who went to work for ISIS. They are certainly not evil, misled and a bit naive maybe, but not evil. That's just the western propaganda machine trying to tar them all with the same brush. Most of them are just good guys trying to make the world a better place for all.

May 28, 2015 14:43 Report Abuse

Guest2621282

Tell me, who is ISIS trying to make the world better for? For the homosexual people they push off rooftops? Or for the thousands of slave girls being sold, raped, then re-sold? Or maybe for the people at the market getting blown up by a suicide bomb? How are ISIS the good guys again?

May 29, 2015 14:24 Report Abuse

Spiderboenz

Radical Islam is a problem, yes. What is equally a problem is the tacit acceptance of it within the global Islamic community; IS did not just suddenly pop into existence from nowhere. AQI, the Taliban, Abu Sayeffe and MILF in the Philippines... All pre-existing examples of tolerated Muslim extremism.

May 25, 2015 10:03 Report Abuse

CinemaFace

Agreed. The silence regarding ISIS of the Islamic community at large is deafening.

May 25, 2015 11:47 Report Abuse