Xeres to Xinjiang

Xeres to Xinjiang

X is such a tough letter to find two interesting words to talk about for an entire blog entry! Yet, I have found two fascinating X words: Xeres and Xinjiang. As you might have guessed from previous entries, I march to my own drummer. I also specialize in esoteric words and subjects like Xeres and Xinjiang. With the McDonaldization of the planet, I figure we need some spice, variety, exotic locations, and hitherto unexplored subjects.

I picked Xeres and Xinjiang for another reason. Both places, the first a city in Spain, the second a region in China, have historical connections to the Muslim world. And I wanted to show, through Xeres and Xinjiang, that the Muslim world is not merely al-Qaeda, theocratic Iran, Hamas, Hezbollah, and suicide bombers in Afghanistan or Pakistan. Surely I can only look with horror at these movements and regimes that not only hold the West and Israel hostage with violence and threats of violence, but also the Muslim world itself.

But the Islamic world is a vast constellation of nations, political ideologies, particular traditions, and varied interpretations of the rights and duties of Muslims in civil society and the state. The loose Islam of Bosnia can be contrasted with the fundamentalist Wahabbi Islam of Saudi Arabia. Turkey is an outgrowth of the grandeur of the Muslim Ottoman Empire, but today has a secular constitutional framework and relations with Israel. Iran, on the other hand, is theocratic and bent on Israel's annihilation. The Sufi influenced Islam in West African countries such as Mali is radically different from the puritanical, rigid Islam of the Taliban in Afghanistan and Pakistan. Tarik Ramadan, the major Islamic scholar in Europe, has called for a Europeanized Islam and a dialogue between civilizations, while al-Qaeda calls for a clash of civilizations.

So the Muslim world spans the globe and the umma (Muslim community of believers) is indeed variegated in its political tendencies and religious practices. These religious practices oscillate between strict adherence to what anthropologists call the Big Tradition (Qu'ran, sunna, official texts, etc.) and Little Tradition (the way Muslims actually practice Islam, whether a Persian villager, a Berber nomad in Morocco, or a teacher in Djakarta, Indonesia's capital city).

Let's now get back to our two X words. Xeres or Xerez was the old Muslim name for Jerez (Xeres) de la Frontera, a southern Spanish city of about 200,000 located in Andalusia. With its proximity to North Africa, Andaulsia was a land of Islamic conquest under the Umayyad dynasty from 711-718. Cordoba, Granada, Malaga, and Xeres were all under Muslim rule before they were regained by Catholics. In 1264, the city of Xeres was recaptured by Alfonso X of Castile. There is an 11th century Arab alcazar (castle or fortress) in Xeres, as well as beautiful Gothic churches. Half a millennium of Muslim rule left its imprint in Xeres and other Andalusian towns. Today Xeres is known not for its Muslim past, but for its world famous sherry and brandy, as well as mixed Spanish, Arab, and English horses. The coat of arm of Xeres is at the top on your left for your perusal!

Xinjiang, on the other hand, is a region in China with over 60 million Muslims. China has cracked down hard on Muslim Uyghur separatists in Xinjiang in the post-9-11 climate. The flag with the Muslim crescent above is used by Uyghurs as part of the East Turkestan independence movement in Xinjiang. It is officially banned by the Communist Chinese government. The East Turkestan Islamic Movement (ETIM) is listed as a banned terrorist group by the US and UN. There were Muslim rebellions in the area in the 19th century, but Islam came with the Turks as early as the 7th century. In 1990, 50 Uyghurs were killed in an abortive uprising. Others have been killed periodically since 1990. In 1996, a crackdown by the Chinese government began against Uyghur separatists and alleged religious extremists. It has been harsh and cruel: torture, unfair trials, arbitrary arrests, and disappearances. Just four days before the Beijing Olympics in 2008, 16 Chinese police officers were killed by ETIM.

Since 1949 the Chinese Han population has grown in Xinjiang from 6 per cent to 40 today. Like in Tibet, Uyghurs complain of this demographic transformation as a threat to the cultural well-being of non-Han ethnic groups. There are several Muslim groups in Xinjiang, including the majority Uyghurs, Kazakhs, Kyrgyz, Uzbeks, Tatars, Iranian-speaking Muslim groups (Pamiris, for example), and even Han Muslims. It is unlikely that the ETIM will be successful in driving Xinjiang towards independence under the current Communist rulers. Besides, 60 per cent of the region's economic output is based on oil and petrochemicals, which are critical to China's rapid growth. For China to present an image of a major world power, the secessionists in Xinjiang must be ruthlessly crushed.

From a faith that was born in the Arabian desert in 622, Islam spread to Xeres in 711 and Xinjiang a century earlier. Its reach became global, keeping with the universal monotheistic message of Islam. In 732 Muslims were at the gates of Paris. Like Christianity, Islam was spread with both the sword and the tenets of the holy book. While today Islam is more of a deep historical memory in Xeres, in Xinjiang it is still a living reality. How Islam develops in Xinjiang will depend on the success of Xinjiang's secessionists, the Communist rulers in Beijing, and the adaptation practices of ordinary Muslims in Xinjiang.

Tamir Bar-On