Chinese should stop imposing faith on Uyghur Muslims

Bertrand Russel, in his 'Will Religious Faith Cure Our Troubles?', writes, "Christians hold that their faith does good, but other faiths do harm.

At any rate, they hold this about the Communist faith. What I wish to maintain is that all faiths do harm. We may define 'faith' as a firm belief in something for which there is no evidence. Where there is evidence, no one speaks of 'faith'.

We do not speak of faith that two and two are four or that the earth is round. We only speak of faith when we wish to substitute emotion for evidence.

The substitution of emotion for evidence is apt to lead to strife, since different groups substitute different emotions. Christians have faith in the Resurrection; Communists have faith in Marx's Theory of Value.

Neither faith can be defended rationally, and each therefore is defended by propaganda and, if necessary, by war." This has been the norm of the world so far. Much blood has flown in the name of faith in this world.

Foolish rulers and conquerors used brute force and subjugated populations world across. Evolutionary biologist Richard Dawkins criticizes all faiths by generalising from specific faith in propositions that conflict directly with scientific evidence.

He describes faith as belief without evidence; a process of active non-thinking. He states that it is a practice that only degrades our understanding of the natural world by allowing anyone to make a claim about nature that is based solely on their personal thoughts, and possibly distorted perceptions, that does not require testing against nature, has no ability to make reliable and consistent predictions, and is not subject to peer review.

Philosophy professor Peter Boghossian argues that reason and evidence are the only way to determine which "claims about the world are likely true". Different religious traditions make different religious claims, and Boghossian asserts that faith alone cannot resolve conflicts between these without evidence.

Have the Chinese authorities read these things any time? Because they are now behaving in an atavistic fashion in imposing their faith over the Muslims of Uyghur community of Xinjiang province.

Latest reports by human rights activists and by media highlight the subjugation and exploitation of Uyghur women whose husbands have been sent to concentration camps to 'change their faith" and impose 'Communist faith" in them. These helpless women are being forced to accept Han officers as their extended family members and forced to sleep with them.

Chinese men assigned to monitor the homes of Uyghurs in the absence of male population not only visit them on monthly basis but also try to inject their faith in them in the process to alter their political preferences too if any. And then they go on to sleep with them on the same cot.

"And in case it is cold, sometimes, three persons occupy the space....", the reports suggest. Should the world be blind to these heinous practices? What is wrong with it? Afraid of Chinese power and money, they are aiding and abutting the same through their silence.

There are several issues of faith dominating nowadays our lives. Let us give room to logic and scientific temperament. Not faith alone.