20年前的今天，911事件發生時，你正在做什麼？

對於我們許多人來說，當天的震驚，是一個不容抹滅的記憶。在那之後世界一連串的發展，讓許多的事物被賦予特定的色彩。包括國土安全和恐怖主義等等新的詞彙進入主流。中文翻譯成「聖戰」的伊斯蘭吉哈德 （jihad)，成了這一串論述背後的壞人。但任何有回教徒朋友的人應該都知道，穆斯林大部分是非常溫和以及愛好和平的。為什麼有這樣大的反差？而在6到10世紀輝煌的伊斯蘭文化，以及後來發揚光大，橫跨近800年的鄂徒曼帝國，在第一次世界大戰之後又是如何發展？這一些問題都是我在選擇這本書的時候想要得到的答案。

「興亡世界史」這個系列的書籍，之前就看了幾本很棒的，讓我在華人視角的世界史，與西方視角的世界始終史之外，看見一個不一樣的可能。之前一位書友的描述很貼切，說日本人看歷史，很像監視器一樣反應一切，平鋪直敘不帶立場的陳述事情。

從穆罕默德開始創立說起，他說講述的思想與當時阿拉伯社會截然不同。包括獨一真神的信仰，社會的平等，還有賙濟窮人的理念，在當時部落主義盛行，多神信仰，以及富人只管自己的文化當中，幾乎是挑戰權威的一股力量。從那裡開始論述的「吉哈德」，講到的就是內心善與惡的爭戰，還有受到逼迫時自身保護的行為，並沒有什麼侵略或是攻擊他人的含意在內。

這一連串因著堅定意志，和天時地利，與巧合之下，伊斯蘭的世界逐漸擴張在整個阿拉伯地區。到第6世紀開始，更是誕生了輝煌的文化，特別是他們著重翻譯和貿易，更是讓文化交流鼎盛。像是「一千零一夜」故事描述的繁華，還有現在數學基礎的阿拉伯數字和代數 (algebra)，以及現代 AI 人工智慧必須由的「演算法」(algorithm) 都是從阿拉伯數學家 al- Khwārizmī 名字衍生的。在當時伊斯蘭文化強調的是對各種宗教信仰的兼容並蓄，社會的平等 （特別是對於窮人，另外伊斯蘭初期，婦女的地位也不低），和整體社會的和平發展。後來因著政治和接班人不明確的因素，什葉派和遜尼派的敵對，讓很多初期的善意開始變質。歷經鄂圖曼帝國百年的傳承後，包括阿富汗，土耳其，和伊朗，都有類似宗教改革的推動。但當時已經是面對20世紀的強大西方世界，因著石油的利益，讓這些改革受到嚴重的干擾。而1948年以色列建國產生的巴勒斯坦問題，更是挑起伊斯蘭世界最敏感的一根神經。

現在我們熟知的一些人物包括賓拉登，以及塔利班，和蓋達等組織，某一段時間之內其實是西方世界所連結的勢力。所以書本最後的一部分是在檢討這些恐怖的攻擊，真的是伊斯蘭世界挑起的戰爭，還是西方世界所埋下的種子？在這裡我就不要破梗了。

雖然這本書許多可蘭經內容，眾多烏瑪和哈里發的翻譯名字，不是那麼容易閱讀。但不要太在乎這些細節，還是可以掌握到一定的輪廓。冤冤相報的循環，到底要怎樣才能結束？我想引用我最欣賞的作 者，同時也是猶太拉比的Jonathan Sacks，在紐約 911 事件10周年紀念所發表的談話來總結：

“Whenever Me takes precedence over We, and pleasure today over viability tomorrow, a society is in trouble. If so, then the enemy is not radical Islam, it is us and our by now unsustainable self-indulgence. The West has expended much energy and courage fighting wars in Afghanistan and Iraq abroad and defeating terror at home. It has spent far less, if any, in renewing its own morality and the institutions — families, communities, ethical codes, standards in public life — where it is created and sustained. But if I am right, this is the West’s greatest weakness in the eyes of its enemies as well as its friends. The only way to save the world is to begin with ourselves. Our burden after 9/11 is to renew the moral disciplines of freedom. Some say it can’t be done. They are wrong: it can and must. Surely we owe the dead no less."

“當我們看重［我］超過［我們］，看重今日的歡樂超過明日的繁榮，那麼社會就會陷入麻煩。這樣說來，我們的敵人並不是激烈的伊斯蘭主義，而是我們自己，和我們寅吃卯糧的個人主義。西方的世界用盡許多精力和勇力在阿富汗和伊拉克爭戰並且在國內防恐，卻幾乎沒有花時間精力在更新自身的道德，和創造並保持這些道德標準之處，包括：家庭，社群，道德共識，和在公開場合的行為標準。如果我想得沒有錯，那麼這就是西方世界敵人和盟友眼中，我們最大的弱點。拯救世界的方式,從檢視自己開始。911事件之後，我們共同的負擔就是要重新定義自由世界中的道德標準。很多人說這是不可能的，但我認為他們錯了，這是可能而且必須的。我們向所有逝去的犧牲者，有這樣的責任”

📚延伸閱讀📚
📗“Destiny Disrupted” 中文版 「中斷的天命」

這是我15年前讀的書，是一位伊朗學者從伊斯蘭世界的角度講述世界史，讓我眼界大開，也開始愛上從不同視角來了解世界史。

📙“Not in God’s s Name” 中文版「毋以神為名」
我2018的top 10 之一，也是我知道惟一一本Jonathan Sacks的中文書。原來宗教戰爭，常常是一種有忌妒衍生出來的兄弟鬩牆？ “當宗教將人變為兇手，上帝痛心垂淚”

全文與延伸閱讀的連結在部落格中 👇👇👇
https://dushuyizhi.net/%e4%bc%8a%e6%96%af%e8%98%ad%e5%b8%9d%e5%9c%8b%e7%9a%84%e5%90%89%e5%93%88%e5%be%b7/

#伊斯蘭帝國的吉哈德 #興亡的世界史

【Joshua Wong speaking to the Italian Senate】#意大利國會研討會演說 —— 呼籲世界在大學保衛戰一週年後與香港人站在同一陣線

中文、意大利文演說全文：https://www.patreon.com/posts/44167118

感謝開創未來基金會（Fondazione Farefuturo）邀請，讓我透過視像方式在意大利國會裡舉辦的研討會發言，呼籲世界繼續關注香港，與香港人站在同一陣線。

意大利作為絕無僅有參與一帶一路發展的國家，理應對中共打壓有更全面的理解，如今正值大學保衛戰一週年，以致大搜捕的時刻，當打壓更為嚴峻，香港更需要世界與我們同行。

為了讓各地朋友也能更了解香港狀況，我已在Patreon發佈當天演說的中文、英文和意大利文發言稿，盼望在如此困難的時勢裡，繼續讓世界知道我們未曾心息的反抗意志。

【The Value of Freedom: Burning Questions for Hong Kongers】

Good morning. I have the privilege today to share some of my thoughts and reflections about freedom, after taking part in social activism for eight years in Hong Kong. A movement calling for the withdrawal of the extradition law starting from last year had escalated into a demand for democracy and freedom. This city used to be prestigious for being the world’s most liberal economy, but now the infamous authoritarian government took away our freedom to election, freedom of assembly, freedom of expression and ideas.

Sometimes, we cannot avoid questioning the cause we are fighting for, the value of freedom. Despite a rather bleak prospect, why do we have to continue in this struggle? Why do we have to cherish freedom? What can we do to safeguard freedom at home and stay alert to attacks on freedom? In answering these questions, I hope to walk through three episodes in the previous year.

Turning to 2020, protests are not seen as frequently as they used to be on the media lens, partly because of the pandemic, but more importantly for the authoritarian rule. While the world is busy fighting the pandemic, our government took advantage of the virus to exert a tighter grip over our freedom. Putting the emergency laws in place, public assemblies in Hong Kong were banned. Most recently, a rally to support press freedom organized by journalists was also forbidden. While many people may ask if it is the end of street activism, ahead of us in the fight for freedom is another battleground: the court and the prison.

Freedom Fighters in Courtrooms and in Jail

Part of the huge cost incurred in the fight for freedom and democracy in Hong Kong is the increasing judicial casualties. As of today, more than 10 thousand people have been arrested since the movement broke out, more than a hundred of them are already locked up in prison. Among the 2,300 protestors who are prosecuted, 700 of them may be sentenced up to ten years for rioting charges.

Putting these figures into context, I wish to tell you what life is like, as a youngster in today’s Hong Kong. I was humbled by a lot of younger protestors and students whose exceptional maturity are demonstrated in courtrooms and in prison. What is thought to be normal university life is completely out of the question because very likely the neighbour next door or the roommate who cooked you lunch today will be thrown to jail on the next.

I do prison visits a few times a month to talk to activists who are facing criminal charges or serving sentences for their involvement in the movement. It is not just a routine of my political work, but it becomes my life as an activist. Since the movement, prison visits has also become the daily lives of many families.

But it is always an unpleasant experience passing through the iron gates one after one to enter the visitors’ room, speaking to someone who is deprived of liberty, for a selflessly noble cause. As an activist serving three brief jail terms, I understand that the banality of the four walls is not the most difficult to endure in jail. What is more unbearable is the control of thought and ideas in every single part of our daily routine enforced by the prison system. It will diminish your ability to think critically and the worst of it will persuade you to give up on what you are fighting for, if you have not prepared it well. Three years ago when I wrote on the first page of prison letters, which later turned into a publication called the ‘Unfree Speech’, I was alarmed at the environment of the prison cell. Those letters were written in a state in which freedom was deprived of and in which censorship was obvious. It brings us to question ourselves: other than physical constraints like prison bars, what makes us continue in the fight for freedom and democracy?

Mutual Support to activists behind-the-scene

The support for this movement is undiminished over these 17 months. There are many beautiful parts in the movement that continue to revitalise the ways we contribute to this city, instead of making money on our own in the so-called global financial centre. In particular, it is the fraternity, the mutual assistance among protestors that I cherished the most.

As more protestors are arrested, people offer help and assistance wholeheartedly -- we sit in court hearings even if we don’t know each other, and do frequent prison visits and write letters to protesters in detention. In major festivals and holidays, people gathered outside the prison to chant slogans so that they won’t feel alone and disconnected. This is the most touching part to me for I also experienced life in jail.

The cohesion, the connection and bonding among protestors are the cornerstone to the movement. At the same time, these virtues gave so much empowerment to the mass public who might not be able to fight bravely in the escalating protests. These scenes are not able to be captured by cameras, but I’m sure it is some of the most important parts of Hong Kong’s movement that I hope the world will remember.

I believe this mutual support transcends nationality or territory because the value of freedom does not alter in different places. More recently, Twelve Hongkong activists, all involved in the movement last year, were kidnapped by China’s coastal guard when fleeing to Taiwan for political refugee in late-August. All of them are now detained secretly in China, with the youngest aged only 16. We suspect they are under torture during detention and we call for help on the international level, putting up #SAVE12 campaign on twitter. In fact, how surprising it is to see people all over the world standing with the dozen detained protestors for the same cause. I’m moved by activists in Italy, who barely knew these Hong Kong activists, even took part in a hunger strike last month calling for immediate release of them. This form of interconnectivity keeps us in spirit and to continue our struggle to freedom and democracy.

Understanding Value of freedom in the university battle
A year ago on this day, Hong Kong was embroiled in burning clashes as the police besieged the Polytechnic University. It was a day we will not forget and this wound is still bleeding in the hearts of many Hong Kongers. A journalist stationed in the university at that time once told me that being at the scene could only remind him of the Tiananmen Square Massacre 31 years ago in Beijing. There was basically no exit except going for the dangerous sewage drains.

That day, thousands of people, old or young, flocked to districts close to the university before dawn, trying to rescue protestors trapped inside the campus. The reinforcements faced grave danger too, for police raided every corner of the small streets and alleys, arresting a lot of them. Among the 800+ arrested on a single day, 213 people were charged with rioting. For sure these people know there will be repercussions. It is the conscience driving them to take to the streets regardless of the danger, the conscience that we should stand up to brutality and authoritarianism, and ultimately to fight for freedoms that are guaranteed in our constitution. As my dear friend, Brian Leung once said, ‘’Hong Kong Belongs to Everyone Who Shares Its Pain’’. I believe the value of freedom is exemplified through our compassion to whom we love, so much that we are willing to sacrifice the freedom of our own.

Defending freedom behind the bars

No doubt there is a terrible price to pay in standing up to the Beijing and Hong Kong government. But after serving a few brief jail sentences and facing the continuing threat of harassment, I learnt to cherish the freedom I have for now, and I shall devote every bit what I have to strive for the freedom of those who have been ruthlessly denied.

The three episodes I shared with you today -- the courtroom, visiting prisoners and the battle of university continue to remind me of the fact that the fight for freedom has not ended yet. In the coming months, I will be facing a maximum of 5 years in jail for unauthorized assembly and up to one ridiculous year for wearing a mask in protest. But prison bars would never stop me from activism and thinking critically.

I only wish that during my absence, you can continue to stand with the people of Hong Kong, by following closely to the development, no matter the ill-fated election, the large-scale arrest under National Security Law or the twelve activists in China. To defy the greatest human rights abusers is the essential way to restore democracy of our generation, and the generation following us.

．．．．．．．．．．．．．．．．．
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「張彭春和胡適都知道『中國人不適合民主 』不過是一派胡言，是最不愛國的論調，今天的台灣就是鮮活的證據。」---白宮副國家安全顧問博明參與維吉尼亞大學線上演講，發表了一篇題為《一個美國視角下的中國「五四」精神》的演說。博明以流利的中文講述五四運動的歷史及核心精神，並談到台灣的民主、中國鎮壓自由言論，以及勇敢示警新冠病毒的英雄們。

“The cliché that Chinese people can’t be trusted with democracy was, as both P.C. Chang and Hu Shih knew, the most unpatriotic idea of all. Taiwan today is a living repudiation of that threadbare mistruth.” --- Deputy National Security Advisor Matt Pottinger’s speech to the University of Virginia entitled “Reflections on China’s May Fourth Movement: An American Perspective.” Pottinger spoke in Mandarin about the history and legacy of the May 4th movement, addressing Taiwan’s democracy, the PRC’s crackdown on free expression, and the heroism of those fighting the spread of COVID-19.

James 楊永聰2019全創作中英文雙碟專輯《Lost & Found》，英文碟的第一首歌曲《Wolves》，以及其延伸出來的中文碟第一首歌曲《狼》，James想透過歌曲表達的是，不論外界有多少紛擾，相愛的人必須為愛而團結一致。James所寫的《Wolves》的英文歌詞是極具史詩意境的，如果你曾經看過《權力遊戲：冰與火之歌》這部影集，那麼臨冬城的House of Stark狼之家族為了保護心愛的人不惜戰至最後一兵一卒的精神，就好比《Wolves》歌詞中所帶給大家那強敵環伺、一觸即發那般生動的畫面感。

∮數位平台線上收聽&下載&購買：https://JamesYang.lnk.to/VyTM8

《Wolves》
詞/曲：James Yang 楊永聰
Hinges creak, they can't take much more,
Wood it splinters, I hear them at the walls,
I hold you close, while you shake in fear,
As our last few moments draw near.

Lord lend me courage in this fight to come,
And steel my heart when we're overrun,
Even though our only hope's forlorn,
Lord send me the bravery to go on.

As wolves and daemons pound against our door,
We stoke these flames in readiness for this war,

It’s love, this is love,
Love, this is love we are fighting for,
It’s love, yes it’s love,
Love, this is love, it’s worth dying for.

You start to scream as hands come through the floor;
My heart sinks as they break in through the walls;
I’m so scared that I can hardly breathe,
The darkness surrounds us as they pull your hands from me.

And as the flames grow, the flames grow, the flames grow higher,
Our last chance, our last hope, we jump into the fire…

《Wolves》
詞/曲：James Yang 楊永聰
製作人 Producer：陳建騏 George Chen
編曲 Arranger：James Yang 楊永聰
吉他 Guitar：James Yang 楊永聰
錄音師 Recording Engineer：徐振程 Jason Hsu
錄音室 Recording Studio：玉成戲院錄音室 Yu Cheng Cinema Studio
混音工程師 Mixing Engineer：莊鈞智 Thomas Chuang
混音錄音室 Mixing Studio：完美聲音錄音室 Perfect Sound Studio
母帶後期工程師 Mastering Engineer：莊鈞智 Thomas Chuang
母帶後期處理錄音室 Mastering Studio：完美聲音錄音室
Perfect Sound Studio
OP：闊思音樂有限公司 CROS MUSIC LTD.
SP：闊思音樂有限公司 CROS MUSIC LTD.
ISRC：TWBR11812011
影像拍攝 Video：王柏林 @ 柏林創意視覺有限公司

#JamesYang楊永聰 #Wolves #LostAndFound