文明冲突并非人类宿命 开放和宽容仍然存在

The election of Sadiq Khan, a practising Muslim, as mayor of London was rightly celebrated across the world. It confirmed that openness and tolerance, hallmarks of western civilisation, are alive and well. More surprising, perhaps, is that this spirit can be found in parts of the Islamic world, too.

虔诚的穆斯林萨迪克汗(Sadiq Khan)当选为伦敦市长，理所当然地受到了全世界的赞美。这证明，西方文明的标志——开放和宽容——如今仍然存在。或许，更令人吃惊的是，这种精神在伊斯兰世界的某些地方也能找到。

Indonesia is the country with the world’s largest Muslim population. Its capital city, Jakarta, is run by Basuki Tjahaja Purnama, a Chinese Christian popularly known as “Ahok”. This is highly significant. Why? As recently as 1998, Jakarta saw anti-Chinese riots in which more than a thousand people were killed. Mr Purnama and his family had to defend themselves with sticks, Molotov cocktails and machetes.

印尼是世界上穆斯林人口最多的国家。该国首都雅加达特区首长是一名华裔基督徒——钟万学(Basuki Tjahaja Purnama)，人们都称他为“阿学”(Ahok)。此事意义非凡。为何？在不太久远的1998年，雅加达还曾发生过反对华人的骚乱，导致逾1000人丧生。当时钟万学和他的家人不得不用棍棒、莫洛托夫燃烧弹和宽刃大刀自卫。

After 17 months as governor of Jakarta, Mr Purnama remains immensely popular. He has made some bold changes: closing down trendy but disruptive nightclubs, cleaning up red-light districts, evicting people from slums (while providing them with better housing) and dredging clogged-up canals.

在担任雅加达首长17个月之后，钟万学仍然非常受欢迎。他主导了一些大胆改革：关闭时髦但引起混乱的夜总会，拆除红灯区，把人们赶出贫民窟（同时为他们提供更好的住房），并疏浚淤塞的运河。

He has also demonstrated his willingness to make difficult policy choices, such as discontinuing a long-stalled monorail project in favour of a more cost-effective and efficient light rail system. Even more significantly, an underground railway, which had been held up by bureaucracy for more than 25 years, is going ahead.

他也展示了自己愿意去做艰难的政策选择，比如终止一个长期搁置的单轨铁路项目，支持一个更划算、更有效率的轻轨铁路系统。更令人瞩目的是，一个因官僚政治而搁置逾25年的地铁项目，目前正在推进之中。

Mr Purnama also believes in transparency. The entire budget of the city of Jakarta is online. Citizens can scrutinise all spending. Even his mobile phone number is public, meaning that he receives a large number of text messages, many of which he responds to personally. The city’s inhabitants feel that their lives are improving.

钟万学也秉持公开透明的理念。雅加达市的全部预算都可在网上查阅。市民可以详细查看所有支出。就连他个人的手机号码都是公开的，这意味着，他会收到大量的短信，他亲手回复了其中的许多条。雅加达的居民们感觉到，自己的生活正在变好。

This is why the attacks on him by hardline Islamist groups such as the Islamic Defenders Front, also known as Front Pembela Islam, are not working. In theory, appeals to religious loyalties by such groups should work against Mr Purnama. In practice, however, they have failed — suggesting that in Jakarta, as in London, a corner has been turned. The big question is why.

这正是伊斯兰捍卫者阵线（Islamic Defenders Front，也叫Front Pembela Islam）等强硬伊斯兰组织对他的攻击不起作用的原因。理论上，这些组织所号召的宗教忠诚，应该对钟万学不利。但实际上，这些组织的企图失败了——这表明，正如伦敦一样，雅加达的情况也发生了转机。最大的疑问是原因何在。

One reason could be greater access to information. A little-known fact about Indonesia is that its social media penetration rates are among the highest in the world. There are more than 80m users of social networks in the country. In the new climate of transparency, there is increasing evidence for Mr Purnama’s claim that conditions in Jakarta are improving.

一个原因可能是人们可以接触到更多信息。很少人知道，印尼的社交媒体渗透率非常高，居世界前列。该国社交网络用户超过8000万。在新的透明氛围下，越来越多的证据证明钟万学所言不假，雅加达的状况确实正日益改善。

Corruption is also declining in what was a notoriously corrupt city. Video clips of Mr Purnama berating officials of the city’s transport administration have gone viral. Despite the traditional Javanese preference for avoiding confrontation, he has adopted a brash, in-your-face style that has clearly angered many. He has acquired enemies.

在曾经因腐败而臭名远扬的雅加达，腐败程度也在减轻。钟万学斥责雅加达交通管理官员的短视频在网络上广为流传。尽管爪哇文化传统上倾向于避免对抗，但他采取了一种锋芒毕露、当面锣对面鼓的方式，这明显惹恼了很多人。所以，他树立了敌人。

When I met him earlier this year, I asked him for his views on how to succeed politically. He replied: “Be prepared to die. I am ready to die”.

当今年早些时候遇到他时，我问他觉得如何才能在政治上取得成功。他回答说：“准备好去死。我随时准备迎接死亡”。

His courage is obvious. And for a Chinese Christian in a largely Muslim society to have displayed such courage could have been politically suicidal. Instead, it has proved to be a vote-getter. A grass roots campaign to put him on the ballot as an independent candidate to run again as governor in 2017 has drawn wide support from the city’s predominantly Islamic population. He has received more than enough nominations.

他的勇气是显而易见的。作为一个生活在以穆斯林为主体的社会中的华裔基督徒，他展示出这样的勇气本来可能自毁政治前途。事实却恰恰相反——这为他拉到了选票。一场旨在推举他为独立候选人、于2017年再度竞选雅加达首长的草根运动，在该市以穆斯林为主体的市民中获得了广泛支持。他得到的提名数量远超需要的最低标准。

Mr Purnama’s success in Jakarta is not just a local phenomenon. It demonstrates that we are moving into a new world in which people make more informed and rational decisions on the basis of greater access to information. The citizens of Jakarta are aware how backwards their city had become, even in relation to its Asian peers. So when a Chinese Christian promises that he will study best urban practices from Singapore and Taipei and bring them to Jakarta, they support him.

钟万学在雅加达的成功并非一个局部现象。这表明，我们开始进入一个新世界，在这个世界里，人们会在获得了更多信息的基础上，做出更明智、更理性的决定。雅加达市民如今意识到，他们的城市是多么的落后，即便相对亚洲其他首都而言也是如此。所以，当一名华裔基督徒承诺要研究新加坡和台北的最佳城市管理经验，将其推广到雅加达时，他们都支持他。

This is why I believe that we are witnessing globally a fusion of civilisations, not a clash of civilisations. Societies around the world are beginning to learn best urban practice from others.

正因如此，我相信，我们在全球范围内将见证不同文明的融合，而非不同文明的冲突。世界各地的许多社会都开始借鉴其他社会的最佳城市管理经验。

The brash Chinese Christian governor of Jakarta is popular among the Islamic population of Jakarta because he says to them, in effect: “You can see on your phones how the rest of the world has moved ahead. Follow me, and I will bring the world’s best practices to Jakarta.”

这位锋芒毕露的华裔基督徒首长之所以在雅加达穆斯林人口中大受欢迎，原因在于，他实际上对他们说：“你们能在自己的手机上看到，世界其他地区在多大程度上领先于我们。追随我，我会把世界上的最佳城市管理方式带到雅加达。”

In theory, an Islamic population ought to have been reluctant to follow a Christian leader. In practice, they are embracing him. This is as significant as the election of Mr Khan.

理论上，穆斯林理应不愿追随一位信仰基督教的领导人。实际情况是，他们拥戴他。这一点与萨迪克汗当选伦敦市长一样意义重大。