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How China can engage the Islamic
world
By Phar Kim Beng
HONG
KONG - The Organization of Islamic Conference is formed
of 57 Muslim countries. Although the OIC is plagued with
various problems that make it a weak multilateral
organization, it also provides the one platform where
other countries can improve their ties with the Islamic
world writ at large - a point that has become
increasingly important to global powers in recent years.
Most recently, in an attempt to check the
influence of the United States in the Middle East,
President Vladimir Putin of Russia has proposed that his
country join the OIC. Although his request was not
approved, Putin nonetheless was invited by Dr Mahathir
Mohamad, the outgoing Malaysian prime minister, to
attend the recent OIC summit in Putrajaya, Malaysia's
new administrative capital, as an observer.
Putin's move was surely watched closely by China
- with good reason. In an unprecedented step, Putin was
even allowed to make a key speech at the summit. In that
speech, Putin spoke of Russia's aspiration to enhance
its ties with the Muslim world. Putin also highlighted
the development of the Russian Muslim community, which
he described as an inalienable part of his country.
Putin said there were now more than 7,000 mosques in
Russia, compared with about 700 in 1991.
Should
Russia become a member at some point, it would be the
first time the country has joined an international
Muslim organization.
In theory, OIC membership
might give Russia some leverage over those Muslim
countries it currently accuses of serving as bases of
support for Chechen rebels. One element of the OIC's
charter is a member pledge to observe "the sovereignty,
independence and territorial integrity of each state".
Babacar Ba, the OIC's representative to the
United Nations in Geneva, has said that Russia's
application for membership may be difficult because at
least one-fourth of the population has to be Muslim,
according to the organization's rules. However, Ba
added, exceptions have been made in the past for certain
African countries, including Gabon, with significant
Muslim minorities.
About 60 percent of Russia's
145 million citizens are Christians. The country's
estimated 20 million Muslims, concentrated along the
Volga River and in the southern Caucasus region,
represent the largest religious minority. Ba noted that
Russia's 20 million Muslims constitute "a very
significant number" and said Russian membership would
give the OIC a chance to help resolve the bloody
conflict surrounding the mostly Muslim breakaway
republic of Chechnya.
Since China has been
perennially affected by separatist problems of its own
launched by the Uighur Muslims in Xinjiang and China's
northwestern area, a strong argument can be made that
China should follow Russia's lead in approaching the
OIC. China has about 40 million Muslims today, with some
saying that the figure is as high as 70 million.
Membership in the OIC would allow China to build
another set of cultural and diplomatic relations in
addition to what it already enjoys at the United
Nations. Furthermore, China need not be afraid that its
policy on Islam would be attacked in the OIC, as it has
generally had a very good record in this regard, except
in Xinjiang, where there are irredentist elements
Beijing feels the need to contain.
Although
China's human rights record in Xinjiang is not
exemplary, with accounts of summary execution and
indefinite detention, its record is not totally abysmal
either. Indeed, after the Third Congress of the 11th
Central Committee, the government greatly liberalized
its policies toward Islam and Muslims in 1978. Since
religious freedom was declared, Chinese Muslims have
been allowed to practice their faith freely.
Under China's current leadership, Islam appears
to be undergoing a modest revival. Religious leaders
report more worshippers now than before the Cultural
Revolution, and a reawakening of interest in religion
among the young. According to a publication on mosques
in China, there are now 32,749 mosques in the entire
People's Republic of China, with 23,000 in the Xinjiang
Uighur Autonomous Region alone.
The government
of China has given many concessions to Muslims all over
China. One reason is economic. The grasslands of the
northwest, where a large percentage of China's Muslims
live, provide meat and dairy products for the country.
The government would like cooperation from the Muslims
in developing this region. It would also like foreign
aid from the Islamic Middle Eastern nations and realizes
that showing favoritism to Muslims at home may help in
this regard.
Be that as it may, Beijing fears
that worldwide Islamic fundamentalism might encourage
its Muslim minorities to strive for their own separate
Muslim nation. To counteract such a move, the government
over the past several years has moved 200,000 Han
Chinese per year into the Xinjiang region. By 1985 the
region was already 40 percent Han, and the proportion
has stayed the same. The government hopes this influx of
non-Muslim peoples will both dilute Turkic Muslim
nationalism and also provide more manpower to develop
the region.
This resettlement plan, however, has
backfired to some degree. The semi-nomadic Turkic
peoples in these areas now feel threatened by the Han
settlers, who fence in the best land and congregate in
towns. As a result, many of the Muslims move south to
avoid the Han, forming communities that practice an even
stronger observance of Islam.
The leaders in
Beijing are aware of this problem, and have tried to
secure the borders of the region by working closely with
Russia and the Central Asian countries through the
Shanghai Cooperation Organization.
Prior to his
retirement from the Chinese presidency, Jiang Zemin
advocated the necessity of a "Go West" campaign, whose
prime goal included facilitating the economic
development of Xinjiang and other related areas. Jiang's
successor, President Hu Jintao, has embraced this
campaign.
If China were to become a member or
even observer of the OIC, it would be able to strengthen
its cooperation with Turkey and other countries not in
favor of allowing religious extremists to dabble in
separatism.
Joining the OIC, in other words,
would be a win-win foreign policy option for China. It
would allow China the means to promote a greater degree
of multilateralism in international organizations.
So, while the OIC may be weak, attempts to join
it may not necessarily be wasted effort. Indeed,
encouraged by the positive reception of Russia in the
latest OIC meeting, where Muslim leaders warmly
applauded Putin's speech, Malaysian Foreign Minister
Syed Hamid Albar has proposed that the OIC adopt a
mechanism similar to that of the Association of
Southeast Asian Nations permitting other major players
in international relations to be "dialogue partners".
If this were to happen, China should make it a
point to sign on. For weak as the OIC may be in
influencing global policy, it could provide both a
platform and a window for China to engage the Islamic
world.
(Copyright 2003 Asia Times Online Co,
Ltd. All rights reserved. Please contact content@atimes.com for information
on our sales and syndication policies.)
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