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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