Dr. Pipes Artile - Missing "C" Word

Submitted by Singha (India), Jul 2, 2008 at 00:29

Dr. Pipe's analysis misses the most important of the Leftist element - The stakes and role of the only major communist power - China.

China's alliance with islam is complex.

China has been ruthless with muslims inside its borders. It has with its totalitarian ruthlessness reduced its muslim population (1938-50 million, now ~10-15 million) and the possibility of islam as a political force detrimental to china.

China regulates islam through "china islamic association"! The association run by 16 Islamic religious leaders who are charged with making "a correct (read pro china) and authoritative interpretation" of Islamic creed and canon. It also vets (read censors) sermons made by clerics around the country!

Outside, china has strategic links with muslim nations ranging from the Sudan, darfur regime to the islamic generals in pakistan, with who particularly it has had a long standing engagement that included clandestine nuclear technology transfer. China has used them to further its interests. Chinese detente with US and its strategic objective of cutting Soviet Union down to size was facilitated by pakistan.

Of course while muslim countries collaborate with china, at an operational level, musims deeply dislike china. There is hostility to chinese in most countries where muslims and chinese cohabit. From Indonesia to Pakistan, when opportunities presented, islamic muslim brothers have gone for chinese jugular.

China's stakes in the war on islam are small except to the extent of tying the west up in a long war while using this time to modernise its economy further and copy technology from the west.

There have been accusations that China enabled pakistan based terrorists to take on West so that the afghan mujahaddins did not start carring out their next logical step - jehad in the neighboring east turkistan (moslem province occupied by china since Mao's invasion).

China will fight islam and that too in a limited way only if muslims ally with the west to split china up in east turkistan.

Chinese have been working over time to prevent alliance of democracies. It ensured that the Quadrilateral initiative (alliance of democracies - Japan, US, India and Australia) was shelved by targettting the new leftist prime minister kevin rudd, who walked out of the initiative. China has also been using its strategic assets in India (Communist politicians) to prevent India's collaboration with Israel and United States.

West and forces that stand for freedom face two challenges: One, challenge from islam which while diffuse is quite potent and another from totalitarian china, the icon and symbol of leftist forces and which remains a long term threat on account of its well camoflaged intent to dominate Asia and the world. Effective and successful management of these challenges will decide how the later part of 21st century is going to pan out.

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