Thursday, April 10, 2008

China's Biggest Challenge Isn't Tibet - It's The Islamists




Sure, all of the focus right now is on the Olympics fervor centered on Chinese involvement in Tibet and the human rights violations but in essence, China's biggest internal challenges of unrest reside in its western most areas where the islamists continue to build towards organized terror and resistance. Welcome to the real world, China. Let's face it, the Chinese don't piss around with terrorists like most Western countries do but their future problem is numbers. As the islamic population continues to grow, there are real chances that more and more influence of jihad will reach the Chinese islamists. From the article:



Resentment against the Chinese has long simmered in this traditionally Muslim western region, which borders Afghanistan, Pakistan and Russia. The problems in Xinjiang came on top of nearly a month of anti-government riots and protests in Tibet and other provinces with sizable Tibetan populations.
Hizb ut-Tahrir al-Islami, which claims to disavow violence, has been banned in Russia and Central Asia, where it reportedly has a large following among the predominantly Muslim former Soviet republics. The Chinese have accused the group of handing out "reactionary" leaflets and calling for protests in Hotan and Xinjiang's capital of Urumqi.
Last month, officials also accused the East Turkestan Islamic Movement - a militant group that demands separation from China and is on the U.S. terror list - of trying to crash a domestic flight from Xinjiang, though the details of the case remain sketchy.

And let's not see this as just an issue between the Chinese government and the islamist in China - look at some of the opinion of the Chinese people living with the islamists:

"They have no culture and they don't try to study and improve themselves," said a Chinese delivery driver who would only give his surname, Wang, because he said the government didn't want him to speak ill of the Uighurs. "Most businesses don't want to hire them. That's why they hire Han Chinese. Their religion, Islam, it's no good. It fills their heads with nonsense."

Yep. Welcome to the real world of jihad, China. When we talk about a world-wide caliphate and world-wide submission to allah, no...China is not spared. At least in China we won't see a whole lot of rules of engagement and it will be interesting to see what pans out.

Here's the full story from AP.



China Faces Muslim Resentment in West

Such clashes are growing as the Olympic Games approach, with the world's spotlight on China and its human rights record. However, the situation with the Muslim minority Uighurs (pronounced "Wee-gers") is even more complicated because China worries about separatist sentiment and brands more militant Uighurs terrorists.
Human rights groups say China exaggerates such threats so it can clamp down on the Uighurs and arrest dissidents.
The Chinese blame last month's protest in the jade-trading Silk Road town of Hotan on Hizb ut-Tahrir al-Islami, a radical group that wants to create a worldwide Islamic state. But human rights groups and U.S.-government funded Radio Free Asia said demonstrators were protesting against a ban on head scarves in the workplace and demanding political prisoners be freed.

But despite big signs urging the masses to "Create a peaceful Hotan," the animosity between Muslims and Chinese was palpable in this city of about 100,000.
A chirpy Chinese coffee shop waitress smiled as she rattled off sites travelers should see, but urged them to avoid the bazaar.
"Some Muslim separatists caused some trouble. It's terrible," said the waitress, who would only give her surname, Zheng, when discussing the sensitive subject.
The Chinese also say the Uighurs are ungrateful for all the government investment that has modernized the region.

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