Religion and Politics

At the beginning of October, Al Jazeera reported on the fascinating developments surrounding the Dalai Lama’s ban on the worship of Dorje Shugden – a “500-year-old Deity.” The news centered on the tension among Tibetans in India over the issue - and also how the Tibetan exile government says that Shugden worshippers are terrorists linked to China. The fears are that they openly sympathize with China. One website - the Shugden Society - looks at the Dalai Lama’s statements and of course argues against the ban on worshipping the deity. Meanwhile, other news reports from two months ago focus on the “schism which could exclude the four million Tibetan followers of Shugden” and the lawsuit, which was brought against the Dalai Lama in India for religious persecution. - Most recently - and unfortunately - the AP is now reporting that the Dalai Lama has been hospitalized and will undergo surgery today.

Picture from “people and power” on Al Jazeera: here
The site also includes a video account of the story.

The violent situation in the Philippines continues. However, the most recent news is somewhat encouraging. Ruben Pestano Lavilla Jr., who was wanted for the Philippines’ worst militant attack has been arrested in Bahrain and returned to Manila. He was allegedly involved in the 2004 bombing of a ferry that killed 116 people. He was also allegedly the brains behind the Rajah Solaiman Movement (RSM), which has been linked to two other al-Qaeda connected organizations (Jemaah Islamiyah and Abu Sayyaf). It was only a couple of months ago that the UN Security Council added the RSM to the “UN 1267 Committee’s Consolidated List of Individuals and Entities Affiliated with Al-Qaeda, the Taliban, or Usama bin Ladin.” On June 16, 2008, the U.S. Department of State then designated the group and its leader as Specially Designated Global Terrorists. Meanwhile, some high estimates are that as many as 360,000 people have been displaced in the Philippines, particularly as a result of the collapse of the peace deal on August 5. The peace negotiations began 11 years ago and a ceasefire has actually been in place since 2003. Agence France Presse this past week reported that government troops overran at least 15 camps of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front and reminds readers the peace deal “would have granted Muslims their own separate state across more than 700 villages in Mindanao, but the Supreme Court on August 4 halted the pact, triggering the latest bout of fighting.” Over the course of the 40-year conflict, more than 120,000 people have died. The Moro Islamic Liberation Front has been waging a rebellion since 1978. Last Friday, the Muslim leaders of the country called for peace and justice in Mindanao and 43 religious leaders and scholars signed a statement that appealed to the parties to honor the agreement on mutual cessation of hostilities. Meanwhile, tonight is the first night of the holy month of Ramadan, and apparently Philippine troops will continue their battles against Muslim rebels in the south – albeit with a bit more deference.

Map from the following source

According to an interview with a Chinese security official in Xinhua news, the East Turkestan Islamic Movement is “one of the main security worries to the Olympics.” The fear of this organization was highlighted on Monday when two Uighur men in the city of Kashi (in Xinjiang) killed 16 policemen. The Uighur population in northwest China is predominantly Muslim, and the Chinese authorities have claimed that it poses a serious terrorist threat. In March, there was an attempt by the East Turkestan Movement to sabotage a Southern Airlines flight. In recent weeks, there have been “a spate of smaller bombings or attempted bombings elsewhere in China.” The New York Times article on the issue (Ambush in China Raises Concerns as Olympics Near) reminds readers that this attack could be “the worst eruption of ethnic violence on Chinese soil since the early 1990s, when China blamed Muslim separatists for a spate of violent attacks.” Apparently, 82 people (through a crackdown on Uighur separatists) have been arrested this year on allegations of terror plots connected to the Olympics. On July 29, this blog discussed briefly the Turkestan Islamic Party and their threats to the Olympics. The Turkestan Islamic Party is another Uighur Muslim separatist group that claimed responsibility for recent explosions. In contrast to the NYT, the Globe and Mail/Reuters featured the article, “China Suspects Bent on Jihad.” This article, in contrast to the NYT, looks at the image of the Uighurs as religious extremists and discusses the attack on the police officers from the more stereotypical perspective that the movement is religiously motivated rather than politically desperate. A top official is quoted in the news piece as saying that “religion is more important to them than their own life or peace for their mothers, and so they set out to perform Jihad.”The U.S. State Department has listed the East Turkistan Islamic Movement as a terrorist organization with links to al-Qaeda and “the international jihadist movement.”

The past few days have seen terrible acts of violence (terrorism) in Iraq, Turkey, and India – and threats in China. On Saturday, according to news reports, 17 explosions went off one after another in Ahmedabad, India – with two further blasts at hospitals. 49 people were killed. The attacks were probably “attempts to provoke violence between Hindus and Muslims,” and the NYT also reminds readers that the National Counterterrorism Center in Washington has concluded that from January 2004 to January 2007 India had a death toll of 3,674 to acts of terrorism – second only to Iraq. Questions have been raised about the involvement of the “Students’ Islamic Movement of India” and the Indian Mujahedeen that warned about the attacks in advance. On Sunday evening in Istanbul, 17 people were killed in two bomb blasts. Der Spiegel reports that the bombings could play a part in the decision of the Constitutional Court in Ankara, which has met to “deliberate the case seeking to ban the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP).” The article also points out that “even though a majority of the judges are opposed to the AKP, they will not want to see the country descend into chaos.” Yesterday, three female suicide bombers killed 32 people in Baghdad. They were all Shiite pilgrims. Ethnic violence also erupted in Kirkuk between Kurds and Turkmens. In total, 61 people were killed and “by the end of the day, the riot and violence by Kurds against Turkmens had become one of the most severe ethnic skirmishes in Kirkuk since the American-led invasion of Iraq in 2003.” Now, the world community is wondering about the Beijing Olympics and what significance videotaped messages from the Turkistan Islamic Party have for the security of the Games. News reports have conveyed the terrorist message that the group intends to target the most important points of the Olympics and Chinese central cities. Meanwhile, Amnesty International’s spokesman has said that “the human rights situation in China has deteriorated in the run-up to its hosting of the Olympic Games” and the reports say that Beijing is getting rid of political critics and “underground Christian organizers.” China has denied that bombings on July 21 were terrorist attacks. Even more discouraging, attacks in Afghanistan are up by 50% in the first half of 2008.

UNESCO, the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization, recently named (in early July) the Preah Vihear Temple a World Heritage Site. The temple dates back to the early 11^th century AD, is dedicated to Shiva, and is located in Northern Cambodia very close to the border of Thailand. In 1962, the International Court of Justice awarded the temple and its land to Cambodia. According to the AP, a Cambodian official claimed last week that about 40 Thai troops crossed into Cambodia’s territory – on account of “dispute over land” near this ancient border temple. Apparently, the dispute between the two neighboring countries worsened after UNESCO declared it a world heritage site. Last month (June 22), Cambodia shut off access to the temple to visitors from Thailand – partly because Thailand was increasing its protests that the world heritage site status would “jeopardize their country’s claims to disputed land adjacent to the site” – specifically 1.8 square miles of land near the temple. Yesterday, the Cambodian Foreign Minister said that there is “an imminent state of war” and a request has been made to the UN Security Council. News reports are saying that more than 4,000 troops have been deployed around the temple since July 15. Foreign ministers of the ASEAN countries are meeting in Singapore this week, and according to the AP article, “Thai-Cambodia Dispute Moves to ASEAN,” the two sides only agreed that their troops would not fire on each other but the military standoff has not actually been resolved. Cambodia will hold a general election on July 27.

pictures from the UNESCO website/Alison Clayson 

This past Thursday, there was a deadly bomb attack in the Philippines. Three people were killed outside an Air Force base. The Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) – the largest Muslim rebel group in the Philippines – denied any involvement in the attack but was accused by the regional police chief. There are other Muslim armed groups like the Abu Sayyaf, which could have been involved in the bombing. Peace monitors arrived in 2004, which “reduced the level of violence to nearly zero.” Conversely, rebel negotiators walked away in December from a meeting that was part of peace talks that began in 1997. One of the main questions is finding a joint “determination of the scope of the Muslim homeland” in the Philippines, while there has been fighting for a separate Islamic state since the 1970s. Carlos H. Conde points out in the New York Times that a peace deal might be difficult to reach when the state cannot constitutionally hand over sovereign rights to territory.

This past week, the former top Muslim insurgent – Nur Misuari – said that the Muslim National Liberation Front (MNLF) should abide by a 1996 agreement with the national government. Agence France Press reported that Misuari said that if the government failed to give the full autonomy the group was seeking, then they would march for peace. Misuari said he would work for a federal form of government with four states. To date, approximately 120,000 people have been killed, and about 2 million people were displaced in the Philippines. Despite these statistics, President Arroyo has spoken extensively about peace building and the role of dialogue. She has said, “I have personally advanced the process of peace in Muslim and Christian Mindanao to a new level of engagement, focused on interfaith dialogue, economic development and mutual security.”