Singapore Government Press Release
Media Relations Division, Ministry of Information, Communications and
the Arts,
MITA Building, 140 Hill Street, 2nd Storey, Singapore 179369
Tel: 6837-9666
SPEECH BY GEORGE YEO, SINGAPORE MINISTER FOR FOREIGN
AFFAIRS, AT THE AMERICAN JEWISH COMMITTEE GALA ANNUAL DINNER IN WASHINGTON DC
ON 5 MAY 2005 AT 7.00 PM
THE IMPACT OF THE RISE OF
ASIA ON THE MIDDLE EAST AND THE GLOBAL JEWISH COMMUNITY
Islam From Different Perspectives
Three years ago, the Israeli Ambassador in Singapore sent me an article
written by an Israeli scholar. In it,
the scholar saw Muslims in the Middle East viewing Israel as a Western crusader
state implanted by force in their land.
Like earlier crusader states, Muslims would not rest until they have
recaptured it. I found the analysis
profound but depressing. It meant
endless conflict until total victory or total defeat.
Perhaps it is difficult for Westerners and Muslims to see each other
outside the prism of their own historical experiences. For Westerners, the eruption of Islam out of
the Arabian peninsula in the 7th century began a
series of threatening encounters starting with the fall of the Holy Land and
leading to the loss of the Middle East, Northern Africa and large parts of Europe. Important victories are celebrated like Poitiers in 732, the capture of Jerusalem in the First
Crusade, the Reconquest of the Iberian Peninsula and
the defeat of the Turks at the gates of Vienna in 1683. Muslims see the same events from the opposite
perspective. The fall of Constantinople
in 1453 was a crushing loss for
Christendom but a great triumph for Islam. Although Muslims today often put Jews and
Christians in the same camp, this has not always been so. In Muslim Spain, Jews flourished and, when
Jews were expelled from Catholic Spain in 1492, they were welcomed in Ottoman
lands by the Sultan. Years later, a
branch of the Sephardim found its way to Singapore and an Iraqi Jew became its first Chief Minister.
From the perspective of Asia, however, historical Islam looks quite different. Islam's encounters with Hinduism, Southeast
Asia and the Chinese world were very different from its encounter with the
West. Islam entered North India by successive invasions. Its greatest triumph
was the establishment of the Great Mughal Empire
which the British Raj took over and enlarged in the
18th and 19th centuries. Having to
co-exist with Hindus who made up the vast majority, Islamic society as it
evolved in Mughal and British India was less
intolerant of other religions than in the Middle East where Muslims were in the
overwhelming majority. In South India, where Islam arrived more by trade than
by conquest, Muslim-Hindu relations have always been less troubled. While India today has the second biggest
Muslim population in the world, they make up only 12% of the population. It is in Pakistan and Bangladesh that the
problem of Islamic extremism has become more serious in recent years.
For China, Muslims are a relatively small minority. There was only one great battle between Arab
and Chinese armies in Central Asia (Talas) and that
took place in the 8th century. The
Chinese lost and Chinese armies never crossed the Tianshan
Mountains separating China from Central Asia again. Muslims make up 1-2% of China's population
today. They belong to different minority
groups like the Uighurs and the Huis. Generally speaking, they enjoy many freedoms
so long as they do not challenge the political authority of Beijing. If they do, they get put down brutally. Young
Chinese grow up with a very different view of historical Islam from young
Americans or young Europeans. When Sep 11 happened, many young Chinese cheered that America had its
come-uppance until the Central Government intervened to stop it. From the
global Muslim perspective, the Chinese world is not viewed negatively at
all. The Prophet himself encouraged
Muslims to seek knowledge, even from China.
Some members of China’s Muslim minority might have a more jaundiced view of
Han Chinese but that is a local perspective not the perspective of the global
Muslim community.
In contrast to India and China, Islam was brought into Southeast Asia
by Muslim traders from the Middle East, India and China from the 13th century
onwards. It was a civilizing influence
and helped create networks of trust which facilitated trade. In the same way as Buddhism was the religion
of the overland silk road, Islam was for many
centuries the religion of the maritime silk road between Europe and China. Muslims make up half the population of
Southeast Asia today. Indonesia has the
world's biggest Muslim population but many practise a more tolerant form of
Islam influenced by Buddhism, Hinduism and other religions. While there have always been local conflicts
between Muslims and non-Muslims, they do not have the same sharpness as the
conflicts between Islam and the West.
Indonesia's Constitution specifically disavows Islam as a state
religion.
Rise of Asia
As Asia's relative weight in the global economy grows, it is important
to understand these different perspectives of Islam. Developments in China, India and Southeast
Asia will all exert a growing influence on the development of the global
Islamic community including developments in the Middle East.
Although Islamist terrorism is a threat to China, China does not view
it with the same degree of seriousness as the US and Europe. Up to now, it is mostly a problem of Uighur separatism.
Looking ahead, however, as the inland regions become better connected to
the coastal cities by road, rail, air and electronic means, the problem of
Islamist terrorism in China may become worse.
With increasing urbanisation, more Chinese Muslims will live in China's
urban centres. However, the Chinese
Government will manage this problem in a robust, practical way. Abstract Western notions of all citizens
being equal before the law will matter much less in China. When China
introduced a one-child policy, that policy did not apply to minorities who were
free to have as many children as they wished.
Singapore is three quarters ethnic Chinese. In Singapore, male Muslim citizens can
legally marry up to four wives according to the sharia. This is not a political issue at all. For matters relating to Muslim marriage, divorce and
inheritance, sharia laws apply. In Malaysia, where Islam is the official
religion, non-Muslims who
comprise 40% of the population
enjoy freedoms which Muslims do
not. For example, there is a casino
which is open to anyone so long as he is not a Muslim. Such discriminatory practices, whether
positive or negative, would not be allowed in Western democracies.
Both Malaysia and Indonesia are functioning democracies. Malaysia is a middle-income country enjoying
a high growth rate. Its Prime Minister
Abdullah Badawi promotes a progressive form of Islam
called Islam Hadhari or Civilizational
Islam. Indonesia has only recently restored
its democracy after a few difficult years of transition from the authoritarian
rule of Soeharto.
For the first time last year, the President and Vice President were
elected by universal franchise in nation-wide elections that were
internationally considered to be free and fair.
When the Indonesian Constitution was promulgated in August 1945, it put
all major religions on an equal footing even under a state philosophy called Pancasila even though 85% of the population was Muslim. That founding principle remains the bedrock
of Indonesian society. But it is still a fledgling democracy. President Susilo
has committed himself to reducing corruption which remains widespread. The
Indonesian Army still plays a major role in the political arena. It is in the interest of the US to help
Indonesia strengthen its institutions
and professionalise its Army. We must also remember that some of the
world's most important sea lanes pass through Indonesian waters. A stable, secular Indonesia is good for all of
us.
In Thailand and the Philippines where there are significant Muslim
minorities, in both countries in the South, there is now general acceptance
that policies of assimilation would not work.
Both governments are prepared to accommodate Muslim minorities in a
special way. The alternative is Muslim
insurrection and the danger that Muslim communities can become hosts to al
Qaeda-type global Islamist terrorist groups of which the Jemaah
Islamiyah or JI is one.
Like other parts of the world, fighting Islamist terrorism in Southeast
Asia is a difficult, long-term
challenge. Cracking down hard on the
terrorists and their networks is a necessary but an insufficient
condition. We need, at the same time, to
accommodate legitimate religious aspirations and practices within
multi-religious frameworks. Without such
provisions, democracy in Southeast Asia cannot deliver stability and growth.
India provides yet another model for the future. It is the world's largest democracy with a
well-entrenched legal system. From time
to time, terrible religious
conflicts break out. In December 1992,
Hindus demolish a mosque in Ayodhya which the Mughals had built in the 16th century on the site of an
older Hindu temple. This led to
religious riots in many Indian cities.
Three years ago, a train carrying Hindu devotees from Ayodhya to Ahmedabad caught fire
killing many of them. It was alleged
that the train had been set on fire by Muslims.
The result was a ferocious Hindu reaction in the state of Gudjerat which the Police was slow to put down. Thousands of Muslims were killed. However, these flare-ups never last very
long. There is a
resilience in Indian society which enables it to overcome such problems.
The success or failure
of the Indian model will influence neighbouring Muslim Pakistan and
Bangladesh. If India's economy continues to grow and enables it to become a major power,
Pakistan and Bangladesh will come under pressure to keep up with India. In
the last 10 years, India's growth rate averaged about 6% a year. In the coming years, India is expected to
achieve 6-7%. For the economies of Pakistan and Bangladesh to grow as fast as India's economy,
they will have to adopt policies which are also development-oriented and secular. After September 11 and under US pressure,
President Pervez Musharraf
took Pakistan down a different road. For
the first time since Partition in 1947, there is hope that India and Pakistan will be able to reach some kind of a peace
agreement while continuing to disagree on Kashmir. This drama in South Asia
encompasses the lives of 1.3 billion people.
If South Asians are able to progress like East and Southeast Asians, the
impact on the Islamic world would be huge.
There are about 250 million Muslims in Southeast Asia and about 500
million in South Asia. Together, they
make up more than half the Muslim population in the world.
Some economic numbers are worth keeping in mind. The combined GDP of East and Southeast Asia
(meaning Japan, Greater China, Korea and the 10 countries of Southeast Asia)
last year was about US$8 trillion compared to US$12 trillion for the US and US$13 trillion for the EU. If
we add India to East and Southeast Asia, we have a combined Asian GDP that is a
little less than that of the US and EU today.
In 10-15 years' time, that GDP will be greater than that of either the
US or the EU. By the middle of the
century, the global picture will look quite different. But nothing is inevitable in history and we must expect up's and down's in Asia's
development. However, the trends are
quite clear. The growth of Asia is already being felt throughout the Middle
East.
Many Middle Eastern countries are now looking eastwards. After September 11, the wealthier classes who
used to vacation in the West and kept much of their money in London and New
York suddenly felt much less welcome.
They are now visiting Asia in increasing numbers and parking their funds
there in increasing
amounts. The trade links between the
Middle East and Asia are strengthening by the day. Last year, China overtook Japan as the
world's second largest oil importer. It
is growing Chinese demand for energy that is keeping energy prices high. China has become a beneficiary of the
Western embargo on Iran. India is not
going to stand still and would like to pipe into India gas from Iran. The politics in the region now allow a gas
pipeline to be built from Iran through Pakistan to India. India is completely unpersuaded
by the US call not to build this pipeline although Pakistan may be prevailed upon by the US to prevent
the pipeline from crossing its territory.
At the recent meeting between President Musharraf
and PM Manmohan Singh, they agreed to consider
extending this pipeline all the way through Myanmar to Southwest China. In this way, India is assured that Pakistan
will not cut off its gas supply from Iran because that gas also goes to
Pakistan’s staunch ally, China.
The growth of Asia gives
countries in the Middle East new options which they did not have in the
past. But, more significantly,
developments in China, India and Southeast Asia offer models of social and
political organisation different from the West.
They carry less emotional baggage from the past. With globalisation,
many more diplomats, businessmen, scholars, tourists and religious teachers
travel freely between the Middle East and Asia bringing home new ideas and
inspiration.
Singapore in the Middle East
As a moderately successful city-state, Singapore in recent years has
been studied all over the Middle
East as a development model. Dubai consciously models itself on Singapore
and in some respects might have surpassed Singapore. Other Gulf states
are doing the same in order to compete against Dubai. When I attended the Dead Sea World Economic
Forum in June 2003, I was pleasantly surprised by the many delegates who cited
the Singapore model. My Harvard Business
School Professor told me last year that he would always be asked to include
Singapore cases when conducting
courses in the Middle East.
This interest in Singapore is but the beginning of a re-discovery of
Asia which will open a new chapter in Middle Eastern history. I believe it will tell a more hopeful story
of peaceful interaction between the Middle East and Asia, of the riches brought
about by a new China trade. I represent in Singapore a political district named
after an Arab merchant family from the Hadhramaut
region of Yemen (Aljunied). The Hadhramis were
traders who plied the seas from Zanzibar to South China. This year, we celebrate the 600th Anniversary
of the first voyage of the great Chinese Muslim eunuch Admiral, Zhenghe, who sailed all the way to Mombasa
in his magnificent treasure ships.
Today, 30% of the world's trade passes through the Straits of Malacca.
Israel will benefit politically and economically from the rise of Asia
if it positions itself for this new configuration. This was the instinct of the early leaders of
Israel. Ben-Gurion was quick to
recognise the People's Republic of China in 1950. After Singapore separated from Malaysia in 1965, Golda Meir agreed to help Singapore build up its Armed Forces
based on the Israeli system of an armed citizenry. As a young Major in the Singapore Air Force,
I felt it a privilege to be the bag-carrier for Israeli Air Force Commander
General David Ivry, who later became Israel's
Ambassador to the US, when he first visited Singapore in 1980. Two years later, when the Israeli Air Force
triumphed spectacularly over the Bekaa Valley, I knew we had the right teacher.
Response of Israel and the Global Jewish Community to the Rise of Asia
In January 2000, as Singapore's Trade Minister, I met Israeli Trade
Minister Ran Cohen in Davos. At that time, Israel worked in close
cooperation with the Palestinian Authority.
Ran Cohen told me that he would like to visit Singapore with his
Palestinian counterpart, and together with me, they hoped to travel to a nearby Indonesian island to visit a Singapore
industrial estate and meet our Indonesian counterpart there. The Indonesian
President was then Abdurrachman Wahid, a Muslim
cleric who viewed Israel sympathetically and counted Shimon
Peres among his close friends.
Cooperation between Singapore and Indonesia would be an inspiration for
Israeli-Palestinian cooperation. I was
thrilled and started making preparations the moment I went back to Singapore. Unfortunately, within a few months,
Israeli-Palestinian relations went into a downward spiral culminating in the Intifada in September.
It all seemed such a long time ago.
But there is hope again after successful elections in Palestine and
Iraq.
Finding the formula for peace in the Middle East is never an
easy task. But with Asia making steady progress year by
year, the deep trends may turn more favourable.
We can't be sure, but we must be alert to new possibilities. For
example, I cannot believe that the re-emergence of China and India on
the global stage is a negative factor
for peace in the Middle East. It
is good that Israel is actively engaging both these Asian powers. Last year, in
a diplomatic breakthrough, Prime Minister Ariel Sharon became the first Israeli
Head of Government to visit India.
The rise of Asia is also a huge
opportunity for the global Jewish community especially if there is a peace
settlement between Israel and Palestine.
In non-Muslim Asia, because of a very different history, there is little
anti-Semitism. In China and India, Jews
are admired. The Kaifeng
Jews, who came to China from Persia in the Song dynasty a thousand years ago set the foundation for a long tradition of friendship
between China and the Jewish community.
During the holocaust, Shanghai was a sanctuary for Jews. Today, the people of Wenzhou,
who are among the most enterprising in China, are popularly known as the
"Jews of China". This is not
to say there is no ethnic stereotyping.
There is, of course, all over Asia and it is by no means reserved for
Jews alone. But there is little of the
anti-Semitism found historically in the Christian world. Even the anti-Semitism of Muslim Asia is
more a political reaction to the plight of the Palestinian people than a
deeply-held racism.
It would be good for the global Jewish community and for Asia generally
to have more Jews visit, study, work and live in Asia. As the use of English becomes more widespread in Asia, communication has
become much less of a problem. With the encouragement of the Singapore
government, there is a steadily growing Israeli community in Singapore which
uses Singapore as a base to operate in Asia.
Singapore's first Chief Minister was an Iraqi Jew by the name of David
Marshall, a man who was a caricature of himself. After he stepped down in 1956 in protest against the refusal of the
British to grant immediate independence to Singapore, he went to China to help
resolve the problem of citizenship of Overseas Chinese in Singapore. When he was in Shanghai, he was approached by
the leader of the Jewish community to appeal to the Chinese Government for the
release of the Jews who were stranded
there after the Communists took over in 1949. There were some 500 of them mostly from
Russia whom the Chinese Communists detained to placate Stalin. Marshall raised
the matter with Premier Zhou Enlai himself, arguing that it was as immoral for China to
prevent the Jews from leaving as it was for
Southeast Asia countries
to prevent Chinese nationals from returning home. Zhou expressed shock. Not long afterwards, the slow exodus of the
Jews out of China began.
There are many, many such stories of Jewish links with Asia mostly
forgotten because of war, revolution
and socialist autarky. These
stories should now be retold to a younger generation and the old links
re-established and built upon. Every change in the tide of civilization in
Europe and the Middle East has had a major impact on the global Jewish
community. This new tide flowing from
Asia will bring many new opportunities.
. . .
. .
MINISTRY OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS
SINGAPORE
6 MAY 2005