Headlines:
- China’s Muslim Minority Banned from Using their Own Language in Schools
- America’s Former Envoy to Afghanistan says the War can’t be Won
- China Gears up for War with America after North Korea ICBM Test
China’s Muslim Minority Banned from Using their Own Language in Schools
A majority Muslim group in China have been banned from using its language in schools. The Uighur population in the restive western Xinjiang province are ethnically distinct from China’s majority Han population. Recent years have seen bloody clashes in the region, which the Chinese government blames on Islamist militants and separatists. But rights groups say the unrest is more a reaction to repressive policies, and argue that the new measures may end up pushing some Uighurs into extremism. Although the Chinese government recognises 56 different ethnic minorities – including Uighurs – in the country, they have tried to crack down on expressions of individuality to create a homogenous society under Communism. In late June, the Education Department in Hotan province (Hetian in Chinese) issued a five-point directive which forbade teaching in the Uighur language in schools. Schools must “insist on fully popularising the national common language and writing system according to law, and add the education of ethnic language under the bilingual education basic principle”, Radio Free Asia reported. It said schools must ban the use of Uighur language in “collective activities, public activities and management work of the education system” and “resolutely correct the flawed method of providing Uighur language training to Chinese language teachers”. When children go back to school in the Autumn, it said that Mandarin “must be resolutely and fully implemented” for the three years of preschool, and then “promoted” from the first years of elementary and middle school “in order to realise the full coverage of the common language and writing system education. It warned that any school which “plays politics” and refuses to implement the edict will be accused of being “two-faced” and shall be “severely punished”. The national government in Beijing says it is attempting to introduce a “bilingual system” in the region’s schools to facilitate the dual use of both Mandarin and Uighur, but in practice schools in the region are being forced to be monolingual. Ilshat Hassan, the president of the US-based Uighur American Association, said the regional government was breaking China’s own laws on the respect of ethnic minorities. Under Articles 10 and 37 of the Chinese constitution, ethnic minorities have a right to preserve their own languages and traditions and students are supposed to be able “where possible [to] use textbooks in their own languages and use these languages as a media of instruction”. [Source: Independent].
How typical, Chinese authorities have to sidestep their own constitution in order to restrict Muslims practicing their own religion. Over the past few years, the Chinese government has banned Muslim names, beards, head scarves, fasting, prayer and now is curbing the use of language. Yet despite this tyranny, Uighur Muslims continue to practices their Islam with bravery and defiance that continues to humiliate the Chinese government.
America’s Former Envoy to Afghanistan says the War can’t be Won
Trump’s national security adviser, Lt. Gen. H.R. McMaster, wants to send a few thousand more troops to the country, which currently has 8,400 American forces largely engaged in training and advising activities. The nonmilitary wing of his national security team, led by chief strategist Steve Bannon, is resisting McMaster’s plan, viewing it as a continuation of a failed approach that has cost the US more than 2,000 soldiers dead and over a trillion dollars. Trump, for his part, is reluctant to approve another “surge” in Afghanistan. According to the New York Times, he is so dissatisfied with the military options that he’s exploring plans to extract Afghanistan’s mineral resources as an alternative justification for remaining in the country. It’s not clear what Trump will choose, or when he’ll make his call (the president, unlike his predecessors, has yet to visit the war zone). It’s not clear what Trump will choose, or when he’ll make his call (the president, unlike his predecessors, has yet to visit the war zone). But to get a sense of his predicament, I reached out Laurel Miller, who until very recently was America’s leading diplomat in Afghanistan and Pakistan. She led the office of the Special Representative for Afghanistan and Pakistan for roughly four years. After her office was abruptly closed by the State Department a few weeks ago, she returned to her previous position as an analyst at the RAND Corporation. I asked her straightforwardly if there’s a path to victory in Afghanistan and, if not, why US troops are still fighting and dying there. I also asked her how she thinks this conflict will end. While she’s unsure about the latter question, her answer to the first was one was crystal clear. “Military victory is not plausible in any foreseeable time frame,” she told me, “and what we’re doing now isn’t sustainable.” There are three basic options in terms of the military aspects of US policy. One is to double down, which means a significant surge. This is what the Obama administration did initially. Second, there’s the stay-the-course option, which could include sending a few thousand more troops. Third, there’s the troop withdrawal option. Obviously, there’s a lot more detail involved in each of those, but those are the basic military choices right now. A major surge does not appear to be under consideration. Whether President Trump is considering a withdrawal, I can’t say. I wouldn’t assume that’s off the table, though. As for the middle course, it appears there is hesitation because after months of discussion, there hasn’t yet been a decision to go down that road. There’s a twofold military mission in Afghanistan now. One is a counterterrorism mission that is conducted in partnership with the Afghan government, but with a very heavy role by the United States. That counterterrorism mission is focused on eliminating the very limited remnants of al-Qaeda and, increasingly over the last year and a half, dealing with the ISIS branch that has popped up in Afghanistan. The second mission is a mission of support for and development of Afghan security forces in their counterinsurgency fight against the Taliban. After 2014, the United States was no longer directly involved in the counterinsurgency combat mission against the Taliban. It’s been involved in supporting the Afghan government forces, for instance by providing close air support, and also by developing their fighting capabilities and support systems like logistics. Having spent 16 years and billions of dollars the obvious is visible; America has failed. [Source: Voice of America]
This fact should be a source of encouragement for the Muslim world to unify under the Khilafah Rashidah (Righteous Caliphate) and permanently end western interference in Muslim lands. Allah (swt) says:
وَاعْتَصِمُواْ بِحَبْلِ اللّهِ جَمِيعًا وَلاَ تَفَرَّقُواْ وَاذْكُرُواْ نِعْمَةَ اللّهِ عَلَيْكُمْ إِذْ كُنتُمْ أَعْدَاء فَأَلَّفَ بَيْنَ قُلُوبِكُمْ فَأَصْبَحْتُم بِنِعْمَتِهِ إِخْوَانًا وَكُنتُمْ عَلَىَ شَفَا حُفْرَةٍ مِّنَ النَّارِ فَأَنقَذَكُم مِّنْهَا كَذَلِكَ يُبَيِّنُ اللّهُ لَكُمْ آيَاتِهِ لَعَلَّكُمْ تَهْتَدُونَ
“And hold firmly to the rope of Allah all together and do not become divided. And remember the favor of Allah upon you – when you were enemies and He brought your hearts together and you became, by His favor, brothers. And you were on the edge of a pit of the Fire, and He saved you from it. Thus does Allah make clear to you His verses that you may be guided.”
(Al-Imran: 103)
China Gears Up for War with America after North Korea ICBM Test
China reportedly fired off around two dozen missiles at mock-ups of American targets over the weekend. The Chinese military launched 20 missiles at mock missile defense systems and fighter jets, specifically the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) anti-missile system and U.S. Air Force F-22 stealth fighters, U.S. intelligence officials revealed to Fox News’ Lucas Tomlinson Wednesday. China is believed to have tested medium- and intermediate-range ballistic missiles, as well as cruise missiles during the exercise. Beijing is firmly opposed to THAAD, which the U.S. is in the process of deploying in South Korea to better defend American allies in the region from the threat posed by North Korea and its expanding arsenal of ballistic weaponry. The THAAD system in South Korea has already achieved initial intercept capability, and more units may soon be on their way. After the North successfully tested another intercontinental ballistic missile Friday, South Korea requested additional units to boost defense, a move which was strongly criticized by Beijing. THAAD is one of America’s finest missile defense systems, with a perfect test performance record. The U.S. military conducted two tests of the THAAD system in July, demonstrating a reliable ability to intercept intermediate-range ballistic missiles. China’s People’s Daily, a state-run media outlet, claimed in June that the U.S. has “opened a Pandora’s box,” asserting the U.S. is changing nuclear deterrence postures. “What the US has done will indeed start a new arms race,” the commentary explained. “The U.S. global missile defense system is ultimately targeted at the nuclear deterrent capability of China and Russia,” the Global Times, a fiery nationalist outlet affiliated with the state-run People’s Daily, argued in February. Beijing claims that THAAD’s elite radar system has the ability to peer into Chinese territory, potentially threatening their national security. The Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Ministry of National Defense have both said numerous times that China will take “necessary measures” to counter THAAD. While the focus of this past weekend’s exercise was eliminating that THAAD system, China has fired on mock-ups of U.S. bases and weapons systems in the past. There is strong evidence that the Chinese armed forces have mock bases in Western China that its growing rocket forces use as practice targets. The odds of armed conflict with China is unlikely, but the weekend tests are firm reminders that China’s strategic national interests are often very different from those of the U.S. The reality that cooperation faces challenges has become increasingly-clear on the Korean Peninsula, where Beijing and Washington constantly fail to see eye-to-eye. [Source: The Daily Caller]
The break out of war between China and America may provide the catalyst for the Muslim world to re-establish the Khilafah State upon the method of the Prophethood and return back to world politics. Remember the aya:
بَأْسُهُمْ بَيْنَهُمْ شَدِيدٌ تَحْسَبُهُمْ جَمِيعًا وَقُلُوبُهُمْ شَتَّى ذَلِكَ بِأَنَّهُمْ قَوْمٌ لَّا يَعْقِلُونَ
“Their enmity among themselves is very great. You would think they were united, but their hearts are divided, that is because they are a people who understand not.”
(Al Hashr :14)