Trying to Weed out the Roots of Radicalism

Singapore's foreign minister Yeo Yong-Boon observes the growing self-awareness and nationalism in the ambitious nations of the region, as well as a growing religious zealousness, above all among Muslims. Stefan Kornelius reports

Singapore's skyline by night (photo: AP)
An Islamist attack would be a horrible challenge for Singapore´s multicultural society and could easily provoke unrest in the whole region

​​Yeo Yong-Boon, Foreign Minister of Singapore, is one of the most insightful, analytic political intellectuals to have described the Asian wonder. He speaks words of caution, sometimes dramatic, and for all those who don't acknowledge East and Southeast Asia's political and economic boom, he has a simple message: Mind the tempo, or you'll miss the train.

Yeo was born in Singapore in 1954 and at age 34 left a military career to go into politics. He had brought it all the way to rank of brigade general when he made the switch. In the past 18 years he has held all kinds of political posts: in the ministries of trade, finance, health and foreign affairs.

Above all, however, he is a politician with a sense of history who has now described a cycle of development that was long overdue. "For two hundred years the Chinese have been waiting for their chance – they won't let it slip away," says Yeo in his reception room at the foreign ministry in Singapore.

"And whenever China was wealthy throughout history, it brought prosperity to Southeast Asia. But we never wanted to be, nor will be, Chinese colonies because a peaceful and conflict-free Southeast Asia has always been in everyone's best interest."

Japan's deep-seated fear

The foreign affairs experts in Singapore are kept busy for hours on end grappling with the rapid transformation of the region into a world economic and political powerhouse.

For Yeo, two questions are at the top of the list: "The most important issue is war and peace." China's rise to a leading power has also created tensions that could, in the worst case scenario, erupt into violence. "People have not learned from the lessons of history," he says. Yeo is concerned as he observes the growing self-awareness and nationalism in the ambitious nations of the region.

A key issue is Japanese nationalism and Tokyo's refusal to own up to its history. "Japan has a deep seated fear of China," he says, adding that it will never be able to take on a role as a moral compass for the region because it has not worked through its own negative historical legacy (as an occupying nation).

"Look at it from a German perspective – Japan is weighted down by its past, it is as if the country had a milling stone tied around its neck."

America's power in Asia

The second issue is America's role in the Pacific puzzle. "America has always been a power in Asia," says Yeo, "the Sino-American relationship will determine all other issues. If America were to pull back from its role in maintaining order, the region would be destabilized."

Singapore´s foreign minister Yong-Bonn Yeo (photo: www.cabinet.gov.sg)
Yong-Boon Yeo: "We are waging a battle for the soul of Islam, for the authority to interpret the Koran."

​​Singapore's foreign minister thinks that Washington is miscalculating if it sees China as an imperial nation. "China was never a military threat to the world, imperialism is not a Chinese instinct, and besides, the country has little energy to waste on foreign affairs. Its domestic problems are too big."

For Washington, Yeo sees a great and untapped potential in its relationship to Southeast Asia, in part due to the high percentage of Muslims among the population. "A sympathetic Muslim society is important for the US, in order to balance out pressure from the Middle East." But he also sees growing religious zealousness in Southeast Asia, above all among Muslims.

Secularism as a religion

Recently a ban on headscarves in schools was implemented in Singapore, a country that is well aware of the vulnerability of its multi-ethnic and multi-religious social structure.

"Being religious is a natural part of human life," says Yeo. He notes that Christian communities are growing in the United States, and Buddhism and Islam are experiencing a Renaissance, "and even contemporary secularism in Europe has almost become a religion in the way it makes claims to a universal and dominant position."

In Singapore, for some time now the government has feared an attack by Islamist terrorists with the goal of tearing apart the multicultural fabric of the state and provoking unrest – unrest that could spread like wildfire into Indonesia and Malaysia. The last racial riots, during the 1960s, have not yet been forgotten.

"We are waging a battle for the soul of Islam, for the authority to interpret the Koran." Like other nations in Asia with Muslim populations, Singapore has developed an Asian answer to radical Islam – and this has not been sufficiently acknowledged in Europe.

With the help of a moderate, modern interpretation of the Koran, Muslim communities (with strong backing by authoritarian governments) are trying to weed out the seeds of radicalism before they can grow. In Yeo's own words: "The good cells have to destroy the bad ones."

According to the foreign minister, the government's role in this task is to prepare religious leaders for the day when a bomb goes off. "What will you say to the people? What will you be doing on the day after?" He finds the Islamist movement disquieting, but thinks it will not be enough to hold back the region in its rise to global significance.

"Europe is confused"

Yeo is concerned as he watches the way Europeans are engaging in debate with Islamic minorities, above all in the aftermath of the shockwaves set off by the caricatures published in a Danish newspaper.

"We have more modest ambitions here," he says carefully, "we do not expect that everyone will behave the same way. We all have to get along. Perhaps everyone should tone down their expectations, and tune up their sensitivity."

The conflict over the caricatures reminds him of the "gunshot in Sarajevo," the assassination of the Austro-Hungarian archduke in June, 1914, which set off waves of aggression that had long been stewing and brought on the First World War. Has Europe lost its compass in the debates with Islam?

"Europe is in limbo between its past and the future. The past was the Cold War, the task was well defined. Now Europe is going through a phase of confusion and self-discovery." He is almost sympathetic: "Europe's values were created for a different era. They will have to make some hard decisions."

Stefan Kornelius

© Süddeutsche Zeitung/Qantara.de 2006

Translated from the German by Christina M. White

Qantara.de

Interview Yaacob Ibrahim
Economic Success Helps Maintain Harmony
With the Religious Harmony Act, Singapore's centralized government has tried to integrate the country's Muslim minority. In the interview with Mike Millard, Yaacob Ibrahim, Minister for Muslim Affairs, talked about economic success and religious radicalism in the city state.

Social Order and Religious Harmony in Singapore
Observations in the Muslim Quarter
With a gentle hand which can occasionally turn tough, Singapore tries to ensure harmony between its religious communities, but the Muslim quarter remains in many ways is untypical of the rest of the city-state. By Manfred Rist

Indonesia's Liberal Islam Network
Interpreting Islam in its Social Context
In Indonesia, eight months before September 11 2001, a small group of Muslim intellectuals got together with the aim of forming a progressive counterbalance to the conservative Islamist movements in their country. Christina Schott reports