“China Reaches Out to Mideast, Armed With Halal Meat”
The Washington Post, Dec. 28, 2012, p.A6
“The praying and slaughtering begin every morning at sunrise. ‘Allahu Akbar’ intones the imam over each cow before it is strung up by its hooves and quartered. This scene and other religious and ethnic practices set China’s Muslim minorities apart from the rest of the population, and the differences frequently led to clashes with the government in the past. But now, the country’s leaders are embracing the large Muslim population in this remote and relatively undeveloped city in the northwestern province of Ningxia, hoping that frozen packs of halal meat produced here can help build economic bridges with the Middle East.”
Quickie analysis: China finds a creative way to win friends and influence people in the Middle East while expanding economic development in its sometimes-disgruntled Islamic provinces.
