There are some indications that Islamist leaders in SE Asia have developed a unified political strategy, and that this is considered to include Australia.  Islamists are those who seek to promote Islamic 'Sharia' law as the basis for government.

This strategy appears to be different to the extremism / terrorism which has characterized the methods of Islamists in (or from) the Middle East - who traditionally were religious fundamentalists. The SE Asian strategy appears to involve moderation and progressivism - ie presenting Islam as the source of a civilization rather than as a destroyer of modernity. 

However it needs to be recognized that this is consistent with the 'modernize Islam to take over the world' ideology of the extremists who have apparently been responsible for terrorist actions such as the September 11 attack in America - who have been Westernized outsiders to the mainstream (ie Middle Eastern) world of Islam (see Discouraging Pointless Extremism).

Indications of the emergence of such a strategy are:

• a reported meeting in Malaysia which discussed such a strategy [1];

• active cooperation by Islamic leaders in Australia in identification of potential terrorists - and the vigorous prosecution of terrorists in Indonesia and Malaysia;

• reduced ethnic tension in areas such as Ambon;

Reasons that such a strategy might emerge are that:

• extremism / terrorism clearly is inconsistent with gaining the high moral ground and has done a great deal of damage to the Muslim cause - a fact which has been vigorously argued by Malaysia's Prime Minister Mahathir;

• given the history of conflict in the Middle East, it is clearly much simpler to begin a new strategy in SE Asia and spread this back to the Middle East;

• the competition from offshore Chinese communities provides additional impetus to the emergence of a unified political Islam in SE Asia;

• the US 'war against terror' is not winning 'hearts and minds' - and this creates a huge strategic opportunity for Islamists;

No one can have any reasonable objection to the emergence of this strategy - because Islamic leaders are as entitled as anyone else to advocate their views of religious and political arrangements.

There is none-the-less a need for caution because:

• there is potential involvement in the background of those who may prefer uncivilized methods.

• the advantage of modernization has at times been described in terms of gaining access to the weapons required to destroy others [1, 2].