China's Crusade Against the Muslims of Xinjiang

Tuesday, 07 July 2009

In light of recent developments in Xinjiang where 150 people have been killed and 1434 imprisoned, this article looks at how Islam first entered China and the oppression committed by successive Chinese governments against the Muslims of the region. This article is an amalgamation of two articles first published in Khilafah Magazine in March 1997.

History of Muslims in China

وَمَا أَرْسَلْنَاكَ إِلَّا رَحْمَةً لِّلْعَالَمِينَ
"It was only as a mercy that We sent you [Prophet] to all people." [Al-Anbiyaa, 21:107]

The message of Muhammad صلى الله عليه وسلم is to prevail all over the world. In accordance with this vision the Sahaba (ra) who ruled after him صلى الله عليه وسلم sought to expand the frontiers of the Islamic State ever outwards. Seeking to complete his صلى الله عليه وسلم noble purpose by ensuring that one day it would encompass the entire world, it was Khaleefah ‘Uthman ibn Affan (ra) that initiated substantive contacts with China. With the Byzantine Romans defeated and the Persian Empire conquered, ‘Uthman ibn Affan, the third Khaleefah, dispatched a deputation to China in 29 AH (651AD). It was led by Sa'ad ibn Abi Waqqaas (ra), the maternal uncle of Muhammad صلى الله عليه وسلم. Its mission was to invite the Chinese emperor to embrace Islam.

China's First Masjid and Muslim Settlers

The deputation built a magnificent Masjid in Canton city. This Masjid is known to this day as the "Memorial Mosque". There are some reports that Sa'ad was eventually buried in China. Over the years Muslim trading activity through traders and merchant naval movements led many to settle in China. One of the first Muslim settlements in China was established in Cheng Aan Port during the era of the Tang dynasty.

It was from this time that the Muslims of China began to encounter the venom and hatred of the Chinese Kuffar. However with the Khilafah still in place, the spirit of Jihad was strong amongst the Muslims. So such oppression was not met without the most appropriate response- fighting fee sabeel-Allah. One of the first regular wars was waged at the Chinese border in 133AH. The Muslims were led by a great mujahid, Ziyad. They were far less in numbers but, with the help of Allah سبحانه وتعالى, the Muslims delivered a crushing defeat on the Chinese. After this conquest, the Muslims came to command respect, power and a complete control over the entire Central Asia. In 138 AH Khaleefah Mansur dispatched a unit of 4000 armed Muslim troops to add to this awe.

The Jewels of Mercy

These early victories opened the doors of China for the Muslims to spread and propagate the beauty and the truth of Islam. So the victories were consolidated, in accordance to the method of Islam. The Muslims settled in China and they married Chinese women. These early Muslim settlers then started establishing Mosques, schools and madrasas. In the cities, the Ulama were dominant. From the teaching in the madrasas many students gained immense knowledge. Students from as far as Russia and India would attend these classes, literally observing the saying, "Seek knowledge even if it is in China". In the 1790's, according to tradition, there was as many as 30,000 Islamic students. The city of Bukhara, which was then part of China, came to be known as the "Pillar of Islam". It is this city that was blessed with a noble son, Imam Bukhari, one of the foremost of the Muhaditheen (compilers of Ahadeeth).

Jihad in the Face of Adversity

The early Muslim settlers in China saw all sorts of troubles and oppression. The tyrant rule of the Manchu dynasty (1644-1911) was the hardest and most brutal era administered against the Muslims. During this period five wars were waged against the Muslims.

(1) The Lanchu war 1820-28
(2) The Che Kanio war 1830
(3) The Sinkiang war 1847
(4) The Yunan war 1857
(5) The Shansi war 1861

This era is marked by gross Manchu animosity to Islam and Muslims. Muslims were slaughtered and Mosques were razed to the ground. These Muslims were led by men, who did not just lie passively in the face of the oppression but declared Jihad against the oppressive regime of Manchu. One of the military commanders by the name of Yaqoob Beg (1820-77) liberated the whole of Turkestan and attempted to administer Islamic rules from 1867-77. The Khaleefah of the time recognised Beg's struggle as Islamic and rejoiced at his success. Beg eliminated crimes of violence during his rule.

The Russians and British officials lamented this new force for Islam and spoke of a new Turkic-Chinese Muslim power rising from Central Asia, comprising of the provinces of Yunan, Szechawan, Shensi and Kansu. One British official stated, "We really have before us grounds to summarise that this remote part of the world may at present be the scene of a great Muslim revival."

China's Crusade Against Islam

Since the Communist take-over of Muslim East Turkestan (what the Communists call XingXang meaning ‘New Frontier') in 1949, there has been an almost total news blackout in the region. It is like the Stalinist purges of the Soviet Union which accounted for some 20 million deaths, details are very difficult to ascertain. A recent visit to Beijing by one of our Khilafah Magazine correspondents in 1992, however, verifies the abject oppression and tyranny to which the Muslims have been subject. At that time there was an underlying tension amongst the East Turkestan dwellers of Beijing. There is an area of Beijing frequented by East Turkestan traders, mainly silk merchants, called Kanjacou. Their venom and hatred of the Chinese authorities was commonly expressed. When a Chinese would pass by the street they would sneer "Kafir, Kafir! Jihad, Jihad!" Upon further investigation the living nightmare of the East Turkestan Muslims was revealed. One man was on the run from the police for the ‘crime' of teaching the Qur'an to children. There were regular police round-ups of the Muslims in Beijing. This was what was happening in Beijing, it cannot surely compare with the despotism and persecution to which the Muslims have been subject in East Turkestan. This oppression has the sole objective of stripping the Muslims of their Islamic identity.

Soon after the Communist take-over in 1949, the Mao government set about dividing the Muslims into nationalities so they would identify with their ‘ethnic' origin and not their ‘Muslim' identity. According to population statistics of 1936, the then Kuomingtang Republic of China had an estimated 48,104,240 Muslims. After Mao's policies, the number was reported to have been reduced to ten million. No official explanation has ever been given for this apparent disappearance of around thirty-eight million Muslims. The mass extermination and destruction of the Muslims of China clearly makes the much publicised plight of a handful of Tibetan monks or the democrats of Tiananmen Square pale into insignificance, but the West would not shed tears for Muslims.

Aside from the physical annihilation, Muslims have been subject to a constant attack on their Islamic identity. The period of the so called Cultural Revolution (1966-76) showed openly the heathen attitudes and policies of the Communists. This can simply be summarised by two posters which appeared in Peking (later to be called Beijing) in 1966. These called for the abolition of Islamic practices.

Muslims were also banned from learning their written language in the Cultural Revolution. This language incorporates the Arabic script and appears influenced by Arabic, Turkish and Farsi. This change was critical as it distanced Muslims from the Arabic language, the language of the Qur'an and the Islamic State, a tactic used by many enemies of Islam, including Mustapha Kamal, the man who abolished the Khilafah. During this era many Mosques were closed down as the communists released their venom against Islam and the Muslims.

These days, as can be seen from the riots in East Turkestan, the resilience of the Muslims to the pagan communists has remained steadfast. The Communists realise the proud defiance of the Muslims cannot be broken, so they have adopted a policy of continued pressure on the Islamic way of life and establishing puppet ‘Islamic' organisations and institutes which are supposed to represent the Muslims. It is a policy of containment - not dissimilar to the regimes of countries like Jordan, Sudan and Kuwait allowing so called ‘Islamists' into their ranks in their attempts to placate the growing demand of the Ummah for the complete implementation of the Shari‘ah. Examples in China of this phenomena are the Islamic Theological Institute and the Central Chinese Islamic Association. Both receive government funds and patronage. Amongst a number of pro-government functions they arrange the Hajj (pilgrimage) - the number of Hajjis (pilgrims) is restricted and the selection is officially screened and controlled. Clearly, the Chinese authorities do not want news of their policy of oppression to Muslims to reach the Ummah.

Since the so called Cultural Revolution, waqf properties have been confiscated and mosques forcibly occupied. Officially sponsored campaigns have been launched against Islamic leaders who have been denounced as ‘reactionaries' and ‘anti-people'. The policy of ethnic (Muslim) cleansing has continued. Han (Kafir) Chinese have been moved to settle in East Turkestan in a further attempt to make the province have a Non-Muslim majority. Back in 1949 the Han population constituted a mere 2-3% of the total population, now they represent a reported 38%.

The Defiance Remains

Despite the Chinese government tyranny, the Muslims of East Turkestan have remained steadfastly defiant. Young men sport neckties bearing a crescent and a star, bearing semblance to the symbols of the Uthmaniyyah Khilafah, a ‘crime' that could land them in jail. In the Kajacou area of Beijing, one Muslim was asked about his children - he said he had six. This is despite Chinese law that says Muslims of East Turkestan are only allowed two! The Muslims have an adoration of all things Islamic. In Kanjacou they obtained a cassette of Qur'anic recitation one day, and by the next day it was copied and widely distributed. This attitude led the Muslims as far back as 1953 to come out en-masse in the streets and proclaim an independent Islamic province in north-west China. Obviously, this was vigorously suppressed by the Communists, but the vehemence of popular reaction was unmistakable. The affinity the Muslims have towards the Ummah and their wholesale rejection of the heathen communists shows the Chinese will never suppress the spirit of Islam in the Muslims of present day China. As one Chinese government official put it, "It's like hacking them with a knife. They'll never forget the wound."

Nor should we forget the wound and let it be known the future Khaleefah will have, Insha'Allah, an army of Mujahideen willing to fight for the cause of Islam right on China's doorstep.

Source: Khilafah.
Link: http://www.khilafah.com/index.php/concepts/islamic-culture/6938-chinas-crusade-against-the-muslims-of-xinjiang.

Defenseless Uighurs Run for their Lives

URUMQI — With thousands of rampaging, armed Han Chinese mobs, running amok in the streets of Urumqi city, helpless Uighurs had no other option but to run for their lives.

"There is too much hatred around now," Ali, an Uighur man, told Agence France Presse (AFP) on Wednesday, July 8.

Thousands of Han Chinese mobs, armed with bats and other weapons, are roaming the streets, hunting down Uighurs.

"Get them! Strike! Strike! Strike!" dozens of Han Chinese armed with makeshift weapons screamed as they saw three Muslim Uighur men.

Hearing the chants of the Han mob, the terrified trio began running but only two managed to escape leaving the third to face horror and dozens of attackers.

Not far away in central Urumqi, about 20 armed Han mobsters beat and kicked a Uighur man nearly to death.

"I'm too afraid to go home tonight," said Halisha, a 30-year-old eye doctor, insisting that he prefers to sleep in his small clinic rather than venturing into the dangerous streets.

"Who knows if I can trust my neighbors or the people on the street? It's safer here for now."

Urumqi has been boiling since Sunday, when nearly 1000 Uighurs took to the streets to protest discrimination and cultural and religious controls.

At least 156 people were killed and more than 1,000 wounded when police unleashed a massive crackdown on the Turkish-speaking minority of more than eight million.

The unrest has drawn global condemnation, with organizations and Western leaders urging China to exercise self restraint.

Several human rights groups have expressed concern over the fate of 1,434 people who were taken into police custody over Sunday’s unrest, saying they could be tortured or mistreated.

Genocide

The rampage of Han Chinese continued as Beijing poured thousands of troops into the city in a massive show of force.

According to eyewitnesses, none of the Han attackers was arrested by the security forces, who only worked on dispersing the mob.

Exiled Uighur groups warned of a "genocide" against Muslims in the Xinjiang region.

"A true genocide of the Uighur people is in progress," Torgan Tozakhunov, deputy director of the Uighur cultural centre in Kazakhstan, home to 220,000 Uighurs, told AFP.

"The Chinese authorities will have to answer for these crimes in front of the international community."

Turkish Prime Minister Racab Tayyib Erdogan demanded on Wednesday an to "savagery" committed against Uighur Muslims.

"Our expectation is for these incidents that have reached the level of savagery to be rapidly stopped," he said in televised remarks.

"Necessary measures must be taken to prevent this brutality. We are temporary member of the UN Security Council for 2009-2010. We will also take these events into consideration there."

Uighur Muslims accuses the government of settling millions of ethnic Han in their territory, a vast region with large oil and gas reserves, with the ultimate goal of obliterating its identity and culture.

They also cite a recent government plan that has brought the teaching of Mandarin Chinese in Xinjiang schools, replacing their local dialect.

Source: Islam Online.
Link: http://www.islamonline.net/servlet/Satellite?c=Article_C&cid=1246346174901&pagename=Zone-English-News/NWELayout.

Uighurs defy Urumqi mosque closure

Several mosques in the riot-hit Chinese city of Urumqi have opened for Friday prayers, countering earlier notices that all places of worship would be closed following clashes that left more than 150 people dead.

Mosques across the city, capital of China's far western Xinjiang region, had been ordered to close amid fears that large gatherings of ethnic Uighur Muslims could spark renewed unrest and clashes with the city's ethnic Han Chinese community.

Authorities had said the closures were for the sake of public safety and told Uighurs to pray at home.

However by midday on Friday large crowds had gathered at major mosques in the city.

It was not clear whether the decision to hold prayers at the mosques was a change of policy or whether the mosques were opened because crowds had gathered outside.

One ethnic Uighur policeman guarding a mosque in the city told the Associated Press: "We decided to open the mosque because so many people had gathered. We did not want an incident."

According to Reuters news agency a small demonstration by Uighurs was broken up by Chinese riot police outside one mosque, but apart from the one isolated flare-up no other outbreaks of unrest were reported.

Thousands of Chinese troops using armored cars and helicopters have been patrolling the city in a sweeping crackdown aimed at preventing further clashes between the Uighur and Han Chinese communities.

The move comes in the wake of ethnic violence that has left more than 150 people dead since Sunday in the region's worst ethnic violence in decades.

Al Jazeera's Melissa Chan, reporting from Urumqi, said the situation appeared to be back to normal on Friday although thousands of soldiers remained in the city, most of them stationed at mosques.

Our correspondent said state media continued to emphasize the importance of both Han Chinese and minorities working together, and commended soldiers for successfully bringing the situation under control.

Hu Jintao, the Chinese president, described the riots as a "serious violent crime elaborately planned and organized by 'three forces' at home and abroad", in reference to what China's government calls religious extremists, separatists and terrorists who they say menace Xinjiang.

'Inseparable'

Speaking at a Communist party conference, he said that officials and ordinary people "should cherish the great atmosphere of all the minorities working, preparing and developing together".

"We should bear this in mind that the Han people cannot be separated from minorities, and minorities cannot be separated from the Han people, and minorities are inseparable from each other either," Hu was quoted as saying in the local media.

Despite the authorities citing security fears that big Uighur gatherings could become another catalyst for unrest, the decision to silence congregational prayers could rankle the Uighurs, nearly all of whom are Muslims.

"Jumu'ah is the time of the week when we must pray. For us, it would be an insult to shut it down," said Ahmed Jan, a Uighur resident near the Dong Kuruk mosque.

"If we're not allowed to hold normal religious activities, there will be a lot of anger."

Xinjiang has long been a hotbed of ethnic tension, fostered by a growing economic gap between Uighurs and the Han Chinese, government curbs on religion and culture, as well as a massive influx of Han migrants who are now the majority in Urumqi.

On Tuesday, thousands of Han Chinese, vowing vengeance, attacked Uighur neighborhoods, with many residents saying that people were killed, but the Chinese government has not released any figures beyond the 156 it says were killed in Sunday riots blamed on Uighurs.

Activists say the clashes started when armed police moved in to break up a peaceful demonstration called after two Uighur workers at a toy factory in southern China were killed in a clash with Han Chinese staff late last month.

The government has not revealed the ethnicities of the 156 nor given any information on more than 1,400 people it says were arrested in the wake of the clashes.

Xinjiang, a vast desert territory that borders Russia, Mongolia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Afghanistan, Pakistan and India, has abundant oil reserves and is the country's largest natural gas-producing region.

Source: Al-Jazeera.
Link: http://english.aljazeera.net/news/asia-pacific/2009/07/200971075832436566.html.

Obama set for emotional visits to Vatican, Ghana

By CHARLES BABINGTON, Associated Press Writer

L'AQUILA, Italy – President Barack Obama is ending three days of often-wonkish policy discussions with fellow world leaders to embark on two of the most photogenic and emotional events of his young presidency: meeting the pope at the Vatican and becoming the first black American president to visit a mostly black African country.

He was throwing in a televised news conference from Italy for good measure.

Obama, his wife and daughters were to meet Pope Benedict XVI shortly before leaving Italy late Friday for Ghana. The two men have spoken by phone but not met before, aides say.

In Ghana, officials expect a tumultuous reception for Obama, whose father was from Kenya. Because the first family arrives rather late Friday night, the main ceremony in Accra will occur Saturday, before he departs for Washington after a week long trip that started in Russia.

It will involve drumming groups and Ghanians "putting their best foot forward in terms of the cultural richness of an incredibly diverse country," White House adviser Michelle Gavin told reporters Thursday. To help accommodate the many who cannot attend, U.S. and Ghanian officials have scheduled "watch parties," radio broadcasts and video coverage in theaters, parks and other places.

"I do not believe that there is a way in which we could ever fulfill or assuage the desires of those in Ghana or on the continent on one stop," said White House press secretary Robert Gibbs.

But first, Obama had some final business at the Group of Eight nations meeting in central Italy, where he has had mixed success in seeking accords on greenhouse gas emissions and other matters. He was to meet with several African leaders early Friday, then hold a news conference.

Next comes the audience with the pope, whose generally conservative views will not entirely mesh with Obama's. They are likely to discuss world poverty, the Middle East and other topics, aides say, but the visit will be largely personal and spiritual.

"There are issues on which they'll agree, issues on which they'll disagree and issues on which they'll agree to continue to work on going forward," White House national security adviser Denis McDonough told reporters Thursday.

"Given the influence of the Catholic Church globally," he said, and "the influence of the Catholic Church and church social teaching on the president himself, he recognizes that this is much more than your typical state visit."

Obama is a Protestant seeking a new church in Washington.

He will become the third straight U.S. president to visit Ghana, a relatively stable democracy in a continent wracked by poverty and heavy-handed governments. But he is the first such president of African descent.

Obama chose Ghana, Gavin said, "because it's such an admirable example of strong, democratic governance, vibrant civil society." There's much to admire, she said, and to hold up as "a counter to what one often hears about Africa."

On Saturday, Obama will meet with Ghana's president, John Atta Mills, and address the nation's parliament.

Algeria sponsors Sunni Sufism to fight Wahhabi/Salafi extremism

By Lamine Chikhi

ALGIERS, July 8 (Reuters) - After using police raids, arrests and gun battles in its fight against Islamist insurgents, Algeria is now deploying a new, more subtle weapon: a branch of Sunni Islam associated with contemplation, not combat.

The government of this North African oil and gas producer is promoting Sufism, an Sunni Islamic movement that it sees as a gentler alternative to the ultra-conservative Salafism/Wahhabism espoused by many of the militants behind Algeria's insurgency.

The authorities have created a television and radio station to promote Sufism and the "zawayas" or religious confraternities that preach and practice it, in addition to regular appearances by Sufi sheikhs on other stations.

All are tightly controlled by the state. Sufism, found in many parts of the Muslim world, places a greater focus on prayer and recitation and its followers have tended to stay out of politics.

Exact numbers are hard to come by, but George Joffe, a research fellow at the Centre of International Studies, Cambridge University, estimates there are 2-2.5 million Sufis in Algeria, out of a total population of 34 million.

Salafism/Wahhabism has its roots in Saudi Arabia and emphasizes religious purity.

Officials believe Sufism could help bring peace to Algeria, a country still emerging from a conflict in the 1990s between government forces and Wahhabi Islamist rebels that, according to some estimates, killed 200,000 people.

"I disagree with the Salafi ideology because it doesn't take into consideration the particular nature of Algeria," said Mohamed Idir Mechnane, an official at the Ministry of Religious Affairs.

"We are doing a lot to encourage people to come back to our traditional Islam: a peaceful, tolerant and open-minded Islam. And thanks to God, people are much more attracted by our message than by the Salafi message," he told Reuters.

INVOCATION

To give the Sufi "zaouias" a more central role in society, they are encouraged to arrange marriages, help take care of orphans, teach the Koran and distribute
charitable donations. Followers of Sufism focus on the rituals of "Dhikr" or "Hadra" -- "invocation" or "remembrance" -- which feature sermons, reciting the Koran, praising the Prophet Mohammed, requests for intercession and rhythmic invocations of Allah.

During one "Dhikr" ritual at a Sufi zaoui just outside Algiers last month, about 60 men sat in a circle in a large room and began chanting. After a few minutes, some of the elders rocked from side to side.

"For over 14 centuries, Islam has been present in this country," said Hadj Lakhdar Ghania, a member of the influential confraternity, Tidjania Zaouia. "We used to live ... in peace and in harmony. But the day the Salafists/Wahhabis said we should implement a new Islam in Algeria, problems and troubles started," he told Reuters.

Though the violence has tailed off sharply, insurgents affiliated with al Qaeda still mount sporadic attacks on government targets, posing a challenge to stability in a country that is the world's fourth biggest exporter of natural gas.

Deploying Sufism against radical Islam is not a new idea. A 2007 report by the U.S.-based Rand Corporation think tank, said Sufism could be harnessed to help promote moderate Islam. "Traditionalists and Sufis are natural allies of the West to the extent that common ground can be found with them," it said.

Algeria's promotion of Sufism could also have implications for countries such as Iraq and Afghanistan, which also have Sufi traditions and where Western governments are struggling to counter the influence of Wahhabi Islamist radicals.

FOLLOW THE RULES

"A Sufi should connect with Allah through invocation and prayer. For example, on Fridays we spend several hours ... chanting and reciting the Koran. We repeat 1,200 times the name of Allah, and 1,200 times the name of his Prophet Muhammad," Hadj Lakhdar Ghania said.
The Salafists are a more visible presence in Algeria because while the Sufis do not wear any distinguishing dress, most Salafists have beards and in the street wear the "Kamiss", a long white robe, and white skullcaps.

For some militants, the Salafi puritanism leads to a strict interpretation of religion that justifies violence against non-Salafis and even kill them.

Many Salafi Scholars promote violence, and others have renounced it since the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks in the United States. But some militant groups still claim Salafism as their ideology. Hard-line Islamists say Sufi practices such as visiting the tombs of Sufi saints to seek benediction amount to idolatry.

"Sufism is negative. It doesn't seek change. It promotes charlatanism, " said Sheikh Abdelfatah, an influential Salafist imam based in Algiers.

The predecessor organization to al Qaeda's North African wing was influenced by the movement, calling itself the Salafist Group for Preaching and Combat.

The influential Algerian Salafist cleric Abdelmalek Ramdani, who lives in Saudi Arabia, called on his followers a year ago to keep away from politics.

But to Mouloudi Mohamed, an independent Algerian expert on Islamic issues, the best way to combat extremism is by going back to traditional Islam, not the Salafism that was imported from Saudi Arabia's Najd Region.

"I don't believe we should import solutions but rather use the Islam of our fathers to live in peace," he said.