Islamic Fundamentalism in
China
Vikram Chobe
Islamic Fundamentalism in China
Pakistan has once again proved that it has rightfully earned the
status of a "Terrorist Nation". Countries like India,
Afghanistan, Nepal or United States are not the only ones who have
witnessed the venom of Pakistan's Islamic fundamentalism. Pakistan
has managed to inject it into a new victim over a course of last
few years. Yes, I am talking about China, a country which is
supposedly Pakistan's biggest ally at this moment and helped the
Pakistanis to somehow put together their much hyped-up first nuke
technology.
On July 6, 1999 Chinese Government executed a Pakistani citizen
belonging to a Muslim extremist group in the country's northwest
Xinjiang Uighur region. Chinese officials told the Press that this
Pakistani citizen entered Xinjiang in September 1995 and was one
of the key Islamic extremists responsible for the recent terrorist
activities in the Uighur region.
It was also reported that the executed Pakistani national also had
a role in the February 25, 1997 bloody riots in the town of Yining
organized by the Muslim fundamentalists.
The Muslim extremists of the Uighur region of China have been
demanding a separate Islamic republic for last seven years. In
early 1997, the Uighurs stepped up their militant campaign against
Beijing's rule in East Turkestan. The Islamic fundamentalist group
known as "Uighurstan Liberation Front" and "the
United National Revolutionary Front" of East Turkestan
shelved their differences and united for the purpose of Jihad
(Islamic holy war) and the separation of Uighur from China. The
idea was to forge a coherent militant movement from the base in
neighboring Kazakhstan.
The territory of Xinjiang, which is a rich resource for oil
encompassing 660,000 square miles and about 1,000 miles from the
sea, is a convenient location for the Chinese Muslim militants.
The Xinjiang region is closer to Islamic countries such as
Pakistan and Afghanistan, countries that are notorious for their
involvement in international terrorism.
In February 1997 the Uighur fundamentalists burst into flame when
three young Muslim extremists were charged with murders and
executed in Xinjiang's capital, Urumchi. Several hundred Uighur
demonstrators took to the streets of Gulag, near the Kazakh
border, demanding a separate state for the ethnic Muslims. When
the police turned water cannon on them in freezing temperatures,
the demonstration exploded into a two-day running battle.
The violence in February, 97 sparked more terrorist activities
among the Uighurs. Later that month Uighur Muslim extremists
planted bombs on three Urumchi buses, killing at least 18 people.
Between March and May, 1997 Uighurs claimed responsibility for a
series of fatal bombings in Beijing. It was also reported that the
fundamentalists had set fire to an oil refinery near Karamay and
attacked several oil convoys.
Chinese newspapers published news about an incidence where a
machine-gun and grenade attack by Muslim militants left 16
policemen dead in the tense southwestern city of Khotan. By late
April 1997 China arrested at least a hundred of these Uighur
militants and executed at least sixteen. During the search
operation, Chinese police seized seven tons of explosives, 600
illegal firearms and 31,000 rounds of ammunition, as well as
truckloads of Muslim fundamentalist literature, which encourage
open Jihad against China.
Over a period of last few years, the sporadic outbreaks of
violence and unrest throughout different parts of Xinjiang have
culminated into a typical organized Islamic terrorism. The Chinese
Government has recognized it as a potential threat to the
stability of the whole country and has launched a major offensive
on the Islamic terrorists in this region.
Chinese Defense officials said that the main towns of Xinjiang,
such as Taksu, Kuqa, Khotanj and Urmuchi, have become dens of
armed Islamic insurgency with frequent ambushes, grenade attacks,
and bombings being carried out against Chinese forces. Most of the
extremists were originally Afghan mercenaries and are currently
being trained and nurtured by ISI, Pakistan's official
intelligence service.
Chinese leadership had already communicated with Pakistani Prime
Minister Nawaz Sharif and expressed serious concern over that fact
that recently around 400 hardened Muslim fundamentalists had been
attempting to cross into Chinese territory from Pakistan. It was
also reported that the Muslim gangs of Uighur have been smuggling
drugs and using the proceeds to buy deadly arms in Pakistan and
Afghanistan. Chinese Diplomats said that they are aware that
Xinjiang is a source of challenge to country's unity. In the last
year tour of the region, Chinese president and Communist Party
general secretary Jiang Zemin had urged local officials to
maintain social and political stability.
copy and pasted from sword of truth.
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