QINGHAI MUSLIMS, PART 2: FOREIGN LINKS GROW

C O N F I D E N T I A L BEIJING 007330

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 12/05/2032
TAGS: PHUM PREL PGOV PTER PK CH SA
SUBJECT: QINGHAI MUSLIMS, PART 2: FOREIGN LINKS GROW

REF: A. BEIJING 7329

B. 06 BEIJING 9665

C. 06 BEIJING 8788

Classified By: Political Minister Counselor Aubrey
Carlson. Reasons 1.4 (b/d).


1. (C) Ties between Muslims in northwest China's
Qinghai Province and those in the Middle East are on
the rise because of widespread satellite TV use and an
increasingly mobile populace. Qinghai contacts told
PolOff September 14-19 (ref A) that many Muslim
communities are trying to embrace more "Middle
Eastern" forms of Islam. Contacts say that Ikhwan,
the most common school of Islam practiced in Qinghai,
represents a return to a "purer" form of Islam than
the previously more widespread Qadim school. Ikhwan
adherents reportedly seek to remove Chinese cultural
influences. Architectural trends in Xining's mosques
also reflect the growing sense of affiliation with
foreign Muslims. A young, well-connected and foreign-
educated Hui Muslim boasted to PolOff that the
Yudaoqiao Mosque, currently undergoing a multi-million
RMB renovation, seeks to emulate "Arabic"
architecture. Even a recent addition to the Dongguan
Mosque, the headquarters of Qinghai's government-
affiliated Islamic organization, used Mecca's Masjid
al-Hasam as a model. While access to the outside
world is increasing, most local contacts denied the
existence of significant financial links to foreign
Islamic organizations. End Summary.

Study Abroad Boosts Contact with Foreign Muslims
-------------- ---


2. (C) Xining's Dongguan Great Mosque sponsors twelve
students each year to pursue higher education in Arab
countries, mainly in Egypt. Han Musa (strictly
protect),a well-connected young Hui in Xining who
studied Arabic for four years in Malaysia, said
students from Qinghai also study abroad in Saudi
Arabia, Pakistan, Iran and Singapore. Dongguan Mosque
has one teacher who studied in Iran and speaks
Persian. Two women now running their own school in
rural Haidong Prefecture told PolOffs they studied the
Qu'ran in neighboring Gansu Province under teachers
trained in Kuwait and Iran (ref B). Despite the
continued cultivation of such relationships, citizens
and imams at several mosques in Xining and Haidong
Prefecture told PolOffs that all mosque funds come
from domestic sources. However, Han Congdige, a
Qinghai Salar restaurateur currently working in
Beijing, said students who return from abroad
sometimes serve as channels for foreign funding.
Chinese Academy of Social Sciences (CASS) scholar Yin
Gang told PolOff in 2006 that Muslims abroad
occasionally funnel financial aid to China's Muslim
communities through unofficial channels (ref C).

Architecture Increasingly Emulates Middle East
-------------- -


3. (C) In Xining, where the population of Muslims has
grown exponentially in the past several years
according to one Hui Muslim contact, PolOff observed
an addition to the Dongguan Great Mosque built in the
1990s to resemble Mecca's Masjid al-Hasam. Local,
private donations are funding renovation of the nearby
Yudaiqiao Mosque. RMB 7 million (USD 930,000) of
these funds were donated by the privately-owned Muslim
Construction and Engineering Company Ltd. Han Musa,
the Malaysian-educated nephew of the company's owner,
pointed out that the new Yudaiqiao mosque is supposed
to "look like an Arab mosque." The lobby of the
Muslim Mansion, a bustling hotel in downtown Xining
run by Han Wenke (strictly protect),Han Musa's father
and head of the Qinghai Hui and Salar Relief
Association, features a 12- to 15-meter-long mural
with historic landmarks of eastern China and the
Middle East on opposite sides, joined by an expanse of
desert. Han Musa remarked to PolOffs that the desert
represents the path of Islam from West to East and the
continued link between the two regions' Muslim
communities. So far, the embrace of Middle Eastern
building styles is restricted to major cities like
Xining. The vast majority of mosques in the Qinghai
countryside that PolOffs saw on this trip retain
distinctly Chinese-style architecture.

Ikhwan Seeks Purify Islam of Chinese "Alterations"
-------------- --------------


4. (C) According to Gao Hongwei (strictly protect),a
director of the Relief Association, Ikhwan, the most
dominant Islamic movement in Qinghai since the early
20th century, represents a return to a "purer" type of
Islam similar to "Middle Eastern Islam." This is
opposed to the once-dominant Qadim school. Gao said
Qadim practices had been altered through many years of
contact with Chinese culture. While all contacts
downplay differences between Ikhwan and Qadim, Gao's
comments track with those of imams and scholars in
nearby Shaanxi Province, who recently told PolOff that
Ikhwani imams have sought to remove the Chinese
"accent" and "dialect" common in Qadim prayers and
services, and to read verses in "standard Arabic."

Satellite TV Invites Foreign Influence
--------------


5. (C) Satellite television is another important link
to the Muslim world abroad. According to Gao, dish
prices run from RMB 400-1300 (USD 55-175) in Xining.
However, PolOff witnessed that satellite dishes are
also very common in towns and villages throughout
Haidong Prefecture. Han Musa said the more expensive
dishes are able to pick up Arabic channels from
Bahrain, India and Saudi Arabia, with the Saudi
Arabian channel being the most popular. Although some
locals who have studied the Qu'ran read and speak some
Arabic, Han indicated that more people watch
broadcasts simply for the images. One elderly
resident of rural Hualong County, however, suggested
to PolOff that the Government is cracking down on
illegal dishes. Last year, the man said, officials
conducted a house-by-house inspection in his village
to check for illegal satellite hookups. Additionally,
a public notice outside the mosque in another village
in Hualong carried instructions on "mandatory
satellite adjustments" (presumably to stop reception
of foreign channels).

Complaints about U.S. Foreign Policy
--------------


6. (C) During this visit to Qinghai, PolOff heard
numerous criticisms from Muslim contacts of U.S.
foreign policy. Gao, Han and Du all complained to
PolOff about U.S. support for Israel and U.S. actions
in Iraq and Afghanistan. However, Gao noted that
"many people" also listen to Voice of America, which
is well-liked for its "actual" news reporting.

Ties to Uighurs Exist, but Insignificant, Say Contacts
-------------- --------------


7. (C) Some Qinghai Muslims PolOff spoke with
expressed sympathy for their fellow Muslims in the
Xinjiang Uighur Autonomous Region, where the
government keeps a tighter lid on religious activity.
Contacts said Uighurs continue to travel to Qinghai to
study the Qu'ran (ref B),though exact figures are
difficult to find. In June 2007, PolOff encountered
several Uighurs studying the Qu'ran at Xining's
Fuqiangxiang Mosque. PolOffs' Hui Muslim driver,
surnamed Yang, said that he knew Xinjiang's Uighurs
"have some difficulties" with the Government. But
while Yang "cares" about the Uighurs' plight, he added
that there is nothing he can do to help.
RANDT