XINJIANG AUTHORITIES BLOCK UNSANCTIONED HAJJ

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 BEIJING 007550 SIPDIS SIPDIS E.O. 12958: DECL: 12/19/2032 TAGS: PTER PHUM PREL PGOV KIRF TI PK KG AF KZ CH SUBJECT: XINJIANG AUTHORITIES BLOCK UNSANCTIONED HAJJ TRAVEL, LIMIT PARTICIPATION IN OFFICIAL PILGRIMAGES REF: BEIJING 7329 Classified By: Deputy Political Section Chief Ben Moeling. Reasons 1.4 (b/d). ¶1. (C) Summary: A well-placed contact told Poloff December 3 that Xinjiang Uighur Autonomous Region (XUAR) officials seek to eliminate all Hajj pilgrimages other than those arranged by the Islamic Association of China (IAC). The contact said that Saudi Arabia requested China to prohibit Chinese Muslims from traveling on unsanctioned, or "scattered," pilgrimages via third countries. However, the Saudi Consul in Beijing told Poloff that China asked Saudi Arabia to bar issuance of Hajj visas to Chinese citizens outside of China. Government officials restrict Muslims seeking to exit China and run propaganda campaigns to prevent unsanctioned pilgrimages. Chinese officials who are Muslim closely supervise Chinese Hajj participants throughout the pilgrimage. Only one-third of all 2007 Hajj applications in Kashgar were approved and the number of government-organized Hajj slots allocated to Xinjiang increased by less than two percent in 2007. Xinjiang officials enforce age restrictions on Hajj participation that conflict with the State Administration for Religious Affairs' (SARA) published regulations. End Summary. ¶2. (SBU) Poloffs traveled to Xinjiang Uighur Autonomous Region December 3-9 as part of the Embassy's Virtual Presence Post/Transformational Diplomacy outreach activities. XUAR Authorities Block Unsanctioned Pilgrimages -------------- -- ¶3. (C) Ehmetjan Hesen (protect),a member of the XUAR PPCC standing committee and the Xinjiang Islamic Association standing committee, told Poloff December 3 that the head of Xinjiang's Ethnic and Religious Affairs Commission recently stated that Xinjiang authorities want "zero" unsanctioned pilgrimages. Hesen heard from the Commission's chairman that Saudi Arabia asked China to bar Chinese citizens from making pilgrimages via third countries, because they "run into trouble when they are not supervised" and can become "a burden on Saudi Arabia." However, Majed A. Alshammary (protect),the Saudi Consul in Beijing, recently told Poloff that China asked Saudi Arabia not to allow embassies and consulates in countries outside of China to grant Hajj visas to Chinese citizens. Though China cannot directly control pilgrimages by citizens located in third countries, Alshammary said Chinese officials would definitely stop any would-be pilgrims seeking to depart China by means other than a government-organized tour. They "would not allow the Hajj pilgrim to board the plane," Alshammary said. ¶4. (C) In Kashgar, Pakistani businessman Mohammed Shafiq (protect) told Poloff that authorities deny border-crossing cards to Uighur (but not Han) residents of Xinjiang to prevent overland Hajj journeys via Islamabad. The border-crossing card resembles a passport and allows its bearer to stay outside China for up to one month over the course of a "season" running from May to December. On December 1, Alshammary told Poloff, China began blocking Chinese Muslims from departing the country in order to prevent pilgrimages via third countries. In Kashgar and Urumqi, Poloff observed elements of an official propaganda campaign against the "scattered Hajj," a term describing pilgrimage tours not arranged by the Chinese Government. Uighur and Chinese slogans painted prominently on walls in residential neighborhoods warn people not to participate in "illegal" Hajj journeys, stating that pilgrims "must take the path of the organized Hajj" and that the "scattered Hajj is an illegal religious activity." . . . And Limit Participation in Official Pilgrimages -------------- -------------- ¶5. (C) Hesen said the IAC each year divides the total number of spots available on government-arranged Hajj journeys among China's provinces. Xinjiang officials then allocate Xinjiang's total allotment among its prefectures and counties. Once prefectures and counties learn their allotments, local Islamic Associations and Ethnic and Religious Affairs Commissions (a Xinjiang Government organ similar to Religious Affairs Bureaus in other provinces) approve and arrange for local citizens to join the tour. Local government officials who are Muslim accompany Hajj BEIJING 00007550 002 OF 002 pilgrims to Saudi Arabia and have responsibility for ensuring that they return to China. Hesen estimated that only one-third of applicants from Kashgar were approved to go on Hajj in 2007 and acknowledged that government-arranged pilgrimages fail to meet demand in Kashgar. Though the 2007 national total of participants in the official tour has risen by about 1,000 persons since 2006, according to statistics published in official media, the number of participants from Xinjiang actually went down from 3,108 in 2006 to 2,706 in ¶2007. ¶6. (C) Hesen told Poloff that individuals cannot join the government-arranged Hajj trip unless they pass a health check, fall between 50 and 70 years of age and pay a RMB 22,000 (USD 2,930) Hajj fee from their personal funds. The Hajj fee cannot be borrowed and the applicant must have no outstanding debts. Such age restrictions, which reportedly exist elsewhere in China, contradict State Administration for Religious Affairs (SARA) regulations stating that Hajj applicants must be 18 years of age or older (reftel). Hesen conceded that the age requirement might anger young Muslims who would otherwise qualify to travel on government-arranged pilgrimages. RANDT