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