HIZB UT-TAHRIR, MUSLIM MISSIONARIES AND ISLAMIC

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 BEIJING 001643

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 04/28/2033
TAGS: PTER PHUM PREL PGOV KIRF TI PK KG AF KZ CH
SUBJECT: HIZB UT-TAHRIR, MUSLIM MISSIONARIES AND ISLAMIC
RESURGENCE IN WESTERN CHINA

REF: A. 2007 BEIJING 7329

B. 2007 BEIJING 7330

C. OSC/FBIS CPP20080404136002

D. 2007 BEIJING 6233

Classified By: Deputy Political Section Chief Ben Moeling. Reasons 1.4
(b/d).

Summary
--------------


1. (C) Counterterrorism experts at the Ministry of State
Security-affiliated China Institutes for Contemporary
International Relations (CICIR) described to PolOffs on April
15 an ongoing Islamic "resurgence" in western China,
encouraged by rising wealth among Chinese Muslims and
increasing contacts with foreign Muslims through foreign
missionary work, Hajj travel and study abroad. The spread of
the Wahhabist Salafiyya movement among western China's Hui
Muslims has so far not conflicted with Chinese Government
interests, but local, more mainstream Muslims of the Qadim
and Ikhwan sects generally oppose the movement. The spread
of Hizb ut-Tahrir al-Islami, a fundamentalist group known in
Mandarin as "Yi Zha Bu Te" or "Yisilan Jiefang Dang" which
promotes the establishment of an Islamic Caliphate, generally
remains confined to Xinjiang, according to CICIR experts. An
Urumqi-based academic told PolOffs that Xinjiang authorities
have not figured out how to control the spread of Hizb
ut-Tahrir, which targets well-educated Muslims and whose
propaganda is available at street stalls and bookstores in
Uighur neighborhoods of Urumqi. Hizb ut-Tahrir is "really
giving the Government a headache," he added, surmising that
the movement's "ideological strength" is too strong. End
Summary.

Scholars: Islamic Rebirth, Increasing Foreign Contact
-------------- --------------


2. (C) Counterterrorism expert Fang Jinying (strictly
protect) at the Ministry of State Security-sponsored think
tank China Institutes of Contemporary International Relations
(CICIR) described to PolOffs what she views as an Islamic
revival in western China. She feels the revival is part of a
global trend which swept across other Muslim regions of the
world three decades ago, but is just now reaching China after
being thwarted by the strict prohibitions on religion during
the Cultural Revolution. She added that the religious
resurgence is not limited to Islam; participation in
Christianity and Buddhism is also currently on the rise.


3. (C) According to Fang, the influx of Muslim missionaries
and rise in foreign contact as a result of China's increased
openness to the outside world and globalization have
contributed to this rebirth. Missionaries from Jamaat
Tablighi, an international Islamic missionary organization
founded in India in 1926, have recently been traveling to
predominantly Hui Muslim areas of western China, such as
Ningxia, Gansu and Qinghai to revive religious fervor, said
Fang. Fang and her colleague, Xu Feibiao (strictly protect),
said missionaries focus their efforts on personal
relationships, engaging people in mosques and Muslim
neighborhoods. A common approach is to organize and attend
studies or discussion groups after mosque services. Xu also
noted that Internet access to international Islamic websites,
as well as the increased interaction with foreign Muslims of
all kinds, have strengthened Islam in China.


4. (C) Fang highlighted rising wealth stemming from economic
development in Muslim communities as another factor in the
resurgence of Islamic beliefs in China (ref A). Economic
development has given more Muslims opportunities to travel
abroad, whether through work, study in Muslim countries
(increasingly common) or the Hajj pilgrimage. Consequently,
there are more and more opportunities for establishing
personal and institutional relationships with foreign Muslims
(ref B). Fang pointed to the spread of the Wahhabist
Salafiyya movement in western China as an example of
increasing foreign influence, in this case as a result of
students and pilgrims returning from Saudi Arabia.


5. (C) Though Xu told PolOffs that the rising prevalence of
Salafiyyas in western China is opposed by Hui Muslim
followers of the more common Qadim and Ikhwan denominations,
Fang said the Central Government has not attempted to

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restrict the Salafiyya movement. She observed that the
movement is an "evolution of customs" resulting from growing
interaction with the outside world and subsequent social
changes. So far, Fang said, Salafiyya activities have not
violated any laws. However, she admitted her concern that
the increasing religiosity among Chinese Muslims could
ultimately cause conflict between rival Chinese Muslim sects.


Experts Still in the Dark on Hizb ut-Tahrir
--------------


6. (C) Unlike Salafiyya, Fang says the tenets of Hizb
ut-Tahrir, a group which she claims is spreading in Xinjiang
Uighur Autonomous Region, conflict with Chinese law. For
example, she told PolOffs that the group's intention to
establish an Islamic Caliphate constitutes a plan to
overthrow the state. Fang, who is currently researching Hizb
ut-Tahrir's structure and activities both in China and abroad
for a book on international extremism, said that the movement
is primarily intellectual and targets university-educated
Muslims. Xu said that "open source materials" show that many
Hizb ut-Tahrir members in Xinjiang have "good jobs," such as
university professorships. Fang said that, in other
countries, Hizb ut-Tahrir recruiters first target society's
"elite," including government officials and law enforcement
officers. Second, they seek followers from university
students and professors, before finally turning toward the
"middle class."


7. (C) Uighur Sufis have also served as ripe recruits, in
part because the original founder of Hizb ut-Tahrir was a
Sufi, Fang claimed. She added that Internet access and the
fact that there are many ethnic Uighurs in Central Asian
countries, where Hizb ut-Tahrir has a significant following,
make it more difficult to control the influx of radical
influences. Asked what measures the Central Government is
taking to halt the spread of Hizb ut-Tahrir, Fang replied
that "this is why we are researching the topic."

XUAR Claims Hizb ut-Tahrir-led Protests, Experts Uninformed
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8. (C) State-controlled media reported that three "illegal
demonstration activities organized by Hizb ut-Tahrir" took
place on March 23 in the southern Xinjiang city of Hotan
(also known as "Khotan" or "Hetian") (ref C). The article
claimed that Hizb ut-Tahrir also distributed "reactionary
leaflets and posters" in Urumqi and Kizilsu Kyrgyz Autonomous
Prefecture (west of Kasghar),as well as in Hotan, in an
attempt to "instigate" such demonstrations. When asked about
the report, CICIR's Fang told PolOffs that they know no
details about the demonstrations, and that they need to go do
an on-site evaluation themselves. If the protests were
indeed organized by Hizb ut-Tahrir, Fang said, such a
demonstration would be "a first" for their operations in
China. (NOTE: Foreign media report that frustration over an
alleged ban on headscarves worn by Muslim women and
indignation over the death in custody of a wealthy Uighur
businessman sparked the Hotan demonstrations.)

Urumqi-based Academic: A "Headache" for the Government
-------------- --------------


9. (C) Mulati Heiniyati (strictly protect),an ethnic Kazakh
scholar in the Xinjiang Academy of Social Sciences (XJASS)
Institute of Religions, told PolOffs that Xinjiang
authorities have not figured out how to control the spread of
Hizb ut-Tahrir. Hizb ut-Tahrir is "really giving the
Government a headache," he added, surmising that the
movement's "ideological strength" may be too strong for the
Central Government to stop. Heiniyati agreed that this
segment of society threatens social stability and may offer
fertile ground for groups like Hizb ut-Tahrir to take root.
(NOTE: XJASS counterterrorism expert Ma Pinyan (strictly
protect) told PolOff in August 2007 that Hizb ut-Tahrir
specifically targets unemployed university graduates among
other disaffected groups (ref D).)
PICCUTA