Page 113 - Conflict, Terrorism, and the Media In Asia

102 Michael Dillon
Xinjiang. It exists throughout the Islamic world: the whirling dervishes of the
Mevlevi Sufis of Turkey are the most familiar to westerners but it is particularly
strong in Iran where it originated and in Central Asia and is an important part of
the religious life of the Hui (Chinese speaking) Muslims of Ningxia and Gansu
in north-west China (Dillon 1999: 113–129). Sufism is also one of the most
overtly political forms of Islam and since the 1950s separatist groups in Xinjiang
have often been influenced by Sufi masters (Xu 1999: 72–93).
In Xinjiang, Sufis have formed part of the opposition to state sponsored Islam
and many have been responsible for attacks on senior Imams who are members
of national or local committees of the Chinese Islamic Association and are
therefore seen by some as collaborators.
The religious picture in Xinjiang is further complicated by ethnic diversity.
Parts of the region have more Kazakhs or Kyrgyz than Uyghurs, and, where
resources permit, these communities will worship in their own mosques. Chinese
speaking Hui Muslims in Xinjiang also have their own mosques, and these are fur-
ther subdivided into mosques for the separate Hui communities which originated
in different parts of China.
The Hui are in an intermediate and often difficult position between the Han
Chinese and Turkic Muslims. As Muslims they are frequently distrusted by the
Han, while as Chinese speakers they are not considered to be proper Muslims by
the Turkic communities. Depending on the time and place, they have acted as
intermediaries, spokesmen for ‘moderate Islam’, or religio-political activists who
can merge into the background when violent conflict erupts, as they are often
indistinguishable physically from the Han Chinese.

Separatist movements
The separatist movements in Xinjiang which Beijing has identified as the major
threat to national unity and stability have emerged from this ethnic and religious
conflict. Separatism is not a new phenomenon in China, and it is not confined to
Xinjiang: the internationally recognised movement to demand independence for
Tibet and the less familiar campaign for independence in Inner Mongolia are the
other most significant separatist struggles within the PRC.
Resistance to Chinese rule and the wish to create or retain an independent
Muslim state predate the CCP by over a hundred years. The military administra-
tion of the Manchu Qing dynasty (1644–1911) which took control of the region
in the eighteenth century encountered constant political and religious opposition,
often allied to Islamic forces from the neighbouring Khanate of Kokand (in pre-
sent day Uzbekistan). Jihads or religious struggles against the Qing were declared
as early as 1820, and in the 1860s Kashghar was controlled by the forces of Yakub
Beg who declared an independent state which was finally annihilated by the
forces of the Qing in 1878.
Although contemporary separatists may invoke the name of Yakub Beg, their
real inspiration is the Eastern Turkistan Republic (ETR) which controlled the
north western part of Xinjiang around the city of Yining/Ghulja between 1944 and