Recently, ISIS has issued statements condemning the People’s Republic of China for its attacks on Islam and Xinjiang Muslims. A conflict that goes decades back, the Uighur people of Xinjiang have been engaged in a separatist movement from the PRC, along with Tibet. While no large-scale warfare or movement has been arranged from the Uighur side, the region has seen a large number of smaller attacks killing anywhere from one to dozens of people. Due the Islamic identification of the Uighur people, ISIS has extended its auspices to the region, coming up just short of pledging jihad against the PRC. This new development is open to may interpretations and theorization, the most immediate of which is that the U.S. and its allies against ISIS may have found a new ally in China. However, at the same time, another view is that the Chinese government may cite the ISIS statements to justify a stronger political and military presence in Xinjiang, something that has been criticized by the international community as a part of the PRC’s string of alleged human rights abuses against minorities. There would certainly be a dilemma on the side of the West it tries to weigh the prospects of gaining Chinese assistance and committing to human rights; either way, verification of actual ISIS involvement in Xinjiang seems murky at best, with reports being published of ISIS involvement in Uighur militant training, and others reporting ISIS rejection from Uighur leaders. Either way, however, it seems veritable that ISIS is committed itself to a global mission, perhaps its own “pivot to Asia,” which leads to yet another question to ponder upon: what about other Muslim populations in the region? Will ISIS also propose to lend a hand in Thailand, where Malay-Muslims are engaged in intermittent conflict with the Buddhist Thai government? With eerie stories of American, British, French, Australian and other nationalities contributing members to ISIS, the immediate appeal of ISIS seems to be real. However, it must be noted that it is not clear to what extent, notwithstanding the high level of fright surrounding ISIS.
Photo Credit: BBC
