East Turkestan Islamic Movement

The Turkestan Islamic Party (TIP) is a political separatist party of ethnic Uighurs based in Xinjiang, China. The TIP's militant wing, the East Turkestan Islamic Movement (ETIM), is reportedly associated with al Qaeda. The ETIM has been accused of numerous bombings in China and elsewhere.

Xinjiang is an autonomous region in China and is home to roughly 9 million Turkic-speaking Uighurs (or Uyghurs). Beijing's policy of settling Han Chinese in Xinjiang has been a source of tension, because Uighurs fear that they will soon be marginalized in their native territory. Politicized Uighurs claim that Han Chinese have moved into Xinjiang to exploit its oil, natural gas, and agricultural resources. Despite economic support that has turned Xinjiang into one of the most productive regions in the country, some Uighurs resent Beijing's assimilation and integration policies. Support for the separatist movement in Xinjiang among natives has grown significantly in the early twenty-first century.

In July 2009, ethnic clashes between local Uighur Muslims and Han Chinese settlers resulted in the deaths of nearly 200 people, with more than 1,700 injured. The riot was China's worst since 1949, and, indeed, ethnic and religious violence may be the biggest national challenge China faces in the near future. Wu Shimin, the vice minister of China's State Ethnic Affairs Commission, says the riot was perpetrated by the “three forces of evil”: extremism, terrorism, and separatism. Meanwhile, TIP/ETIM has accused China of genocide.

[Page 172]While outside observers say that “genocide” is an extreme description of the situation in Xinjiang, it is true that the Chinese government restricts Islamic practices and bans practicing Muslims from most government jobs. Further, most Han employers in Xinjiang prefer not to employ Uighurs, who are perceived as untrustworthy, aggressive, and inclined toward crime. Although none of these stereotypes is fair, the perceptions themselves have worsened the gulf between the two ethnic groups. Propaganda by both nonviolent Uighur separatists and the violent ETIM has served to intensify the hatred. al Qaeda ideologues have argued that, after the defeat of the United States, the Muslims’ next enemy should be China.

The ETIM was responsible for a series of bombings, both in Xinjiang and elsewhere in China, in the lead-up to the 2008 Beijing Olympics. The ETIM leadership, which is located in Waziristan, receives training, weapons, finance, and ideology from al Qaeda. Their attacks are not limited to China, however, as the ETIM has also struck in Pakistan and Afghanistan. ETIM suicide bombers trained by al Qaeda present a growing threat both to coalition forces in Afghanistan and to China's security. In addition to the ETIM, Uighur separatist groups in the United States, Canada, and Europe are working to radicalize the Uighur communities in China.

Despite its close relationship with al Qaeda, TIP/ETIM has thus far been careful not to attack the United States, largely because of the U.S. position on the Uighur detainees in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. More than 20 Uighurs were captured by U.S. forces in Afghanistan during the first phase of the “war on terror” that began in 2001 and were sent to Guantanamo. After several years of detention, which reportedly included long episodes of solitary confinement and physical restraint, in 2008 the majority of the Uighurs were determined to no longer be “enemy combatants” and were eligible for release. Knowing that they would be executed in China, the United States found other countries to take the Uighurs, including Bermuda, Albania, and Palau. The Uighur separatists consider their lobbying campaign in Washington, D.C., where they have built multiple platforms, a success in this regard.

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