Islamabad: A made in Pakistan song in Mandarin language has been released by the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) with the aim of attracting Chinese youth to join its global jihad.
The song has been produced in Pakistan by the media wing of the ISIS, using Mandarin-speaking artists.
In a sensational report appearing on various media-related platforms more than two weeks after its first known execution of a Chinese hostage, the ISIS has published a war chant in Mandarin that calls on Muslims in China, or at least Muslim men in that country to take up arms.
Reportedly prepared by the Al-Hayat Media Center, the Islamic State’s media arm, the four-minute-long song has been released and distributed through Twitter and messaging app Telegram, according to the SITE Intelligence Group, which monitors and tracks radical groups online.
The group’s chants, according to the Wall Street Journal, are known as “Nasheeds” (a cappella song extolling Islam).
This Mandarin Chinese Nasheed urges Muslims to “wake up after a century of humiliation”, take up weapons to “rebel” in accordance with Allah’s command.
The song has been slickly produced and hypnotically infectious, with lyrics that extol death in the service of Islam.
An article published in The Diplomat says that while it is unusual for the ISIS to produce recruiting materials in Mandarin Chinese, this isn’t the first time they have mentioned China.
It says that ISIS has identified China as one of 60 countries that is part of a “coalition of devils”.
The United States remains the most obvious target and the focus of the video.
The ISIS also sees China’s Muslim-dominant Xinjiang Province as one of the areas it would like to have territorial control over.
Last year, ISIS leader Abu Bakr Al-Baghdadi had mentioned China first in a list of states where “Muslim rights are forcibly seized.”
It was a fact that was quickly picked up on by Hong Kong-based Phoenix Weekly.
Recruitment efforts by Middle East jihadist groups are an increasing cause for concern in the world’s most populous country, though it’s rare for such materials to appear in Mandarin.
Most instead target members of China’s Turkic-speaking, mostly Muslim Uighur minority. A sporadically violent separatist movement made up of Uighurs seeks to establish an independent state in Xinjiang, which they consider as their homeland.
The recording of a nasheed in Mandarin “is yet another example of the IS seeking to broaden its reach and support base,” The SITE said.
The Chinese foreign ministry, however, has said that it is unaware of the song, but has said that it retains the hope that all countries will cooperate to safeguard their citizens.
It is unclear which groups of Chinese Muslims are being targeted by the ISIS. There is the Hui ethnic group, which is predominately Muslim and numbers over 10 million, and speaks Mandarin. But it has traditionally practiced a moderate form of Islam.
Mandarin is also the dominant language of the younger generation of Uighurs.
The Chinese Government says that the ISIS threat is serious enough and estimates that about 100 of the country’s citizens are associated with the group.
The Global Times, however, claims that the figure is closer to 300.
China has been on guard against terrorism since knife-wielding extremists killed more than 30 at a train station in the southwestern city of Kunming in 2014.
In November this year, the ISIS Islamic State announced that it had murdered Fan Jinghui, a Chinese national it had been holding for ransom.
A rough translation of the lyrics is as follows:
“We are Mujahid, our shameless enemy panics before us. To die fighting on this battlefield is our dream. We are Mujahid, our shameless enemy panics before us.To die fighting on this battlefield is our dream. A century of slavery, leaving that shameful memory. Deep in ignorant slumber, the nightmare continues on. A century of slavery, leaving that shameful memory. Deep in ignorant slumber, the nightmare continues on. Wake up! Muslim brother, now is the time to awaken. Take up your faith and courage, fulfill the lost doctrine. Wake up! Muslim brother, now is the time to awaken. Take up your faith and courage, fulfill the lost doctrine. We are Mujahid, our shameless enemy panics before us. To die fighting on this battlefield is our dream. To this day we guard the Koran and the Sunnah. No power can stop our progress. To this day we guard the Koran and the Sunnah. No power can stop our progress. To fight against those who fight you is Great Allah’s command. To take up weapons in rebellion is Muhammad’s order. To fight against those who fight you is Great Allah’s command. To take up weapons in rebellion is Prophet Muhammad’s order. We are Mujahid, our shameless enemy panics before us. To die fighting on this battlefield is our dream. The brilliance of Islam is etched in history. The purpose of our struggle is to let it shine again. The brilliance of Islam is etched in history. The purpose of our struggle is to let it shine again. Wake up! Muslim brother, now is the time to awaken. Take up your faith and courage, fulfill the lost doctrine. Wake up! Muslim brother, now is the time to awaken. Take up your faith and courage, fulfill the lost doctrine. We are Mujahid, our shameless enemy panics before us. To die fighting on this battlefield is our dream.”
China’s narrative of historical glory, humiliation, and the struggle to return to glory has been co-opted by ISIS in this video, but in a more violent manner. It is difficult at this stage to assess the impact it will have on Chinese Muslims, as China has blocked Twitter and Telegram.
