Why China is becoming a target of jihadist hatred, like the US

As US influence fades and China rises, jihadists are seizing on Beijing’s suppression of Uygurs in Xinjiang, ‘imperialist’ belt and road ambitions, and plans to build more military bases in an effort to find a new villain to help justify their existence

Mohammed Sinan Siyech

Published: 5:45am, 14 Sep 2020

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In the last week of August, Indonesian authorities foiled a terrorist plot by Jemaah Islamiah, an al-Qaeda ally, to attack properties where ethnic Chinese Indonesians lived. The reason for the planned attack was supposedly the spread of communism by the ethnic Chinese communities, a narrative that turned out to be fake.

Anti-communist sentiment in Indonesia has a long history, but the failed attack cast a spotlight on anti-China sentiment. This shares ingredients with jihadist sentiment against the United States, seen as the “far enemy” since the 1990s after it installed military bases in Saudi Arabia. The recent attempted attack in Indonesia represents a larger trend in which China may also become a “far enemy” for jihadist groups.

The concept of “far” and “near” enemies was posited by Egyptian ideologue Mohammed al Faraj, who argued that jihadist groups should focus on repressive regimes in their own countries, mostly in the Middle East, instead of attacking the US. He classified America as the “far enemy” for interfering in Middle East domestic policies and across the broader Muslim world, exploiting resources and creating conflict and strife, such as in Iraq and Afghanistan.

While most jihadist groups in the 1990s focused on the local enemy, Egyptian group Gama Islamiya broke ranks and attacked New York’s World Trade Centre in 1993. Soon, al-Qaeda began hitting American targets. The turning point was the installation of US military bases in Saudi Arabia, which Osama bin Laden considered a domination of Islam.

Over the decades, many al-Qaeda attacks were aimed at the US and later, parts of western Europe, from the September 11 attack and the July 7 bombings in London to the Spain bombings. From the mid-2010s, Islamic State (IS) perpetrated other attacks across Europe such as in Nice, Brussels and Paris. Most recently, the rhetoric against the West has been replaced, to some extent, with rhetoric against China.

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Indonesian and Malaysian Muslims protest in support of Uygurs in China

Many factors explain this. For one, like the US in the mid-20th century, China has become a powerful state engaged with different nations, sometimes in less-than-scrupulous ways.

While China does not overthrow governments, it has been accused of engaging in “debt trap diplomacy” in countries such as in Sri Lanka and Pakistan, where it controls the key ports of Hambantota and Gwadar via its Belt and Road Initiative, evoking resentment for what jihadists call its imperialist designs.

Beijing also plans to ramp up its military bases. It would be particularly damaging for China’s reputation among jihadist groups if it started building bases across the Middle East and northern Africa, where it opened a base in Djibouti last year. While it may be some time before China builds a base in Saudi Arabia, its presence across other Arab countries could still infuriate groups.

China’s suppression of Uygur rights and freedoms in Xinjiang has already evoked rhetoric against it by groups such as IS and al-Qaeda. Indeed, the East Turkestan Islamic Movement, an al-Qaeda branch, consists primarily of fighters from Xinjiang. Similarly, IS has enlisted many Uygur fighters.

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China hits back at UK claims of forced sterilisations and other human rights abuses against Uygurs

Anti-Chinese sentiment due to its actions in Xinjiang, however, extends to Muslims across the world, which can be exploited by terrorist groups to recruit individuals. Conspiracy theories around the Covid-19 virus being artificially created by China to win the US-China trade war only adds fuel to the fire.

Fourth, apart from Covid-19, anti-Chinese sentiment in Pakistan has sparked terrorist attacks by groups such as the Balochistan Liberation Army in May last year. Indeed, many groups have joined forces to target Chinese investments in Pakistan.

Much of the resentment was due to Chinese contractors’ disregard for Pakistani culture, the idea that Chinese investments are eating up local jobs with the arrival of Chinese construction workers, and anti-imperialist designs. Similar sentiments have been documented in Indonesia and Malaysia, where China has strong investments.

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Chinese consulate in Karachi attacked

It is important to realise that jihadist groups often seek ways to stay relevant. With the advent of Covid-19 and the digital era, these groups have been relegated to the back seat of policy importance. Even though enough grievances exist to enlist locals, the presence of a large global enemy brings coherence to opposition and jihadist groups find another villain to justify their existence.

And while the US was that villain, popular protests against its president (indicating resistance to perceived authoritarianism), the presence of strong Muslim activist and religious groups from the US (signifying acceptance of Muslims in the nation), and the weakening hold of the US across the world have all reduced its negative impression. Hence the need for a new enemy.

Admittedly, China is not the US and substituting one for the other will not yield the same result. Nor will jihadist groups use similar narratives to those employed against the US.

The fact China is a strong surveillance state, controls communication, does not have as strong a pop culture as America (thereby avoiding accusations of being lewd), and is not involved directly in wars in Muslim-majority lands work for it. Yet, China’s rising power means it must contend with both state and non-state actors.

Mohammed Sinan Siyech is a senior analyst with the International Centre for Political Violence and Terrorism Research, a constituent unit of the S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore

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