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O 010528Z MAY 08
FM AMEMBASSY BEIJING
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 7027
INFO RUEHOO/CHINA POSTS COLLECTIVE
RUEHEG/AMEMBASSY CAIRO 0324
RUEHIL/AMEMBASSY ISLAMABAD 6700
RUEHKU/AMEMBASSY KUWAIT 0619
RUEHRH/AMEMBASSY RIYADH 0627

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 BEIJING 001698 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 05/01/2033 
TAGS: PHUM PREL PGOV PTER KIRF PK CH SA EG
SUBJECT: NINGXIA MUSLIMS, PART 2: BUDDING FUNDAMENTALISM 
AND THE SPREAD OF THE "NEW TEACHINGS" 
 
REF: A. BEIJING 1691 
     ¶B. BEIJING 1643 
     ¶C. 2006 BEIJING 9665 
     ¶D. 2006 BEIJING 8788 
     ¶E. 2007 BEIJING 7330 
 
Classified By: Deputy Political Section Chief Ben Moeling.  Reasons 1.4 
 (b/d). 
 
Summary 
------- 
 
¶1. (C) The Salafiyya movement, a Saudi Wahhabist import which 
promotes a fundamentalist interpretation of Islam, has 
established a small but significant presence in Ningxia in 
recent years, according to scholars and imams in northwest 
China's Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region.  Surprisingly, the 
Government has accepted the group's rise, even as Ikhwan and 
Sufi imams told PolOff they oppose Salafiyyas over of 
theological differences.  Small, "extreme" sects have 
surfaced in reaction to changes in society and popular 
culture as part of globalization, but most of these 
"cult-ish" sects "quickly disappear," says one Muslim scholar 
in Yinchuan, the capital of Ningxia.  Ikhwan, similarly known 
for its pursuit of a "purer," less Sino-fied form of Islam 
and closer adherence to the practices of Middle Eastern 
Muslims, also appears to be extending its reach in Ningxia. 
Although Ikhwan contacts in Ningxia and Shaanxi oppose the 
Salafiyyas, the spread of Ikhwan is not known to be a source 
of serious conflict among Hui Muslim communities.  End 
Summary. 
 
Globalization is a Challenge as are Government Controls 
--------------------------------------------- ---------- 
 
¶2. (C) PolOff visited northwest China's Ningxia Hui 
Autonomous Region and Shaanxi Province March 30-April 4. 
Ningxia scholars, imams and officials described a wide range 
of government controls on Islam which contribute to a 
generally discouraging environment for religious development 
of Islam in Northwest China's Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region 
(ref A).  Ningxia University Sharia law expert Professor Zhou 
Chuanbin (strictly protect), an ethnic Hui who is bluntly 
critical of government restrictions on religion, conceded 
that the forces of modernization and globalization pose a 
greater challenge to the influence and growth of Islam in 
China than do local controls.  Both Zhou and a Yinchuan 
City-based imam surnamed Luo blamed the lack of religion and 
religious values in popular mass media for what he 
pessimistically sees as a decline in the strength of Islam 
across Ningxia. 
 
Budding Fundamentalist Movement Opposed by Other Muslims 
--------------------------------------------- ----------- 
 
¶3. (C) Professor Zhou conceded that the emergence of small 
"extreme" sects and the early spread of the Wahhabist 
Salafiyya sect (also known as the "new new teachings") 
represent a minor but notable backlash against modernization 
in Muslim communities.  While "extreme" sects have 
occasionally emerged in recent years in Ningxia, Zhou said 
they quickly "disappear" soon after coming to people's 
attention.  Zhou did not elaborate on how these sects are 
dispersed.  Salafiyyas, on the other hand, have enjoyed a 
limited but steady rise in recent years.  Though Zhou told 
PolOff that the Salafiyya movement arrived in China over 
fifty years ago, he estimates that all of the forty to fifty 
Salafiyya mosques in Ningxia sprang up in the past decade. 
 
¶4. (C) Imam Ma Ziming, an Ikhwan of Guyuan's Dongfang Mosque, 
told PolOff he and other Ikhwan "adamantly oppose" Salafiyya 
teachings and practices, dismissing their "incorrect" 
religious practices.  Ma clarified that such intra-religion 
disagreement was only "theological" and did not spill over 
into conflict outside the mosque.  (NOTE: According to Imam 
Luo from Yinchuan, the Government opposes the proliferation 
of sects outside the five "main" divisions among Ningxia 
Muslims---Qadim, Ikhwan, and the Chinese Sufi schools or 
"menhuan" of Khufiyya, Jahriyya and Qadiriyya---in the 
interests of avoiding intra-ethnic conflict.  "Menhuan" is a 
term used for Chinese Sufi sects.)  Hong Yang, a Sufi imam 
and community leader in central Ningxia's Tongxin County, 
disapproves of the Salafiyyas' rejection of religious 
hierarchy and their belief that they can directly interpret 
the words of Allah and the Prophet.  Despite the Government's 
reported opposition to the proliferation of sects, contacts 
in Ningxia and Beijing say that the Government is accepting 
and tolerating the Salafiyyas' presence in northwest China 
 
BEIJING 00001698  002 OF 002 
 
 
(ref B). 
 
¶5. (C) While PolOff did not get an opportunity to meet with 
Salafiyya imams or followers in Ningxia, a Salafiyya man 
surnamed Ma in the nearby metropolis of Xi'an, Shaanxi 
Province, told PolOff that Salafiyyas follow the original 
principles and practices of Mohammad and they more strictly 
obey the "laws" of Islam.  Unlike other mosques in Xi'an, 
every man in the Salafiyya Xicang Mosque wore a beard, and 
two men, who may have been foreign or Chinese, even dressed 
in long Saudi robes and headdresses.  Similar to a Salafiyya 
mosque PolOffs visited in Qinghai Province in 2006, the 
Xicang Mosque is plain and stark in comparison with Qadim, 
Ikhwan and Sufi mosques (ref C) in the surrounding areas.  Ma 
boasted that the Salafiyya practices adhere more closely to 
those of Muslims in Saudi Arabia and "the Middle East."  Ma 
looks down upon other Chinese Muslims for "picking and 
choosing" which religious rules to follow, and believes that 
they, too, should grow out beards in accordance with Islamic 
custom.  Such views corroborate the assessment of an academic 
contact in Beijing that Salafiyyas can be highly critical of 
those they perceive as less righteous (ref D).  Unlike the 
warm reception received at other mosques in Ningxia and 
Xi'an, Ma would only speak with PolOff in the mosque's 
entrance way because "non-Muslims are forbidden to come 
inside."  After promising a chat with the mosque's imam if 
PolOff returned half an hour later, PolOff came back to find 
the mosque doors padlocked shut. 
 
Continued Spread of Ikhwan Across Northwest 
------------------------------------------- 
 
¶6. (C) Ningxia contacts confirmed previous reports that the 
influence of Ikhwan, a Sunni sect most prominent in Qinghai 
and southern Gansu Provinces which seeks to restore Chinese 
Islam to a purer, less Sino-fied form, is gradually growing 
in popularity among Hui across northwest China, including 
Ningxia (ref E).  Contacts say that Ikhwan imams are known 
for using more standard Arabic in religious services than the 
Qadim and for seeking to further emulate Middle Eastern 
Muslim practices.  Both Luo in Yinchuan and Ma Ziming in 
Guyuan follow Ikhwan.  The spread of Ikhwan is not known to 
be a source of any conflict among Hui Muslim communities in 
Ningxia.  While the Salafiyya movement is a direct import 
from Saudi Arabia, Ikhwan seems to represent a reform of 
Qadim, the "old teachings," as a result of increasing Middle 
Eastern influence.  Though Ikhwan contacts in Ningxia and 
Shaanxi oppose the Salafiyyas, it is unclear if the two 
groups view each other as direct competitors. 
PICCUTA