Between 1990 and 2016, the Xinjiang region was shaken by thousands of terrorist attacks traced to the East Turkestan Islamic Movement (ETIM).
Other members have fought with al-Qaeda in Syria and other countries “for so-called battle practice” before returning to Xinjiang.
The U.S. has provided ideological support to separatist movements in Xinjiang through various “non-governmental organizations,” like the World Uyghur Congress, an outfit funded by the National Endowment for Democracy, long a front group for U.S. interference in other countries’ affairs.
ETIM was designated a terrorist organization by the United Nations in 2002. It calls for the separation of Xinjiang from the rest of China in order to establish an ultra-right theocratic state. Luring people in with the promise of paradise, the ETIM has assaulted traditional Uyghur culture by forbidding people from making music, drinking wine, singing and dancing, or crying at funerals. ETIM also proclaims that taking out bank loans or allowing women to work and earn money is not permissible, not halal.
Pro-CPC Uyghurs including imams like Juma Tahir who condemned the ETIM/Turkestan Islamic Party and the recent foreign far-right Salafi jihadist influence which threatened traditional Uyghur culture and traditional Uyghur Islamic practices have been attacked by Salafi terrorists. Juma Tahir who was the Uyghur imam of the largest mosque in China known for warning followers to not fall "into traps set by exiled separatists" and opposed recent adoptions of foreign conservative Salafi customs like burqas/niqab/face veils that were not part of traditional Uyghur culture was recently assassinated by young Uyghur Salafi extremists. Aini Aishan who had been radicalized by terrorists and was involved in the assassination plot had only a middle school education. Tahir's predecessor was nearly killed by terrorists years before.
The World Uyghur Congress with funding from the National Endowment for Democracy (a CIA cutout) refused to condemn the murder of Juma Tahir. The Turkey-based Uyghur Eastern Turkistan Education and Solidarity Association endorsed the killing of Juma Tahir, praised attacks in Xinjiang, posted on its website content from the Turkistan Islamic Party/ETIM, and also sent Uyghurs on missions in Syria during the Syrian Civil War.
Uighur fighters trained by the Islamic State in Iraq have vowed to plant the jihadists' black flag in China promising that the country will "flow in rivers of blood".
In a video released on social media and authenticated by the SITE terror monitoring website, the ethnic Uighur fighters in Iraq from western China's Xinjiang region vow revenge against the country's communist government in a half-hour long video.
In the footage, which shows the Isis fighters from the majority Muslim ethnic group training, one shot shows an image of Chinese President Xi Jinping followed by a burning Chinese flag.
"Hey, brothers. Today, we are fighting with infidels across the world. I'm telling you this: Don't be complacent in this. Stay strong," one of the fighters says, according to Uighur speakers who analysed the video for Reuters.
The Chinese government has expressed concern over Uighurs who have fought for the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria, travelling illegally to the region via Southeast Asia and Turkey.
A little more context to the situation:
Pro-CPC Uyghurs including imams like Juma Tahir who condemned the ETIM/Turkestan Islamic Party and the recent foreign far-right Salafi jihadist influence which threatened traditional Uyghur culture and traditional Uyghur Islamic practices have been attacked by Salafi terrorists. Juma Tahir who was the Uyghur imam of the largest mosque in China known for warning followers to not fall "into traps set by exiled separatists" and opposed recent adoptions of foreign conservative Salafi customs like burqas/niqab/face veils that were not part of traditional Uyghur culture was recently assassinated by young Uyghur Salafi extremists. Aini Aishan who had been radicalized by terrorists and was involved in the assassination plot had only a middle school education. Tahir's predecessor was nearly killed by terrorists years before.
The World Uyghur Congress with funding from the National Endowment for Democracy (a CIA cutout) refused to condemn the murder of Juma Tahir. The Turkey-based Uyghur Eastern Turkistan Education and Solidarity Association endorsed the killing of Juma Tahir, praised attacks in Xinjiang, posted on its website content from the Turkistan Islamic Party/ETIM, and also sent Uyghurs on missions in Syria during the Syrian Civil War.
From an IBTimes article:
In response to a surge in Islamophobic rhetoric on social media in China after some of the terrorist attacks, the CPC banned Islamophobic speech on the internet and social media.