Turkistan Islamic Party

This article is about the Islamist organization. For the secessionist movement, see East Turkestan independence movement. For the Syrian branch of the Islamic Movement, see Turkistan Islamic Party in Syria.

Turkistan Islamic Party
تۈركىستان ئىسلام پارتىيىسى
Leaders
Governing bodyShura Council
Dates of operation1997–present
Group(s)Turkistan Islamic Party in Syria[4]
MotivesAn Islamic state in Xinjiang and the entire Central Asia, eventually Caliphate[5]
HeadquartersIdlib Governorate, Syria (largest operation base)
Active regions
(2014–2016)
IdeologyDecolonization
Sunni Islamism
Islamic fundamentalism
Pan-Islamism
Separatism
Size1,000 in Afghanistan (2022 UN report)[10]
4,000 in Syria
Allies
Opponents
State Opponents

Non-state Opponents

Battles and wars
Designated as a terrorist group by
Turkistan Islamic Party
Chinese name
Simplified Chinese突厥斯坦伊斯兰党
Traditional Chinese突厥斯坦伊斯蘭黨
Transcriptions
Standard Mandarin
Hanyu PinyinTūjuésītǎn Yīsīlán Dǎng
Uyghur name
Uyghurتۈركىستان ئىسلام پارتىيىسى‎
Transcriptions
Latin YëziqiTürkistan Islam Partiyisi
Siril Yëziqiтүркистан ислам партийиси
Part of a series on the
History of Xinjiang
Ancient period
Medieval and early modern period
Modern period

The Turkistan Islamic Party (TIP)[note 1] is a Uyghur Islamic extremist organization founded in Pakistan by Hasan Mahsum. Its stated goals are to establish an Islamic state in Xinjiang and Central Asia.[5]

The Chinese government asserts that the TIP is synonymous with the East Turkestan Islamic Movement (ETIM). ETIM has been described by scholars as demanding total independence and supporting or being indifferent to more radical methods driven by religious and ethnic motives.[17][18]

Influenced by the success of the Afghan mujahideen against the Soviets in the Soviet–Afghan War, the ETIP (later become known as TIP in 2001) was established in September 1997 by Hasan Mahsum in Pakistan. After 11 September 2001, the Chinese regime strove to include its repression of Uyghur opposition within the international dynamic of the struggle against Islamic terrorist networks.[19] Their slogans contained anti-Communist rhetoric and calls for uniting Turks, indicating a movement akin to Islamic pan-Turkism historically congruent with southern Xinjiang rather than pure, radical Salafi jihadism or religious extremism. The revolt lasted several days and was put down by the Chinese government, which deployed significant forces to suppress the insurrection. The Chinese government viewed them as a jihadist movement akin to the mujahideen in Afghanistan across the border which gave birth to more radical movements such as the Party of Allah and the Islamic Movement of East Turkistan.[19]

The Syrian branch of the TIP is active in the Syrian civil war and are largely grouped in Idlib.[20][14]

  1. ^ "Turkestan Islamic Party emir thought killed in 2010 reemerged to lead group in 2014". The Long War Journal. 11 June 2015. Archived from the original on 17 May 2016. Retrieved 13 May 2016.
  2. ^ "TIP Leader Congratulates Attack in Hotan in Video". SITE Intel Group. 10 June 2015. Archived from the original on 11 October 2017. Retrieved 13 May 2016.
  3. ^ MacLean, William (23 November 2013). "Islamist group calls Tiananmen attack 'jihadi operation': SITE". Reuters. Archived from the original on 17 October 2015. Retrieved 2 July 2017.
  4. ^ Weiss, Caleb (29 September 2016). "Turkistan Islamic Party in Syria shows more 'little jihadists'". Long War Journal. Retrieved 2 May 2020.
  5. ^ a b Moubayed, Sami (29 September 2015). Under the Black Flag: At the Frontier of the New Jihad. I.B.Tauris. pp. 161–. ISBN 978-0-85772-921-7. Archived from the original on 19 October 2017. Retrieved 23 April 2016.
  6. ^ Zenn, Jacob. "An Overview of Chinese Fighters and Anti-Chinese Militant Groups in Syria and Iraq". Jamestown. Retrieved 3 May 2020.
  7. ^ Bennett-Jones, Owen (8 March 2017). "North Waziristan: What happened after militants lost the battle?". BBC News. Retrieved 3 May 2020.
  8. ^ Sarwar, Mustafa (14 February 2018). "Taliban Increasing Presence In Remote Afghan Region Bordering China". Rfe/Rl. Retrieved 3 May 2020.
  9. ^ "TIP Division in Syria Releases Video Promoting Cause, Inciting for Jihad". SITE Institute. 6 June 2014. Archived from the original on 14 July 2014. Retrieved 26 June 2014.
  10. ^ "S/2022/419". United Nations Security Council. Retrieved 9 June 2022.
  11. ^ "Turkistan Islamic Party leader criticizes the Islamic State's 'illegitimate' caliphate | FDD's Long War Journal". Longwarjournal.org. 11 June 2016. Archived from the original on 29 August 2017. Retrieved 29 August 2017.
  12. ^ "Beijing, Kunming, Urumqi and Guangzhou: The Changing Landscape of Anti-Chinese Jihadists". Jamestown. Jamestown Foundation. 23 May 2014. Archived from the original on 12 July 2015. Retrieved 24 October 2014.
  13. ^ "Afghanistan becomes again terrorist haven". 16 June 2022.
  14. ^ a b "Chinese jihadis' rise in Syria raises concerns at home". Associated Press. 22 April 2017. Retrieved 7 November 2020.
  15. ^ "Turkistan Islamic Party leader criticizes the Islamic State's 'illegitimate' caliphate | FDD's Long War Journal". www.longwarjournal.org. 11 June 2016.
  16. ^ "Syrian rebels pour men and missiles into frontlines". The Fiscal Times. Retrieved 22 March 2021.
  17. ^ Özkan, Güner (2023), "The Uyghur Movement in Exile", in Shei, Chris; Chen, Jie (eds.), Routledge Resources Online – Chinese Studies, Routledge, doi:10.4324/9780367565152-RECHS60-1
  18. ^ Reed, J. Todd; Raschke, Diana (2010). "The Contemporary and Historical Contexts of Uyghur Separatism". The ETIM: China's Islamic Militants and the Global Terrorist Threat. Bloomsbury Publishing. ISBN 9780313365416.
  19. ^ a b Castets, Rémi (1 October 2003). "The Uyghurs in Xinjiang – The Malaise Grows. After September 11th 2001, the Chinese regime strove to include its repression of Uyghur opposition within the international dynamic of the struggle against Islamic terrorist networks". China Perspectives (in French). 2003 (49). doi:10.4000/chinaperspectives.648. Retrieved 27 May 2020.
  20. ^ Clarke, Colin P.; Kan, Paul Rexton (1 November 2017). "Uighur Foreign Fighters: An Underexamined Jihadist Challenge". JSTOR. Retrieved 8 November 2020.


Cite error: There are <ref group=note> tags on this page, but the references will not show without a {{reflist|group=note}} template (see the help page).