More than 100 Chinese citizens are fighting on behalf of the Islamic State after facing harsh societal hardships in China, according to a new report.
New America, a non-partisan think-tank, gathered information from sources inside Syria, and looked into basic demographic information, including education level, age, origin, and religious beliefs of the fighters. The report estimates 118 fighters from China have joined the group responsible for tens of thousands of deaths across the Middle East and deadly terrorist attacks in Western countries including the recent attack in Nice, France that killed 84 people.
Most of the fighters are Uighurs and originate from China’s western regions, mainly from the Muslim majority region of Xinjiang, where there is "significant economic disparities" between Muslims and non-Muslims and they face harsh government restrictions on religious practices, such as growing beards and wearing head scarfs.
The Chinese fighters are vastly different from other foreign fighters who join ISIS. Those from Arab states for example tend to be wealthier, younger, and have little to no family, a stark contrast from the average Chinese fighter.
"These people are extremely poor." Nate Rosenblatt, author of the report told Foreign Policy. "They don’t have jobs. They don’t have good education. They hardly travel … they are moving to the Islamic State on a more permanent basis."
"Marriage rates and family sizes are high, education levels are low, international travel rates are extremely low, and the professional experience of the fighter sample is equivalent to an unskilled laborer," the report says. The Chinese recruits are "likely to join ISIS with their families alongside younger, relatively wealthier, and unmarried Arab fighters from the Arabian Peninsula."
Many of the fighters have never traveled abroad, with 70 percent of them leaving China for the first time. The age of the Chinese fighters ranges between 10 to 80 years old. "Muhammed Amin, joined ISIS at the age of 80 after his son was killed fighting in Syria" the report said.
ISIS is known to use clever recruiting videos that promise a better life for its fighters. "I was subjected to oppression [in Xinjiang] at the hands of the Chinese idolators," said an ISIS fighter in the report. One video showed that "Uighur children in clean classrooms learn religion—forbidden in China—and spout anti-Chinese government slogans."
The Chinese government’s crackdown on the religious minority played a role in the radicalization of the fighters, according to New America. "The Chinese government gradually turned Uyghur national identity and Islamic practices into national security threats," the report said.