Chinese Media: Is the Islamic State Targeting Us Next?

Chinese media is in a state of chaos after an Islamic State threat against China made its way into Phoenix Weekly, a Hong Kong-based publication, Foreign Policy reports.

The Phoenix Weekly article translates a July 4 speech from Arabic to Chinese by Islamic State “caliph” Abu Bakr Al-Baghdadi, where the terror group leader says, “Muslim rights are forcibly seized in China.” Baghdadi continued, “Your brothers all over the world are waiting for your rescue, and are anticipating your brigades… So by Allah, we will take revenge! By Allah, we will take revenge!” The Phoenix Weekly piece stresses that China is first on Baghdadi’s terror hit list.

Phoenix Weekly cover story on Islamic State threat to China

On July 1, Breitbart News reported on a map released by the Islamic State that showcased its five-year plan, where the terror group laid out what territories it would takeover to expand its caliphate. The map appeared to show a large swath of northwest China in its expansion plan.

Islamic State’s 5-year plan

There has already been a dramatic increase of Islamic terror attacks within China’s sovereign borders.

China has been dealing with a surge in Uyghur Muslims committing acts of terrorism in its Xianjiang region in the country’s northwest. Many of the Chinese radicals are part of the East Turkestan Islamic movement, a fundamentalist faction that shares the goal of the Islamic State, which seeks an Islamic caliphate in Xinjiang, a region of 21 million. They sport the flag of Jihad, which is used by al-Qaeda and its offshoots.

Flag of Jihad

On May 22, Uyghur Islamists carried out a terror attack on a crowded market in the regional capital of Urumqi, killing 39 people in a suicide bombing.

On March 1, knife-wielding Uyghurs stabbed and killed 29 innocents in an Islamic terror attack known as the Kunming station massacre.