TAIPEI — The latest piece of ISIS propaganda is a four-minute Chinese-language song released over the weekend on the Islamic terror group's official website Jihadology.
Taiwan's Central News Agency (CNA) is reporting that the song, which first appeared Sunday, is entitled "We Are Mujahid" and features a vocal chorus in Chinese urging would-be jihadists to join their fight. The Mandarin lyrics include: "Muslim brothers wake up," and repeats the refrain "We are mujahideen," using the Arabic term for those who take up jihad holy war. There are also phrases extoling the virtue of martyrdom: "Our dream is to die on the battlefield', the Taiwanese news agency quoted from the terrorist group's website.
Chen Shimin, associate professor of political science at National Taiwan University, told the United Daily News service that in the Islamic State's founding document announced last year that its territory covers Xinjiang, the northwest region of China that borders Afghanistan and Pakistan.
It would appear that the latest Chinese-language song is aimed at recruiting from among the Chinese region's Uighur Muslim minority. Professor Chen cited reports of some Uighur having joined the terrorist movement in Iraq and Syria.
Arthur S. Ding, Director of the Institute of International Relations at Taiwan's National Chengchi University said that mainland China is much more vulnerable to an Islamist attack than Taiwan, due to Beijing authorities' oppressive rule and mass Han Chinese immigration to Xinjiang.