US embassy cable - 03BEIJING13289

C O N F I D E N T I A L  BEIJING 013289 
 
 
THIS IS A CHENGDU CABLE 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 09/18/2008 
TAGS: PHUM, KIRF, PGOV, CH 
SUBJECT: CHARISMATIC MUSLIM CLERIC SHUT DOWN BY KUNMING 
ISLAMIC ASSOCIATION 
 
Classified By: Consul General David Bleyle. 
Reasons: 1.5 (b) and (d) 
 
1. (C) Summary.  An independent Muslim cleric in 
Kunming, Yunnan Province, was banned from preaching by 
local Islamic officials after he began to attract 
large crowds to his mosque.  Although qualified as an 
Imam, the cleric got on the wrong side of Chinese 
officialdom after he traveled as a youth to study at a 
madrasa in Pakistan without permission.  End Summary. 
 
Popular Imam Banned in Kunming 
------------------------------ 
 
2. (C) The local Islamic Association in Kunming, 
capital of Yunnan Province, has banned a popular 
independent Muslim cleric from preaching and teaching, 
the cleric's wife told ConGenOff recently.  The 
cleric, Ma Jingxin (strictly protect, had been drawing 
crowds to his sermons at the Wang Qi Yin Mosque, 
northeast of Kunming's city center.  Official 
tolerance for Ma ran out earlier this year, when he 
was told he could no longer serve as an Imam at the 
mosque. 
 
Increased Attendance Drew Attention 
----------------------------------- 
 
3. (C) Before Ma began teaching at the Wang Qi Yin 
Mosque in early 2001, only a few dozen men would 
appear for Friday prayers and the madrasa had only 
about ten students.  Under his guidance, the mosque 
thrived, Ma's wife told us.  Hundreds would show up on 
Fridays, and madrasa enrollment increased to around 
seventy.  Attendance began to decline again after Ma 
stopped leading the congregation.  Ma was not 
prevented from visiting the mosque, and still goes 
there almost daily to pray and meet with other 
adherents. 
 
A "Bad Element" 
--------------- 
 
4. (C) As a youth, Ma had traveled to Pakistan-- 
without official permission--to study in a madrasa. 
When he returned to China, he was declared ineligible 
for government employment and barred from leadership 
roles in China's officially sanctioned Islamic 
organizations.  Although qualified as an Imam, and 
respected as such by many of his peers, he was 
prevented from serving as one.  Many others who went 
abroad to study Islam had been similarly blackballed, 
Mrs. Ma stated. 
 
Background Note 
--------------- 
 
5. (C) ConGenOff first met Ma, a Chinese Muslim or 
"Hui," during a personal visit to Kunming in 1996, 
when Ma offered to sell him some examples of his 
calligraphy.  Ma uses traditional Chinese materials 
(paper, ink and brush) to write prayers and sayings in 
Arabic, creating a unique form of Islamic art with 
Chinese characteristics.  Ma was not at home when 
ConGenOff sought him out during a recent visit to 
Kunming, but his wife was eager to share his story. 
 
6. (C) The area where Ma lives, in the heart of the 
former Muslim quarter, has been greatly diminished in 
the past seven years.  Most of the quarter's old 
houses were torn down to make way for a park that 
serves occupants of adjacent high-rise apartments.  A 
small neighborhood mosque still stands, though Ma's 
family has had conflicts with its leadership. 
 
Comment 
------- 
 
7. (C) Historically, relations between Hui and non- 
Muslim Chinese in Yunnan have been rocky and, 
occasionally, violent.  As an "unlicensed" Imam, Ma 
was able to preach as long as he did not attract 
attention to himself.  When the crowds grew too large, 
authorities apparently stepped in to shut him down. 
Presumably, recent global events have also led local 
authorities to be more mindful of Islamic activism, 
particularly when coupled with unsanctioned teachings 
from foreign schools. 
 
MARINE