MW Monitoring: Islamic State Khurasan Province's Recent Anti-China Propaganda
The Islamic State’s (IS) Af-Pak province has become by far the most hawkish anti-China IS branch. In recent months, the Islamic State Khurasan Province (ISKP), and the greater regional movement it inspires, have produced and disseminated a high level of propaganda scorning and threatening China as well as criticizing Beijing’s relations with the Taliban.
This brief will examine imagery and messaging/narratives from anti-China propaganda published by the ISKP movement in South and Central Asia from August until the present.
Background and Context
In early September, the Islamic State Khurasan Province published its most detailed critique of China to date. Rhetorical hostilities were markedly rising prior, however, the article titled “China’s Daydream of Imperialism” (published in Voice of Khurasan magazine) was far more China-focused and in-depth than any of ISKP’s previous propaganda releases discussing the Asian giant.
The article accused China of having the “ambition of conquering the world and establishing their own power sphere.” This, ISKP says, puts the “tyrants” on a collision course with the Islamic State, and they will ultimately be unable “to protect themselves from the sharp knives of the caliphate’s soldiers.”