Hasan Mahsum

Hasan Mahsum (or Hassan Makhdum), also known as Abu-Muhammad al-Turkestani and Ashan Sumut, was the leader of the Islamic extremist group East Turkestan Islamic Party, and suspected of having ties with Al Qaeda.^[2] He was shot dead in a counter-terrorism operation on October 2, 2003 by the Pakistani Army.^[3]

Political activities

Anyone who is familiar with the battles that the mujahideen are engaged in today will know that the path of Jihad is the only path to prevent attacks and injustice [against us]... and, the suffering of the Americans is on the rise in Iraq due to the operations of the mujahideen... As a result of these operations, America was forced to withdraw fr om Iraq, and still it has not learned its lesson. Today, it is once again drinking [from] the cup of failure in Afghanistan as it gasps for breath, [looking] to avoid defeat and withdrawal—and now it is fighting the dizziness of death. Those kind of results could never have been achieved with writings and speeches.

Meanwhile, with regards to the situation in East Turkestan which was once part of the Islamic nation and is now under the domination of the unjust infidel Communists, the confrontation is still ongoing between the mujahideen and the invading occupiers. And, Allah-willing, the operations of the mujahideen in East Turkestan will make the Chinese suffer just as America suffered in Iraq and Afghanistan, from shame, sc andal, and defeat... In 1997, the mujahideen of East Turkestan gathered under the leadership of Commander Hasan Mahsum beyond the borders of our land, and they were graced by choosing the path of training within the shadow of the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan— as they were prohibited and forbidden from doing so in their own country because of the Chinese occupation. We used to be able to live in our land, and we knew the ways of living, but we abandoned our homes in order to support the oppressed and to remove the injustices committed against all Muslims. [We left] in order to try and gain our sovereignty from communist China, and for the sake of providing our people a carefree and happy existence under the shadow of the Quran and Sunnah. During this period of time, a large number of mujahideen from East Turkestan received training... Later, during this critical period, the Islamic Emirate in Afghanistan was destroyed at the hands of the Zionist-Crusader assault launched under the lead of America... Nonetheless, the mujahideen of East Turkestan were able to continue their jihadi operations even after the collapse of the Islamic Emirate, thanks be to Allah.

— TIP Narrator, "Steadfastness and Preparations for Jihad in the Cause of Allah." Turkestan Islamic Party (TIP), January 20, 2009.^[4]

Abdul Hameed, Abdul Azeez Makhdoom, and Abdul Hakeem Makhdoom launched the Islamic Party of Turkistan in 1940.^[5] After being set free from prison in 1979, Abdul Hakeem instructed Hasan Mahsum and other Uyghurs in fundamentalist Islam.^[6]

In 1989 Zeydin Yusup started the group which was originally called East Turkistan Islamic Party(ETIP).^[5][7] The movement was reshuffled by Hasan Mahsum and Abudukadir Yapuquan in 1997 into its present incarnation.^[8][9]

Mahsum, a native of Shule (Kunixar) County, became involved with the East Turkestan independence movement early in his life; in his late 20s, he was already a lecturer at a training camp in Yecheng County, preaching Jihad and advocating the use of violence against Chinese authorities.^[10] He was arrested in October 1993 by the Chinese police for terrorist activities and sentenced to three years of re-education through labour.^[11] After fleeing China in 1997 to Mecca, Mahsum joined the Taliban^[12] and lived in Afghanistan and Pakistan; he held an Afghan passport issued by the Taliban. In early 1999, he was said to have met with Osama bin Laden, who offered him US$300,000 of financial assistance for the East Turkestan Islamic Movement in the following year;^[13] Mahsum himself denied any connection with bin Laden.^[14] The Chinese government has accused him of directing a series of violent terrorist activities including robbery and murder in Urumqi on February 4, 1999 and violent murders in the Khotan region on December 14, 1999;^[15] it is believed that these attacks were carried out by an operative of his named Mutalif Kasim.^[10]

Uyghur detainees at Guantanamo bay have confessed that they were trained by Abdul Haq and Hassan Mahsum in Afghanistan, Abdul Haq was the leader who threatened terror attacks on the 2008 Beijing Olympics, sits on the Shura Council of al-Qaeda, and subscribes to the methodology of al-Qaeda.^[16]

In 2014 Turkistan Islamic Party in Syria released a video series called "Blessings for the strangers" (طوبى للغرباء) (طوبا للغرباء).^{[17][18][19][20][21][22][23][24][25][26][27]} In the second video of the series, the leader of TIP in Syria Abu Rida al-Turkestani (أبو رضا التركستاني) read out a document with an Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan (Taliban) letterhead, detailing the history of the founding of the Turkistan Islamic Party by Hasan Mahsum and "East Turkstani immigrants" when they moved to Taliban controlled Afghanistan, gave allegiance to Mullah Omar and founded the organization.^{[21][28][29][30]}

Turkistan Islamic Party leader Abdullah Mansur wrote an article on the sayings of TIP leader Hassan Makhdum (حسن مخدوم) in the 2nd edition of the "Islamic Turkistan" magazine.^[31]

"The Pride of Turkistan" nasheed video showed footage of Hasan Mahsum.^[32][33] “Your Giving to the Lord” nasheed video showed an image of Hasan Mahsum and Hu Jintao and an image of Osama Bin Laden and George Bush.^[34][35]

In 2015 the Turkistan Islamic Party (East Turkistan Islamic Movement) released an image showing Al Qaeda leaders Ayman al Zawahiri and Osama Bin Laden meeting with Hasan Mahsum.^[36][37]

The Uyghurs East Turkestan independence movement was endorsed in the serial "Islamic Spring”'s 9th release by Ayman Al-Zawahiri, the chief of Al-Qaeda. Zawahiri confirmed that the Afghanistan war after 9/11 included the participation of Uighurs and that the jihadists like Zarwaqi, Bin Ladin and the Uighur Hasan Mahsum were provided with refuge together in Afghanistan under Taliban rule.^[38]

The Turkistan Islamic Party in Syria's Islam Awazi media arm released a "Visual Nasheed" (النشيد المرئي) titled "Wake Up Oh Muslim Ummah" (استيقظي يا أمة الإسلام), beginning with a speech by Hasan Mahsum. The end of the nasheed video featured TIP fighters burning a Syrian flag, the burning of a portrait of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, and footage of the September 11 attacks on the World Trade Center, with the Uyghur language subtitles of the nasheed referring to the "Kafirlar" (كافرلار) (infidels) when the destruction of the World Trade Center towers was shown on the video.^[39]

The Turkistan Islamic Party in Syria released "Blessed Are the Strangers #6" featuring a speech by Hasan Mahsum, as well as by Army of Conquest leader Abdullah al-Muhaysini and Ahrar ash-Sham member Abdurazak al Mahdi.^[40]

Doğu Türkistan Bülteni Haber Ajansı mentioned a brief history of the TIP, from Zeyiddin Yusuf founding it in 1988 in "East Turkestan", to its participation in the 1990 riots and insurgency, its "jihad in the path of Allah", its migration in 1996 under Hasan Mahsum to the Taliban controlled Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, and its war since 2001 against the "Crusaders" for 15 years in the "Afghan jihad", to 2012, when it entered the SYrian Civil War. It released a video showing footage of its battles in Syria including at Abu Dhuhur.^[41]

Doğu Türkistan Bülteni Haber Ajansı interviewed Turkistan Islamic Party leader Abdullah Mansur and claimed that the Communists killed 60 million Uyghurs, attacking the idea of democracy and attacking America, saying that Uighurs should follow the "prophetic methodology" of jihad and that only Alalh would provide victory, attacking South Sudan and East Timor, claiming “East Turkistan” is an integral part of Islam and the Islamic Ummah, talking about Hasan Mahsum bringing the Turkistan Islamic Party in 1997 to the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan and the Turkistan Islamic Party’s allegiance to the Taliban.^[42]

Death

Chinese, Pakistani, and US officials confirmed that Mahsum was shot dead in an early-morning raid on a suspected al-Qaeda training camp by the Pakistan Army in South Waziristan, near the Afghan border, on October 2, 2003.^[43] The Pakistani army attacked an al-Qaeda hideout in South Waziristan near the border with Afghanistan on 2 October 2003, shooting and killing eight terrorists, including Mahsum. The Beijing News and International Herald Leader initially reported that the United States worked with Pakistan in a joint counter-terrorism operation, but Major General Shaukat Sultan, a spokesman for the Pakistani military, denied U.S. military involvement. Sultan said "DNA tests were conducted to determine it was him." The Chinese government assisted in identifying his body.^[3]

Testimony of Uyghur inmates at Guantanamo Bay on Hasan Mahsum

Several of the Uyghur captives in Guantanamo acknowledged having met or having seen, an individual named Hassan Mahsum at a camp in eastern Afghanistan in mid to late 2001.

The purpose of the camp outside of Jalalabad, Afghanistan, where the Uighurs lived for months prior to the United States invasion of Afghanistan, is disputed. Many of the Uyghur captives in Guantanamo claimed that the camp was simply a place for Uyghurs fleeing "Chinese oppression" gathered. Seema Saifee, a lawyer for four of the Uyghurs called the camp an "expatriate village in the mountains."^[44] The United States Intelligence Community considers the camp to be a terrorist training facility hosted by the Taliban and funded by Al Qaida. The camp was located in Nangarhar Province, a majority Pashtun area known for its support of the Taliban, and was surrounded by Al Qaida training camps such as the Derunta Camp.

Abdullah Abdulqadirakhum

Uyghur captive Abdullah Abdulqadirakhum identified Hasan Mahsum as the man who provided him with training on the AK-47.^[45]

American intelligence analysts identified the camp the Uyghurs were constructing as a militant training camp, and alleged that the Taliban and al Qaeda were sponsoring the Uyghur's military training there. Abdulqadirakhum, and the other Uyghurs, all said the training they were provided was minimal, lasting a few hours, at most, and that most of their time and energy was consumed in their construction work.

Some of the Uyghurs denied receiving any training. They said it was optional, and they had opted out. All the Uyghurs, except Abdulqadirakhum, who acknowledged receiving some training, identified a fellow Uyghur named Abdul Haq as their trainer.

Abdulqadirakhum said that Maksum was killed during the US bombing campaign.

Bahtiyar Mahnut

Uyghur captive Bahtiyar Mahnut testified that he saw Mahsum visit the camp once.^[46] Bahtiyar Mahnut acknowledged that Hassam Mashum was a Uyghur leader. He disputed, however, that he was a leader of the Eastern Turkistan Islamic Movement [sic], the Eastern Turkestan Organization [sic] or the Eastern Turkistan Islamic Party. He testified that during their long resistance to Chinese occupation the Uyghur people had formed a number of groups with names similar to those mentioned in the allegations, but, to the best of his knowledge, Hassan Mashum was a leader of the Freedom Movement Party or the Freedom Organization

Bahtiyar Mahnut did not find the allegation that Hassan Mashum would be allied to al Qaeda credible.^[46]

Adel Noori

The Summary of Evidence memo prepared for Uyghur captive Adel Noori first annual Administrative Review Board stated:^[47]

The detainee traveled to a Uighur safe house in Kabul, Afghanistan to receive training. The Emir of the safe house was Hassan Mahsum, the leader of the East Tajikistan Islamic Party [sic]. Hassan Mahsum visited the safe house a few days after detainee arrived at the safe house in August 2001, and again at the onset of the United States bombing campaign in October 2001. Hassan Maksoon (ph) oversees the operation of a small school in Kabul, Afghanistan where groups of three Uighurs train in Islam and light weapons operations.

References

External links

• Spokesperson's remarks on the Death of Hasan Mahsum, Head of the "East Turkistan Islamic Movement
• al-Qaeda suspect identified
• Chinese terrorist killed by Pakistan Army
• China-Pakistan Military Exercises
• Uyghur Separatist Denies Links to Taliban, Al-Qaeda
• China's terror list and its implications