China, State Imams Told They Should Preach the Message of the Third CCP Plenum

Muslim leaders are mobilized to convey in Islamic gatherings the idea that Xi Jinping is the “Great Reformer” and should be unconditionally obeyed.

by Ma Wenyan

*Islamic leaders gathered to launch the campaign to promote the Third Plenum through the mosques. From Weibo.*

It looked like July’s Third Plenum of the 20^th Central Committee of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) did not pay much attention to religion. However, religions are now told that they should pay attention to the Third Plenum.

A campaign telling Muslim state-controlled imams that they should preach about the Third Plenum is being promoted by the China Islamic Association. The official launch of the campaign was on July 22 when Yang Faming, the leader of the China Islamic Association, conducted a session to discuss and adopt the principles set forth by the Third Plenum.

The study of the Plenum document was guided by China Islamic Association’s Vice President and Secretary General Ma Zhongping. All national officials of the China Islamic Association were present at the event, whose statements are now being disseminated to Muslim places of worship throughout the country.

*China Islamic Association’s President Yang Faming. From Weibo.*

The meeting highlighted the imperative that Muslim teaching should be guided by Xi Jinping’s Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era. It called for intense engagement with “Xi Jinping’s crucial perspectives on religious affairs” and a renewed vow that Muslims should follow and obey “unconditionally” the CCP and its Central Committee. The attendees were asked to reaffirm their “commitment to maintaining the trajectory of incorporating Islam into Chinese culture and fostering a unified sense of identity within the Chinese nation.”

The assembly resolved to “firmly align thought and action with the decisions of the Plenum, using socialist core values as a compass.” A press release forwarded to all state-controlled mosques invited imams to act “as a conduit between the Party, the government, and the religious populace.”

It also asked imams to emphasize in their sermons and teachings the central theme of the Plenum, i.e., that Xi Jinping is the “great reformer” and the authorized heir of Deng Xiaoping’s policy of “reform and opening up.”