Crowds cheer up an Olympic torch bearer at Jiuzhou Stadium.
Chinese Islamic Group Threatens Attack at Olympics
By
AP
Story Created:
Aug 7, 2008
Story Updated:
Aug 7, 2008
BEIJING, China — An Islamic group that has threatened to attack the Summer Games released a new video claiming the communist regime's alleged mistreatment of Muslims justifies holy war, a U.S. group that monitors militant communications said Thursday.
In the video, a representative of the Turkistan Islamic Party accuses China of forcing Muslims into atheism and destroying Islamic schools, according to the SITE Institute. SITE says the group issued the video on Wednesday.
The representative says China's birth control program has forced abortions upon Muslim women. He also reiterated threats against the Olympics made in a previous video last month and urged Muslims to stay away from the games.
News of the video came just hours after U.S. President George W. Bush landed in Beijing for a three day visit to attend the games opening ceremony and some sports events.
The video was in the Turkic language of the Uighurs, a largely Muslim minority in western China with a long history of tense relations with the government.
The Turkistan Islamic Party is believed to be based across the border in Pakistan, where security experts say it has received training from Al Qaeda.