ATLAS ANALYSIS - East Turkestan Islamic Movement (ETIM)

The East Turkestan Islamic Movement (ETIM) is an Islamic separatist group composed mostly of Uighurs in Xinjiang, China who wish to create an Islamic state called East Turkestan that would include parts of Turkey, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan, Pakistan, Afghanistan and Xinjiang. The ETIM was founded in 1997 by Hasan Mahsoum. The US, beginning in the Trump administration, asserts that TIP and ETIM are two separate entities and have removed what they consider to be ETIM from the Terrorist Exclusion List, citing a lack of activity despite the fact that Uighur fighters are present in Syria and Afghanistan. According to a State Department spokesperson, "ETIM was removed from the list because, for more than a decade, there has been no credible evidence that ETIM continues to exist as the same organization that was conducting terrorist attacks in Syria at the time of their designation." This stance has continued with the Biden administration.In this episode, our host Joey speaks to Jeff Hanrahan, one of our writers, about the group. We explore its history within the Xinjiang province, as well as controversy surround the group's existence, leadership, and activities.Our article on the ETIM → https://www.moderninsurgent.org/post/east-turkestan-islamic-movement-etim