Research On The "Inner Mongolia Islam Campaign" Of The Japanese Military Department

The "Islam Campaign Inner Mongolia" of the Japanese military is an important part of its Islamic Campaign in China.In addition,according to Inner Mongolia’s special strategic position,it can infiltrate northwest China with Inner Mongolia as the center,in an attempt to establish a "Communist Defense Corridor" with Japan as the core in northwest China.There are three stages in the implementation of "Islamic Campaign in Inner Mongolia" by the Japanese military,which are the beginning,implementation,and expansion of the concept.The first is the conception stage.China’s Muslims have a large population and are widely distributed,and their geographical locations are generally in extremely important frontier areas.Moreover,due to historical factors,there are constant conflicts and serious estrangement between the Hui and Han ethnic groups.Accordingly,Japan believes that it can better help it promote its East Asian policy by launching an Islamic policy.Japan had a preliminary understanding of the Islamic world when it carried out its westward strategy,and realized the importance of Islamic Campaign in the process of building the anti-communist corridor.In 1933,Takashi Matsushiro,who was then the head of the Chengde spy agency in Jehol Province,proposed the concept of "returning to China".Based on this concept,the Kwantung Army began to formally issue documents and issue guidelines for Islamic Campaign.The second is the implementation stage.After the establishment of the puppet Manchukuo,the Kwantung Army hoped to further advance westward.In the process,a puppet Mongolian regime was established in the western part of Inner Mongolia with the help of the Islamic policy.The Japanese military department established the Good Neighbor Association,under which the Muslim Ministry was established to implement policies and work for the specialization of Muslims.At the same time,Japan used the original civil religious organizations in Inner Mongolia to merge and reorganize them to form the Northwest Muslim Federatio.Under the association,schools and hospitals were established,with the purpose of cultivating educational intelligence personnel and medical personnel and assisting Japan ’ s military operations.The above-mentioned institutions have carried out a series of activities under the control of the Japanese side.On the surface,they win over the Hui people,but in fact they violate the interests of the majority of the Hui people.Economically,through the double purchase price and differentiated treatment of Hui and Han merchants,it can not only win over Hui people and lay the foundation for further advance to the northwest,but also incite conflicts between Hui and Han ethnic groups and increase the estrangement between the two ethnic groups.The third is the expansion stage.After the establishment of the Army in Mongolia,it actively planned the Islamic policy,combined the Campaign of Islam with the Campaign in the northwest,and based on the Hui people in Inner Mongolia,it moved closer to the northwest of China,intending to win over the northwest warlords.The army stationed in Mongolia has also organized local Muslims to form an investigation team to visit Japan many times,and established a Muslim women’s school,selected local young Muslims,and used their identities to subtly influence ordinary Muslims,and to show the strength of Japan,and to induce Muslims to take advantage of Japan.Generate a sense of admiration.Although the northwestern warlords were dissatisfied with the rule of the Kuomintang government,they eventually joined the anti-Japanese national united front and fought against Japan together,and they were not deceived by the Japanese.The fourth is the final stage.Due to factors such as Japan’s strategic shift,the military’s Islamic work throughout northwest China declined in the 1940 s.The Islam Campaign implemented by the Military Department in Inner Mongolia has brought many influences to the local society and Muslims,the most important of which is to stimulate their national consciousness and strengthen their sense of belonging to the Chinese nation.In addition to Islamic work,Japan also carried out lamaism in inner Mongolia.By comparing the similarities and differences,it is found that the essence of the Japanese authorities’ use of religion is to use the control method of religious theology and folk superstition to serve the Japanese invasion,in which case the local ethnic groups,whether material or spiritual,are controlled by the Japanese side,and the Japanese side can carry out long-term occupation of the Inner Mongolia region.The essence of the use of religion by the Japanese authorities is to use religion as a tool of aggression instead of respecting the original connotation and nature of religion.Such "religious" activities are destined to receive no support from believers.Japan’s invasion of China made the contradiction of foreign invasion a major contradiction that the entire Chinese nation must face.Under such circumstances,it is an inevitable trend for Hui leaders and the masses to resist the Japanese aggressors.