In a direct challenge to China’s government, the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS) militant group released a propaganda video in Mandarin for the first time to recruit Muslims in the country.

The four-minute video released on Sunday featured a song with lyrics such as “it’s our dream to die fighting on the battlefield”, “pick up your weapons to revolt”, and “the shameless enemy would panic”.

It contained China-specific references, like how the Muslims have been “enslaved for a century”, that mirror the country’s own political rhetoric on its century of humiliation due to foreign invasion.

… Singapore-based terrorism expert Rohan Gunaratna of the S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies said the video is part of a rivalry between the ISIS and the Al-Nusra terror group in recruiting Chinese nationals.

“There are now nearly 1,000 Chinese fighting for various groups in Syria, with more joining the Al-Nusra group than ISIS. The video is ISIS’ move in attracting more Chinese nationals,” he told The Straits Times.