After Xinjiang, China targets mosques in other provinces, says report

The Chinese government's campaign of mosque closures, previously reported in Xinjiang (autonomous northwest territory), has spread to other regions, as stated in a Human Rights Watch report. Released on Wednesday, November 22, the report supported these claims with public documents, satellite imagery, and witness testimonies from the northern Ningxia region and Gansu province, where the Hui Muslim population resides.

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Consolidation process

• The mosque closures are part of a process officially termed "consolidation," a practice that has raised concerns about religious freedom.
• The report highlights the removal of architectural features like domes and minarets from mosques to align them more closely with Chinese aesthetics.

• The process reflects the Chinese Communist Party Government's broader agenda of "Sinicization."
• President Xi Jinping's 2016 call for the "Sinicization" of religions, a directive that initially targeted Xinjiang.
• The crackdown, initially concentrated on Uyghur and other Muslim minorities, has now expanded to regions with sizable Hui Muslim populations.

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• The report says that the Chinese government's actions violate religious freedom, contrary to the Chinese claim of merely "consolidating" them.
• Maya Wang, acting China director at Human Rights Watch, said, "The Chinese government’s closure, destruction and repurposing of mosques is part of a systematic effort to curb the practice of Islam in China."

• In Ningxia's Liaoqiao and Chuankou villages, authorities reportedly dismantled the domes and minarets of seven mosques and razed the main buildings of three between 2019 and 2021.
• The report also includes videos and pictures posted online, along with satellite imagery, to corroborate these claims.

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As per the 2010 census, China has a population of around 10.5 million Hui Muslims.

Crimes against humanity in Xinjiang

• A United Nations report from 2022 suggested that China may have committed "crimes against humanity" in Xinjiang, including the construction of internment camps holding over a million Uyghurs and other Muslim minorities.
• The leaked "Xinjiang Papers," indicated that the Chinese government issued instructions in 2018 to strengthen the standardised management of Islamic religious places of worship.

• The report highlights that the Chinese authorities' actions extend beyond Xinjiang, with decommissioning, closure, demolition, or conversion of mosques occurring in other regions as well.

According to the Associated Press, the Chinese Foreign Ministry has not provided immediate responses to queries about the report and the official policies toward Muslim minorities.

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