Chinese authorities have been systematically cracking down on Muslim minorities in the country, notably in the northwestern region of Xinjiang, where around a million Uighurs are being held in detention camps.
But the repressive measures are steadily extending into other regions, with local reports of the destruction of mosques and the removal of Islamic symbols in Ningxia and Gansu Provinces, home to large numbers of the country’s Hui Muslim community
The Keriya Mosque located in the Southern Xinjiang was built in 1237, that went through a major renovation in the 1980s, and 1990s and then later in 2016, it was pictured as a beautiful site with thousands of worshippers. In the late-2017, it was also listed as a Chinese architectural heritage. As of today, a satellite image showed that there is no sign of that mosque right now.
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According to Forbes, the website Bellingcat picked up the claims and confirmed that at least two mosques “have undergone significant structural changes,” in Bellingcat’s words. Those structural changes appear to be complete destruction, but without visiting the site, such confirmation is impossible.
Though government officials in December 2016 refused to say how many mosques were destroyed, an investigation by RFA’s Uyghur Service indicated that around 5,000 mosques were demolished over the three months.
今天 4月11号，共产党暴力强拆甘肃省临夏市折桥噶庄清真寺 pic.twitter.com/5kbFoDRPJ5
— Erkin_Azat (@Erkin_Azat) April 11, 2019
Government has made a new policy which states that the Chinese flag should fly on the top of every mosque and all the Islamic symbols should be removed publically.
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Muslim countries, many of which are deeply indebted to China through its Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), have failed to condemn or have actively supported what China is doing in Xinjiang. Yet the track record of western governments was such as bad.
