As China's clampdown on imams continues, mosques in Xinjiang disappear: Report

As China’s clampdown on religious minorities including Uyghurs continues unphased, several mosques in the western region of the country show no signs that it is home to a religious site. As per reports, the places of worship for Muslims in Xinjiang are well hidden behind the propaganda signs and walls placed by the ruling Chinese Communist Party. Since Muslim’s holy month of Ramadan began in late April, the Associated Press had reported that ‘under the weight of official policies, the future of Islam appears precarious in Xinjiang’ as the government imposed some limitations on religious practises.

China’s crackdown has grown more intense as BBC reported that CCP to date, had imprisoned or detained at least 630 imams and other Muslim religious figures since 2014 in the Xinjiang region. Uyghur rights group shared with the media publication that they found evidence that 18 clerics had died in detention or shortly after. As per the report, experts have also said that about 16,000 mosques have been destroyed in Xinjiang which is nearly two-thirds of the total.

Earlier a report by the Australian Strategic Policy Institute (ASPI) made a shocking revelation and concluded after using satellite imagery that thousands of mosques in Xinjiang have either been damaged or destroyed in just three years. This has now left fewer mosques in Xinjiang than at any time since the Cultural Revolution reportedly began in the Asian country. The think tank had also said in September last year that the Chinese government claims that there were more than 24,000 mosques in Xinjiang and had assured commitment to safeguarding the sites. However, less than 15,000 mosques remain standing with more than half of those damaged.

Mosque demolition in China

As per reports, in the last several years, many mosques have lost their domes and minarets as CCP's part of "renovation" but removing most distinguishing features of all mosques. The Nanguam Mosque, whose green-coloured dome was completely transformed by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), was built during the late Ming dynasty between 1369-1644 and all signs of Islam are now removed. It was also one of the most revered Mosques for the minority group in the Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region which reportedly is the home to the largest community of Hui Muslims in the Asian country. 

What is also known as ‘cultural whitewash’ in a bid to decrease the impact of Islam has been taking place in China, according to a report by Daily Mail. Prior to the largest mosque in the Ningxia region, the government had renovated the Arab-style domes along with other traditional elements from mosques in Linxia, a city popularly known as ‘Little Mecca’. The state campaigns against Muslims have even escalated since Chinese President Xi Jinping because of the General Secretary of the Chinese Communist Party. 

Religious freedom in China ‘deteriorating’

Meanwhile, United States has lambasted Xi Jinping-led government in China and Imran Khan-led government in Pakistan over the appalling condition of religious freedom among ethnic minorities. The US Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) said in its report, “In 2019, religious freedom conditions in China continued to deteriorate. The Chinese government has created a high-tech surveillance state, utilizing facial recognition and artificial intelligence to monitor religious minorities.” 

The commission also cited independent expert findings to state that up to 1.8 million Uyghurs and other Muslim minority community members are detained in over 1,300 concentration camps in Xinjiang. The camps increasingly converted from reeducation to forced labour, the report states.

The report says, “Independent experts estimate that between 900,000 and 1.8 million Uighur, Kazakh, Kyrgyz, and other Muslims have been detained in more than 1,300 concentration camps in Xinjiang—an estimate revised upward since the previous reporting period. Individuals have been sent to the camps for wearing long beards, refusing alcohol, or other behaviours authorities deem to be signs of “religious extremism.” 

“During 2019, the camps increasingly transitioned from reeducation to forced labour as detainees were forced to work in cotton and textile factories. Outside the camps, the government continued to deploy officials to live with Muslim families and to report on any signs of “extremist” religious behaviour,” it added.

(With inputs from AP/ ANI)