Demolished Mosques and Destroyed Graveyards

The Chinese Communist Party (CCP) is enforcing the physical destruction and closure of Mosques in East Turkistan. The Guardian and Bellingcat reported that 16000 mosques and Islamic shrines out of 91 sites analyzed had been destroyed or nearly destroyed between 2016 and 2018 [1]. Keriya Heytagh Mosque in Hotan, which carries religious significance for Uyghurs, is also among the mosques that were damaged by the CCP. Beijing equips mosques with surveillance systems. The Guardian reports that visitors must register with their ID to enter the facilities. This practice led to a decrease in the number of visitors.

Chinese officials hide cultural and religious destruction under the guise of “improvement.” The “policies to update the mosques include adding electricity, roads, news broadcasts, radios and televisions, ‘cultural bookstores,’ and toilets”[2]. These changes gradually take away the religious and sacred nature of mosques. Those who survive the complete demolition are repurposed into public spaces [3]. The goal here is not the sincere betterment of worship places, but to cut the ties between the next generation of Uyghurs and their culture which differs from the Han Chinese culture.

Beijing does not stop at damaging mosques but also attacks Uyghur burial grounds. CNN found through satellite images that more than 100 graveyards were demolished by the Chinese authorities. The attack on the Uyghur cemeteries is only one of many strategies used by the CCP to control the Islamic beliefs held by the Uyghurs in East Turkistan and China’s Muslim minorities. The Chinese government would not even deny that they are destroying these cemeteries. They claim that the graves were moved “to meet the demand of city planning and promote construction” [4]. This pretext is just a cover for China being intolerant of any sort of Islamic practices and cultural differences. 

References

[1]JESSICA AYA HARN 2ND DECEMBER 2020. Ibid.https://themuslimvibe.com/muslim-current-affairs-news/china-has-destroyed-65-of-the-mosques-in-east-turkestan-as-part-of-the-ongoing-genocide-against-uyghur-muslims

Kuo, Lily. 2019. “Revealed: New Evidence of China’s Mission to Raze the Mosques of Xinjiang.” The Guardian, May 7, 2019, sec. World news. https://www.theguardian.com/world/2019/may/07/revealed-new-evidence-of-chinas-mission-to-raze-the-mosques-of-xinjiang
[2] Ibid.
[3] “Wrecked Mosques, Police Watch: A Tense Ramadan in Xinjiang.” 2019. France 24. June 7, 2019. https://www.france24.com/en/20190607-wrecked-mosques-police-watch-tense-ramadan-xinjiang
[4] CNN, Matt Rivers. n.d. “More than 100 Uyghur Graveyards Demolished by Chinese Authorities.” CNN. Accessed July 3, 2020. https://www.cnn.com/2020/01/02/asia/xinjiang-uyghur-graveyards-china-intl-hnk/index.html