Ningxia plots to destroy mosques

A picture of the document
ordering the destruction
of “Arab-style” and
“Saudi-style” mosques.
(Photo: ChinaAid)

ChinaAid

(Ningxia, China—Feb. 20, 2018) Mosques in a county of China’s north-central Ningxia face arbitrary demolition after local authorities issued a document calling for the demolition of all “Arab-style” and “Saudi-style” buildings, echoing practices in China’s politically restive Xinjiang region.

The Implementation Plan for the Religious Venues’ Program in Zhongning County proposed eight different strategies for banning mosques. It demanded that mosques must fly the national flag, and bookstores and newsstands must be allowed to operate within the venue. Second, all “Arab-style” and “Saudi-style” buildings must be destroyed and replaced by “Chinese-style” mosques. Additionally, the temples that have “Arab-style” rooms must be destroyed before the end of March.

The plan also prohibits minors from entering the mosque for religious study, and elementary and middle school students may not go there during their summer and winter breaks. The household registries, addresses, and related credentials should come under investigation, according to the document. Finally, the mosque’s construction time, approval time, and audit units must be made clear, and communication via large speakers or radio is prohibited.

An anonymous Muslim told ChinaAid, “The mosque’s so-called ‘Arab-style’ and ‘Saudi-style’ are nonsense. In essence the mosque has no national or ethnic style. It is just a place for prayer, and only the Chinese Communist Party uses this method to find excuses to make things difficult for people to pray. They don’t have another reason besides this.”

Another unnamed Muslim likened the demolition of mosques to China’s destruction of Christian churches, which erupted in a cross and church obliteration campaign in China’s coastal Zhejiang province, done under the guise of “demolishing illegal structures.”

ChinaAid reports the abuses suffered by these Muslims in order to secure religious freedom for people across China and promote human rights and rule of law.


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Ningxia plots to destroy mosques

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