China increases activities to destroy Islamic structures

Beijing : China has been increasingly carrying out activities to deprive the Muslim community in the northwest region from openly expressing their Islamic faith, as authorities have reportedly destroyed the domes and minarets on mosques, even in remote areas and small villages.
Such demolitions have been extensively carried out in the areas of Inner Mongolia, Henan and Ningxia, which is the homeland of the Hui, the Chinese Muslim ethnic minority. Moreover, Chinese authorities have also forcibly closed three mosques in the Yunnan Province, reported Islam Khabar.
In a recent study, the Australian Strategic Policy Institute revealed that since 2017, 65 percent of China’s mosques and 58 percent of its important Islamic sites have been destroyed, and further pointed out the criminalization of community gatherings and festivals, disappearance of academics, cultural figures and eradication of the Uyghur language from the public sphere.
In Kashgar alone, 70 percent of the mosques have been demolished since 2016, though Rachel Harris, Ethnomusicologist and Uyghur specialist opined that the number was as high as 80 percent. The entire old city was demolished and its inhabitants have been displaced, replaced with shiny modern shops.
According to Islam Khabar, China has even criminalized Islamic praying in public and local authorities send officials to Muslim homes to keep a watch and rule out even private prayers. Chinese president Xi Jinping is clearly aiming at separating the Muslim community from its heritage in order to break their lineage, roots, connections and origin.
Furthermore, several Uyghur Mazar scholars have suddenly disappeared in 2017, and have not been traced till date.