Chinese authorities have remodeled nearly 1,800 mosques since 2018 to remove domes, minarets and any architectural features related to Islamic heritage, according to satellite data analyzed by the Financial Times. If this practice is well documented in Xinjiang, where the Uyghur minority is concentrated, it has spread to all regions where populations of the Muslim faith live.
It is undoubtedly one of the most spectacular expressions of China’s brutal policy of cultural assimilation. Using a large amount of satellite data, the Financial Times was able to identify the locations of 2,312 mosques to study the evolution of their architectural style. The result is edifying: between 2018 and 2023, 75% of the mosques examined, i.e. 1,714, had their Arab-Muslim style elements destroyed.
The domes and minarets, as well as the religious inscriptions engraved on the facades, have disappeared. Make way for Chinese pagodas and Communist Party slogans. An example is the Doudian Mosque near Beijing, one of the largest in northern China, whose impressive domes and ornate minarets disappeared within a few years.
The Financial Times’ visual investigation shows that this government policy is far from just affecting Xinjiang, a province that is attracting the most international attention due to Beijing’s repression of the Muslim-majority Uyghur ethnic group. In 2020, an Australian report notably showed that two-thirds of the province’s mosques had been converted since 2017.
Read alsoIn Europe, the controversial charm offensive of the regional governor of Xinjiang
In reality, according to official discourse, these architectural changes aimed at “harmonizing” religious buildings with Chinese culture now extend throughout the territory. Not surprisingly, these policies appear to be most systematic in the regions with the most Muslim ethnic groups, particularly the Hui. In the western Ningxia region, satellite analysis shows that more than 90 percent of mosques with Islamic architecture have been removed. In Gansu province in the northwest of the country, this figure is over 80%, reports the Financial Times.
“Consolidation” of mosques
The British daily’s conclusions largely echo those of a report published a week earlier by Human Rights Watch (HRW), which denounced the policy of “mosque consolidation” in these two regions, Ningxia and Gansu. This strategy, which aims to “Sinicize” Islam, i.e. to make it more Chinese, as well as to limit the number of new buildings, is mentioned in an official document of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China (CCP) in 2018.
In particular, HRW reports on the case of several villages whose mosques were destroyed or converted. Some of these have been converted into public buildings. Others have retained their religious calling, but basic features such as their washroom have been removed.
“This whole policy is not just about changing the architecture of mosques. “It’s more about discouraging people from going to prayer,” says Elaine Pearson, HRW’s Asia director. “Not only were mosques destroyed and closed, but authorities also installed various surveillance systems for the mosques that remained open to monitor comings and goings. This is all part of an effort to discourage people from going to pray. This is clearly a violation of the religious freedom that is supposed to be guaranteed by the Chinese Constitution.”
The organization reports several testimonies from believers who noticed the installation of surveillance cameras at the entrances of recently renovated mosques to comply with the party’s orders. In other cases, government authorities appeared to check believers’ IDs.
For its part, the Chinese government claims to group mosques together to prevent the buildings from becoming a financial burden on these poor communities. A delicate matter that human rights defenders are not fooled by: the aim is to stop religious practice.
The Hui, Chinese Muslims
China has around 20 million Muslims. If the Uyghurs of Xinjiang are best known, more than half of them belong to the Hui ethnic group, which is particularly present in the provinces of Ningxia, Gansu and even Yunnan.
“The Hui are actually Han, Chinese, some of whom converted as early as the 7th century, i.e. since the introduction of Islam in China. Even if, like all Muslims in China, they are also Sunnis, they are Sunnis. They have a different history than the Turkish-speaking Uighurs and have regularly distanced themselves from this minority, explains Emmanuel Lincot, professor at the Catholic Institute of Paris, sinologist and researcher close to Iris, author of “The Big Game: Beijing Faces Central Asia.” (Editions du Cerf).
Although the Hui were relatively spared from the repression against the Uyghurs, they are still subject to an increasingly aggressive Sinicization policy. In 2019, for example, local authorities required restaurants to remove Arabic letters spelling “Halal” from their storefronts. Other guidelines have been published to ban religious books or even the presence of children in mosques.
Also read “We are afraid of being the next Uyghurs”: In China, Hui Muslims are banned from flaunting their connection to Islam
This strategy to curb the influence of Islam did not come about without resistance from the local population. In 2018, Hui mobilization delayed work on several mosques, but each time the authorities used force.
“The repression is very strong in China and it is difficult to protest. For most people, the best way to cope is to avoid attracting attention. “Ultimately, we fear that people are turning away from religion because they are afraid if they go to pray in the mosque or be seen as a threat or a suspicious person,” complains Elaine Pearson.
Communist orthodoxy
Experts say Xi Jinping’s rise to power as president in 2013 marked a turning point in Beijing’s religious policy. Under his leadership, the assimilation of Chinese minorities and their submission to the Han majority’s way of life became a priority. This control over the spiritual lives of millions of people is directed against Islam, but also against the Christian religion. The government has removed crosses from the roofs of more than a thousand Christian churches, including by demolishing the massive Golden Candlestick Evangelical Church in Shanxi Province in 2018. The destruction of Buddhist monasteries in Tibet began long before the implementation of this policy .
Also readZhang Zhung: a kingdom in Tibet that is strategically important for China
“This Sinicization is particularly reflected in the new version of the Koran, which is now littered with aphorisms attributed to Xi Jinping. And the same goes for the Bible. Whatever their religious affiliations, no one escapes this violent Chinese communist orthodoxy imposed on everyone,” analyzes Emmanuel Lincot.
“The regime fears being robbed of its legitimacy by competing powers and religious powers. “This is a recurring phenomenon in Chinese history,” the researcher adds, referring to the 19th century period dubbed the “Century of Humiliation” by Chinese nationalists due to the influence wielded by Western powers and Japan during that period.
To counter this fear, authorities are now trying to reshape religions to make them compatible with the ideology of the Chinese Communist Party. A project in which the destruction of Islamic heritage appears to be a key element, despite blatant violations of the right to religious freedom.
“It is now important that Muslim countries hold China accountable for these policies, despite the economic ties that may exist,” says Elaine Pearson. “Even though we currently don’t hear much about the oppression of the Uyghurs from countries like Indonesia, Malaysia or even Arab states,” she regrets.