One of the destroyed mosques in Bashisihu township of Wusu city
In just one month, 13 of the 14 mosques in Bashisihu township of Wusu city in Xinjiang were demolished by authorities, and the one that remains is already entirely under the Chinese Communist Party’s control.
A source informed Bitter Winter that in the Bashisihu township, the only mosque remains in Chen Jia Zhuang, and the government fully controls it; recently, surveillance cameras have been installed there to monitor everyone who comes to worship. The mosques have been destroyed after the new Regulations on Religious Affairs came into force in February.
According to a local Muslim, whenever people enter the mosque, they must swipe their ID cards to verify their identities. Nine officers from the United Front Work Department (UFWD) and Public Security Bureau monitor each special congregational prayer in the early afternoon of every Friday, which is required of all Muslim men. Besides, the imam is forced to read from the notes prepared by the UFWD, and he is not allowed to bring a copy of the Quran with him or quote it.
Many mosques have been demolished in Xinjiang. Since this spring, the local authorities have intensified the sinicization of religions, i.e., adapting them to the socialist needs: national flags have been raised and “socialist core values and outstanding Chinese traditional culture” introduced in the remaining mosques.
Reported by Li Zaili
A mosque used to stand in this place; the building has been leveled, and there is no trace of the building left
The only mosque that remains in the Bashisihu township of Wusu. The horizontal tablet on the main gate reads: “Love the Party, Love Your Country.” The Chinese flag and a surveillance camera can be seen.
Uses a pseudonym for security reasons.
