Thanks to the policy to make religions “more Chinese,” Islamic symbols have been removed from buildings in Gansu Province and Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region.
Islamic symbols were removed from the top of Shangyan Village Mosque in Jingyuan county, Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region.
After the new Regulations on Religious Affairs came into force last year, the policy of “sinicization” and the “de-Arabization and de-Saudization” campaign has been widely promoted across China.
The drive to “emphasize a Chinese style” resulted in changing the exterior of mosques, with many Islamic symbols being forcibly removed in north-central Gansu Province and Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region.
The Arabic-style entrance to the Hui Nationality Custom Park was turned into a traditional Chinese square gate.
Zhangjiachuan Hui autonomous county, under the jurisdiction of Gansu’s Tianshui city, is a region with a large Hui population, so, naturally, it has a majestic-looking mosque and other religious architecture, all under the umbrella of the Hui Nationality Custom Park, a national 4A-level tourist attraction.
Scaffolding surrounds the mosque in Hui Nationality Custom Park, in preparation to remove the Islamic symbols.
But in July 2018, the local government ordered the closure of the park, meaning that all of the Islamic architectural symbols in the park – such as crescent moons, Arabic patterns, and scripture on the walls – went down with it. The Arabic-style entrance to the Hui Nationality Custom Park was altered into a traditional Chinese square gate, while the mosque was converted into the Zhangjiachuan Cultural Exhibition Hall.
The crescent-moon symbols that were removed from the tops of two towers on the front side of the mosque.
The four-cornered roof of the mosque at the park originally had four towers with a height of about 10 meters, with a dome at the center. On each tower and the dome were crescent-moon symbols measuring about six meters in height. Now, all of these symbols are gone.
Same goes for the religious symbols in several mosques in Ningxia’s Guyuan city.
The crescent-moon symbols that were removed from Yangfang Mosque in Gucheng town, in Ningxia.
Yangfang Mosque is located in Gucheng town, Pengyang county, under the jurisdiction of Guyuan city, Ningxia. Last March, the dome was dismantled from the top of the mosque, and the crescent moons were taken down from the towering pillars on both sides. Later, the local government shut down the mosque.
After it was closed, villagers had no choice but to go to another distant mosque, Yangfang Great Temple, to worship. Then, in May 2018, the Islamic symbols at the top of Yangfang Great Temple were also forcibly dismantled by the government. The mosque’s Muslims shouldered the entire demolition cost.
The crescent-moon symbols have been removed from the top of Yangfang Great Temple, a propaganda poster reading, “Carry out ‘four requirements’ in mosques; build the great Chinese Dream together,” has been posted on the bulletin board.
The authorities even prohibited the temple’s believers from chanting scripture during worship, let alone doing so over loudspeakers.
The crescent-moon and dome symbols were removed from Longbao Mosque in Xiji county. The national flag was hung outside the mosque, and the Regulations on Religious Affairs and the Core Socialist Values have been posted on the bulletin board.
Longbao Mosque in Xiji county’s Langcha village not only had its religious symbols removed, but a Chinese flag was raised, and the Regulations on Religious Affairs and the Core Socialist Values were posted inside the mosque. The mosque has gradually become “sinicized.”
The crescent-moon symbols and the loudspeakers used for chanting scripture have been removed from Pengyang county’s Yanghe Mosque, and the national flag has been hung in front of the mosque.
Islamic religious symbols have also been forcibly removed from the tops of Yangjiawan Mosque and Yanghe Mosque in Pengyang county, as well as Shangyan Village Mosque in Jingyuan county.
Islamic symbols were left abandoned after being removed from Yangjiawan Mosque in Pengyang county.
Reported by Li Wensheng
Uses a pseudonym for security reasons.
