• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to footer
  • HOME
  • ABOUT CHINA
    • NEWS
    • TESTIMONIES
    • OP-EDS
    • FEATURED
    • GLOSSARY
    • CHINA PERSECUTION MAP
  • FROM THE WORLD
    • NEWS
    • OP-EDS
    • FEATURED
    • TESTIMONIES
  • INTERVIEWS
  • DOCUMENTS AND TRANSLATIONS
    • DOCUMENTS
    • THE TAI JI MEN CASE
    • TRANSLATIONS
  • EVENTS
  • ABOUT
  • EDITORIAL BOARD
  • TOPICS

Bitter Winter

A magazine on religious liberty and human rights

three friends of winter
Home / Pictures

Authorities Sinicize Mosques Across China

02/28/2019Li Wensheng |

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
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
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 is erected at the mosque
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.

Crescent-moon symbols have been removed from the tops of two towers
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.

Crescent-moon symbols have been removed
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.

crescent-moon symbols have been removed from the top of Yangfang Great Temple
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
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.”

Crescent-moon symbols and the loudspeakers have been removed
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 abandoned in the grass
Islamic symbols were left abandoned after being removed from Yangjiawan Mosque in Pengyang county.

Reported by Li Wensheng

Tagged With: Islam in China, Sinicization of religions

bw-profile
Li Wensheng

Uses a pseudonym for security reasons.

Related articles

  • The Case of the Quran Floating in the River: Saving Holy Books from CCP Desecration

    The Case of the Quran Floating in the River: Saving Holy Books from CCP Desecration

  • Tibetan Buddhism ‘Sinicized’ Across Inland China

    Tibetan Buddhism ‘Sinicized’ Across Inland China

  • CCP Rewriting The Gospel: Jesus Actually “Killed” The Woman Taken in Adultery

    CCP Rewriting The Gospel: Jesus Actually “Killed” The Woman Taken in Adultery

  • Cao’an Manichean Temple Subjected to ‘Sinicization’

    Cao’an Manichean Temple Subjected to ‘Sinicization’

Keep Reading

  • ‘Sinicization’ of Islam Intensifies Amid the Pandemic
    ‘Sinicization’ of Islam Intensifies Amid the Pandemic

    The CCP continues removing domes and minarets from mosques and suppresses any expression of Hui Muslim tradition and culture.

  • Islam ‘Sinicized’ Further in Ningxia After President Xi’s Visit
    Islam ‘Sinicized’ Further in Ningxia After President Xi’s Visit

    When the president scolded local officials in Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region for not doing enough to curb Islamic culture, they rolled up their sleeves.

  • New Directives on Sinicization of Religion: “Love the Party, Love Socialism”
    New Directives on Sinicization of Religion: “Love the Party, Love Socialism”

    “Foreign hostile forces and extremist forces use religion to infiltrate and sabotage our country.” The answer: more “scientific” and “Marxist” Sinicization.

  • Mosques ‘Sinicized’ in Ningxia Region, Jilin and Henan Provinces
    Mosques ‘Sinicized’ in Ningxia Region, Jilin and Henan Provinces

    With the ease of pandemic restrictions, the CCP intensifies its mosque “sinicization” campaign in areas inhabited by Hui Muslims.

Primary Sidebar

Support Bitter Winter

Learn More

Follow us

Newsletter

Most Read

  • Pro-Chinese Propaganda by The World Muslim Communities Council: Uyghurs Strike Back by Gulfiye Y
  • Zhanargul Zhumatai: “Help Me, I Just Want to Leave China” by Ruth Ingram
  • L. Ron Hubbard, Scientology, and the Visual Arts. 1. The Aesthetic Mind by Massimo Introvigne
  • Stricter Rules on Private Tutoring Protect Ideology Rather than Parents by Wang Zhipeng
  • Japan Religious Donations Law. 4. The Return of Brainwashing by Massimo Introvigne
  • Hong Kong: Christian Scholar Peng Manyuan Released but Not Rehabilitated by Gladys Kwok
  • The Weaponization of the CCP’s “Zero COVID” Against Tibet by Marco Respinti
  • L. Ron Hubbard, Scientology, and the Visual Arts. 3. Art as Communication by Massimo Introvigne
  • L. Ron Hubbard, Scientology, and the Visual Arts. 4. Art and Illustration by Massimo Introvigne
  • L. Ron Hubbard, Scientology, and the Visual Arts. 5. Professionals vs. Amateurs by Massimo Introvigne

CHINA PERSECUTION MAP -SEARCH NEWS BY REGION

clickable geographical map of china, with regions

Footer

Instant Exclusive News
Instant Exclusive News

EDITORIAL BOARD

Editor-in-Chief

MASSIMO INTROVIGNE

Director-in-Charge

MARCO RESPINTI

ADDRESS

CESNUR

Via Confienza 19,

10121 Turin, Italy,

Phone: 39-011-541950

E-MAIL

We welcome submission of unpublished contributions, news, and photographs. Each submission implies the authorization for us to edit and publish texts and photographs. We reserve the right to decide which submissions are suitable for publication. Please, write to INFO@BITTERWINTER.ORG Thank you.

Newsletter

Follow us

LINKS

orlir-logo hrwf-logo cesnur-logo

Copyright © 2023 · Bitter Winter · PRIVACY POLICY· COOKIE POLICY