The campaign aimed at removing distinctive Islamic features from Hui Muslim places of worship continues in full swing.
by Chen Tao
Beginning in 2018, the CCP authorities launched a five-year “Sinicization program” targeting Muslims outside of Xinjiang. As a result, Islamic symbols and cultural signs are disappearing from mosques across the country. Recently, Bitter Winter received nationwide reports indicating that the CCP’s “Sinicization” campaign against Hui Muslims continues, involving several mosques and Muslim cemeteries.
On June 24, 2020, Bitter Winter had already exposed the demolition and renovation plans for 19 mosque buildings in Xining’s Chengdong District, in Qinghai province, by the Office of the Leading Group for the Rectification of the Arabic-style Mosques. It stated that the Xining Dongguan Mosque(西宁东关清真大寺)would begin “renovation” in 2021. On July 9, 2021, the Xining Dongguan Mosque’s WeChat public account announced: “The Dongguan Mosque main gate building repair and renovation project will start soon. To protect the safety of tourists, from July 10, 2021 onwards we will be temporarily closed to visitors, re-opening time to be notified.” This marks the official start of the mosque’s “Sinicization” renovation.
On June 27-28, 2022, Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) Chairman Wang Yang visited the Dongguan Mosque in Xining, Qinghai to inspect the “renovation project,” which was shown on CCTV News on June 30.
According to CCTV, Wang Yang went to the Dongguan Mosque and listened to the imam’s presentation of the changes before and after the renovation, and a comparison photo of the mosque before and after the renovation can be seen. This is the first time that the authorities have confirmed and publicized the results of the renovation plan of the Dongguan Mosque after it was launched in 2021.
Following the high-profile announcement of the “Sinicization” of the Dongguan Mosque in Xining on CCTV News, the Doudian Mosque (北京窦店清真寺) in Beijing, the largest Arabic-style mosque in northern China, has also been undergoing “Sinicized” renovation since August 2022. By September 11, 2022, the entire Doudian Mosque had been wrapped in scaffolding and architectural safety nets, with PRC’s national flags hanging at the entrance. Several of the large dome spire ornaments are gone, with three spire crescent symbol ornaments remaining. It is expected that all the Arabic-style domes and minarets and other structures will be removed, and the project will take about nine months to complete until May 1, 2023.
Located in Doudian Village, Doudian Town, Fangshan District, Beijing, about 38 kilometers from the city center, the Doudian Mosque features a magnificent arabesque dome and minaret style of architecture. It covers an area of nearly 15,000 square meters and can accommodate 1,500 people.
The north and south sides of the hall of worship are flanked by two watch-moon towers, making it the largest mosque in North China. Doudian Mosque was originally built in the Qing Dynasty’s Kangxi years. With the rapid growth of Doudian’s population, the local government chose a new site 11 years ago to build Doudian Mosque, with an investment of 80 million RMB, which took six years to complete in 2013.
The old and new mosques are located across the street from each other, and the authorities used to advertise that “the new mosque is majestic and spectacular, and the whole building is decorated with stone and has strong Islamic characteristics.” Yet this same magnificent mosque, which the local government touted as a model of “national unity,” is now the target of Xi Jinping’s campaign of “Sinicization.”
Bitter Winter also learned from members of the Shanghai Hui Muslim community that authorities quietly removed the Arabic dome from the Shanghai Hui Muslim Cemetery(上海回民公墓) in Weijiajiao(卫家角)shortly after the city was locked down in the first half of this year due to the COVID-19 epidemic.
“In the past, during Eid al-Fitr, Muslims on this side would hold a bazaar there at the Shanghai Hui Muslim Cemetery and sell food, but the authorities wanted to wipe out the Muslim features there, a Shanghai Hui Muslim told Bitter Winter. This year, Eid looked like a famine event. Not only was the mosque closed, but the food received from the government had little meat in it, only a few cans of lunch meat, bacon from Yunnan and pork dumplings, all pork, which is an insult to our faith.”
In addition, Bitter Winter received news that the Zhaotong East Mosque in Yunnan (云南昭通东大寺)also began to be “Sinicized” on August 24, 2022. Pictures from the site show that the Arabic-style dome of the mosque is now surrounded by scaffolding and architectural safety nets and is expected to be removed.