Human Rights Watch: China continues crackdown on mosques

The right to freely practice religion is severely restricted in China. The government continues to systematically target Muslims and mosques in the country, according to a new report from Human Rights Watch.

According to Human Rights Watch, authorities in Ningxia and Gansu, China, have closed, demolished, revoked mosques, or repurposed them for non-religious purposes. In their crackdown on Islam, the authorities removed architectural elements such as domes and minarets from many other mosques so that they appeared more “Chinese”.

In its report, the human rights organization relies on public documents, satellite images and eyewitness reports. Human Rights Watch speaks of a violation of the right to freedom of religion. This is already severely restricted in China. Only adherents of religious communities recognized by the state are allowed to practice their faith in officially licensed meeting buildings.

Government propaganda during religious activities

The Chinese government is not only increasing control of religions, but also wants them to help the Communist Party, says Maya Wang, China expert at Human Rights Watch. When people participate in religious activities, they would simultaneously be indoctrinated into official government ideology. “The government is now requiring ‘religious workers’ to spread Chinese propaganda during gatherings among believers.”

Beijing wants to make Islam more Chinese

In recent years, the People’s Republic has taken particularly tough action against Islam, which state and party leader Xi Jinping wants to sinicize, i.e. make more Chinese. According to observers, up to 1.5 million people have been locked up in re-education camps in the western Chinese region of Xinjiang – most of them men from the predominantly Muslim Uighur ethnic group. A United Nations report last year said China may have committed “crimes against humanity” there.

In contradiction to the behavior in their own country, the state and party leadership has increasingly presented itself as an advocate for Muslims since the beginning of the Gaza war. At the beginning of the week, China’s Foreign Minister Wang Yi said at a meeting with representatives of Muslim states that China is “a good friend and Brother of the Arab and Muslim countries”.