Under the Guise of Public Safety, China Demolishes Thousands of Mosques - RFA

[TomSea]

Under the Guise of Public Safety, China Demolishes Thousands of Mosques

The Chinese government has destroyed thousands of mosques over the past three months in the restive Xinjiang region in Beijing’s latest attempt to “rectify” the largely Muslim population there, RFA’s Uyghur Service has learned.

Under the “Mosque Rectification” campaign launched by the Chinese Central Ethnic-Religious Affairs Department and overseen by the local police, the mosques were demolished as a way to sort out dilapidated buildings that allegedly posed a safety threat for worshippers in the Uyghur Autonomous Region, officials told RFA.

“Convincing the people that one of the purposes for demolishing the mosques was for the safety of the worshipers was a bit difficult,” said Eysajan Yaqup, a police officer in Toqquzaq township. “Some of them laughed at us when we explained the purpose, and some of them stared at us to show their disagreement.”

Eysajan Yaqup said he and other officials ignored the laughter and the stares and “most of the prayers were silenced.”

“We successfully completed our duty within three months,” he said.

China estimates that it is home to 23 million Muslims, although some independent sources claim as many as 50 million Muslims live in the country.

Continued At: http://www.rfa.org/english/news/uyghur/udner-the-guise-of-public-safety-12192016140127.html

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http://www.securitymagazine.com/articles/87688-chinas-growing-islamic-extremism-threat