According to a Human Rights Watch report, the Chinese authorities are actively working to restrict the practice of Islam in the Ningxia and Gansu regions, using measures such as closing and destroying mosques. It is noted that these decisions are part of the strategy of "sinicization of Islam", which involves the assimilation of the Muslim population into Chinese traditions and culture.
Acting China director at Human Rights Watch, Maya Wong, said that by closing, destroying and relocating mosques, the Chinese authorities are creating conditions to restrict the free practice of Islam in the country. Satellite images confirm that from 2019 to 2021, local authorities removed domes and minarets from seven mosques in various villages.
According to Hanna Teeker, an expert on Chinese Muslims, more than 1,300 mosques in the Ningxia region alone have been closed or relocated since 2020, accounting for a third of the region's total.
Chinese law restricts religious ceremonies to places that have received official permission from the authorities. Since 2015, Chinese leader Xi Jinping has emphasized the policy of "sinicization of Islam", which became the reason for increased control over the Islamic religion in the country.
The greatest persecution for religious beliefs is recorded among the Uyghurs, a Chinese minority in Xinjiang province. According to the Strategic Policy Institute (Australia), two-thirds of all mosques in Xinjiang have been damaged or destroyed since 2017.
