China demolishes 800-Year-Old Historic Mosque

The Chinese regime, which has been systematically carrying out genocide against the Muslim Uyghur community, has also forcibly started demolishing the 800-year-old historical Shiguan Mosque in Lanzhou.

The Chinese communist regime has been intensively continuing its religious oppression against Muslim Uyghurs and mosque demolition efforts, particularly in areas where Dungan Muslims reside. Within this context, they have banned "Halal" labels or Islamic inscriptions on restaurant signs and market products owned by Muslims. They are also destroying Islamic-style structures.

Most recently, it was reported that as part of China's policy of Sinicizing Islam, the unique Islamic features of the historic Şiguan Mosque in Lanzhou have been destroyed, and it will be transformed to resemble non-Muslim Chinese temples.

Despite being an iconic mosque symbolizing the so-called "friendship" between China and the Arab world, it has been revealed that the Chinese regime has accelerated mosque demolition efforts, as reported by Voice of America (VOA).

This information highlights the ongoing cultural and religious repression faced by Muslim communities in China, particularly the Uyghurs and Dungan Muslims.

The Shiguan Mosque, built during the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644) and restored in 1687, had stood for centuries. However, during the so-called "Cultural Revolution" in the 1960s, when the Chinese regime conducted a state-sponsored campaign of terror against Islam, the mosque was completely destroyed. In 1983, with the financial support of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), it was rebuilt by the Chinese State Administration for Religious Affairs.

According to the residents of Lanzhou familiar with the situation of the Shiguan Mosque, as reported to VOA, Communist authorities in Lanzhou expressed their desire to demolish the mosque three years ago. Residents, along with the mosque's management committee and imams, made considerable efforts to resist the demolition. However, it appears that these efforts have been in vain, as the mosque continues to gradually disappear, and the sacrifices made by Muslims seem to have gone to waste.

According to the information, Professor Tian, a retired academic from Lanzhou University who worked as an interpreter in the communication between Lanzhou Shiguan Mosque and the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) at the time when news of the mosque's demolition began to leak, was summoned by former school administrators. He was warned that leaking any information related to the mosque through audio or visual recordings, written or oral statements, or any other means constituted a serious violation of discipline and the disclosure of state secrets. He was threatened with punishment if he resisted.

The Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) has not yet made any statement regarding the forced demolition of the Shiguan Mosque by the Chinese regime, as reported by VOA.

Sheikh Khalid, a former official of the OIC, stated in an interview with VOA reporters that many Arab countries have remained inexplicably silent on China's hostility towards religion. He explained that one of the main reasons for this silence is that many countries have become China's backyard due to their receipt of billions of dollars in investment from China as part of the modern "Belt and Road" project. Given the presence of authoritarian regimes like China, it is not difficult to understand why most Arab countries are reluctant to criticize China on the international stage.

Sheikh Khalid also mentioned that the majority of Arab citizens oppose China's targeting of Muslims and are concerned about it. However, in the non-free Arab world, speaking about such issues can lead to imprisonment, similar to the situation in China. Therefore, some nationalist Arab Muslims are unable to directly criticize China and cannot bravely respond to China's systematic genocide policies against Uyghur Muslims.