China destroys mosques in East Turkestan
The Chinese government is destroying historic mosques in East Turkestan in the scope of assimilation activities.
China, which systematically attacks Eastern Turkistan Muslims, tries to eliminate the values of Islam.
The images that Chinese activists share in social media accounts reveal that the Chinese government has eliminated mosques one by one with a work based on the past.
According to research, over 200 mosques have been closed by the Chinese government and hundreds of mosques have been destroyed over the past 22 years.
Located in the city of Hotan, the historic Keriya Aitika Mosque, which dates back to 1237, was also destroyed. The mosque, which can be seen in satellite images in 2017, was demolished in 2018 and removed from satellite images.
Another historical mosque destroyed was the Kargilik mosque in the city of Kashgar.
China, which locks on the door of hundreds of mosques, watches some mosques open to worship with cameras and arrests Muslims who go to worship.
"The demolition of mosques is not a new practice."
China is also turning some of its mosques into liaison offices of the Chinese Communist Party.
Human rights activists who reacted to what happened said that the destruction of mosques was not a new practice, that China had carried out such acts before in the East Turkestan in 2016, and that hundreds of mosques were destroyed by local authorities within 3 months.
Activists say mosques have been systematically demolished under the name of "the old and the danger of collapse"
Human rights activists who react to the situation, say the demolition of mosques is not a new application, China has previously performed such actions, in East Turkestan in 2016, the local administrations within three months by the local authorities have been demolished.
Activists say mosques are systematically demolished under the pretext of "old and the danger of collapse".
"Where has this mosque gone? Keriya Aitika Mosque. More than 800-year history, disappeared in early 2018 despite selected as Chinese architectural heritage in late 2017," said activist Shawn Zhang in a post.
"Satellite imagery indicates that, beyond detaining one million Uighur Muslims in the Xinjiang region, China has destroyed at least two historic mosques," said Human Rights Watch Director Kenneth Roth. (ILKHA)