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Mosques: Demolition Reports Denied

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Mosques: Demolition Reports Denied 2 | Tuesday, November 17, 2020 HONG KONG EDITION | CHINA DAILY PAGE TWO The Id Kah Mosque, built in 1442 in Kashgar, Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region, is one of the largest in China. WENG HUAN / FOR CHINA DAILY Mosques: Demolition reports denied From page 1 mosques and for religious activities. nearby communities visit the and hung over the entrance to the Local governments are required to mosque for the five daily prayers. mosque in 1982, but the characters On July 31, Liu Xiaoming, China’s help mosques improve infrastruc- On a Friday, the Muslim holy day, and designs on it faded and were ambassador to the United Kingdom, ture and provide better services to the number exceeds 300. damaged due to exposure to the sun said in an online news conference followers to ensure that freedom of Following urbanization work in and wind. from London that the allegation religious beliefs is fully protected, Xinjiang in recent years, some The imam added: “In 2017, the that a large number of mosques in the spokesman added. worshippers moved to new homes. plaque was repaired together with Xinjiang had been demolished was At their request, the local authori- other facilities at the mosque. It “nothing but a lie”. Leaking roof ties built new mosques or expand- was moved to its current position “The Jiami Mosque in Yecheng In Tuohula township, Wensu ed existing ones to meet demand, and a large canopy was put up to and the Id Kah Mosque in Yutian, county, Aksu prefecture, Ablikim according to Bekri Yaqub, director prevent the plaque being exposed which it was claimed had been dis- Sadiq said he had felt unsafe every of Yanghang Mosque Democratic to the weather. This work is actual- mantled, were in fact renovated and time he prayed in the old mosque in Management Committee in Urum- ly very easy to verify.” put to use again. the area several years ago. qi, the regional capital. The comments made by the US “Those who cooked up the lies used “There were leaks in the roof and “I’ve recently seen the blueprint embassy were irresponsible, he add- photos of the old, dilapidated large splits in the wooden pillars sup- for a new mosque in the city’s Say- ed. mosques to support their lies, but I porting the prayer hall. We often bag district. Muslims there are will refute their lies with photos of the feared that the hall would collapse, going to have yet another beautiful Minimal disruption new, renovated mosques,” Liu said. especially during bad weather,” he and spacious mosque,” he said. Despite the COVID-19 pandemic, There are some 24,400 mosques in said. Memet Jume, imam of Id Kah little disruption has been caused to Xinjiang — one for every 530 Mus- After carrying out a safety assess- Mosque in Kashgar city, said: “A few religious activities in mosques lims on average, a higher proportion ment, the local government decided mosques in the region had to be torn throughout Xinjiang, especially than in some Islamic countries, Liu in 2015 to build a new mosque near down, but only because they were in during the holy month of Ramadan, said. the old venue. extremely poor condition and could which this year fell in April and Many mosques in the region were Ahat Rahman, imam of the town- not be renovated. New ones were May. built in the 1980s and 1990s or even ship’s mosque for 27 years, said: “The built for people’s safety. There hasn’t Musa Asan, the Reste Mosque earlier, but some of these mud-and- new venue can withstand earth- been one case of a mosque being imam, said, “Mosques in Xinjiang brick structures or small buildings quakes and has a bigger prayer hall. completely demolished.” reopened immediately after the were not well maintained or The villagers can now concentrate In summer, the Id Kah Mosque, regional outbreak was brought repaired. fully during religious activities.” which has a history of some 500 under control.” They became unsafe for religious Meanwhile, Musa Asan, imam of years, was in the spotlight after Guidelines for religious venues activities, especially in harsh weath- Reste Mosque in Aksu city, is proud being mentioned in a Twitter post have been put in place during the er conditions, and posed a serious to show visitors new facilities at the by the US embassy in China. pandemic, he added. threat in the event of an earthquake. venue, which were completed dur- On July 4, the embassy posted “We have carefully disinfected and The mosques were also inadequate- ing renovation work in May 2017. two pictures of the mosque ventilated the mosque. With the aim ly designed, making worship diffi- “The old mosque was very small entrance on its Twitter account — of protecting our community, we also cult, the Xinjiang Islamic and there was no heating system. one with a welcoming plaque and require people to wear face masks Association said in a report on Nov 3 Furthermore, the room in which the other without it. The post stated and keep a safe distance during on the freedom of religion in the Muslims carried out their ablutions that removal of the plaque showed prayers. We have ensured local com- region. before prayers was in poor condi- “China’s continuous efforts to crack munities and residents that they can It added that the regional govern- tion, so they had no choice but to down on Islam in Xinjiang”. continue practicing their religion ment renovated dilapidated wash at home before coming to the The imam said that after repair safely during the pandemic.” mosques and “made adjustments” mosque,” the 29-year-old said. work was carried out, the plaque Religious activities also went to those in a dangerous condition. During the renovations, a parking was repositioned on an outer wall of ahead as usual during Ramadan at The report said the mosques lot was built next to the mosque, so the main prayer hall inside the Yanghang Mosque in Urumqi. have been improved and modern- that worshippers no longer need to building. The venue, built in 1897, is popular ized to accommodate Muslims’ park in narrow alleyways, he said, The plaque, which is 2.7 meters among Muslims from all ethnic needs. They have been equipped adding that some 100 people from long and 1.3 meters wide, was made groups, including Uygur and Hui. with running water, electricity, nat- Muslims from other countries also ural gas, radio and other communi- visit the mosque for prayers, accord- cations facilities. Roads leading to ing to Bekri Yaqub, the Yanghang mosques have been upgraded to Mosque Democratic Management make access easier, and medical Committee director. and public services have been “Medical workers were at the extended to the venues. site during Ramadan to offer health checks to people who were Repairs carried out fasting. The pandemic had little Ilijan Anayt, spokesman for the impact on religious activities in regional government, said earlier Xinjiang during the holy month,” that the Jiami Mosque, mentioned he said. in the US State Department report, No cases of infection have been reopened on March 6 last year after reported at locations in the region major renovations were completed. where religious activities take place, In September 2018, the gate- according to the Xinjiang Islamic house and gate tower at the Association. mosque, which was built in 1540, It said a series of groundless were found to pose severe safety claims have been made, such as hazards. To protect worshippers restrictions being placed on free- and ensure religious activities were dom of religious belief, ethnic conducted smoothly, both struc- groups denied the right to such tures were repaired in February belief, mosques being compulsorily last year, the spokesman said. demolished and religious figures Mosques registered in Xinjiang persecuted. are protected by law. Democratic management committees are Top: This mosque in Kuqa county, Xinjiang, is the second-largest in the region. QI ZHENLIN / FOR CHINA DAILY Center: A view of the Id Kah Mosque Contact the writers at responsible for the internal affairs of in Kashgar. MA DUO / FOR CHINA DAILY Above: Renovation work on the Reste Mosque in Aksu city was completed in 2017. MAO WEIHUA / CHINA DAILY [email protected].
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