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AFP
Beijing
Thousands of demonstrators gathered at a mosque in China to stop its government-ordered demolition, a participant said Saturday, as Beijing's increasingly harsh policies against religion heighten anxiety about Islam's future in the country.
Across the nation, Chinese officials have sought to limit religious freedoms for Muslims as part of a widespread attempt to bring believers in line with the dictates of the ruling Communist Party. Protesters began gathering Thursday ahead of a deadline to demolish the grand mosque in the town of Weizhou in the northern Ningxia region, a restaurant owner surnamed Ma said. Videos posted on social media over the last two days show hundreds of protesters gathered in front of the building as police with riot shields stand by. Holding Chinese flags, they sat quietly on the building's steps and milled around a large plaza, before heading to Friday night prayers, according to the videos, which could not be verified.
"The government said it's an illegal building, but it's not. The mosque has several hundred years of history,"Ma said.
The mosque was rebuilt over the past two years, according to government documents, but the licensing process was not carefully managed and several officials received a"serious warning"from a local disciplinary committee.
In the process, the facade was changed from its previous Chinese style -- featuring sweeping tiled roofs similar to a Buddhist temple -- to what is often described in China as an"Arab"design, with domes and crescents.
Concerns have been growing in Weizhou since the circulation of a government order last week demanding the mosque's demolition on the grounds that it had been rebuilt without the proper permits.
