China is demolishing the minarets of mosques and erecting temples

Another big one glass in China The loss of its domes, which retained their Arab-style features, marked the end of a government campaign to transform Islamic places of worship in the country.

Shadian Grand Mosque, one of the largest and most magnificent mosques in China, overlooks the small town from which it takes its name in southwestern Yunnan province.

Until last year, this 21,000-square-meter place of worship housed a large building with a green-tiled dome decorated with a crescent moon, surrounded by four smaller domes and tall minarets. Photos from 2022 show the entrance decorated with a large crescent and star made of vibrant black tiles.

Photographs, satellite images, and certificates document the replacement of the dome with a Han Chinese-style pagoda roof and the conversion of the minarets into pagoda towers.

Only a faint trace of the crescent and star tiles that marked the front porch of the mosque was visible, according to researchers. guardian.

Yunnan’s other historic Nagyaying Mosque, located less than 100 miles from Shadian, was also stripped of its Islamic features in a recent renovation.

A plan to promote Chinese culture

In 2018, the Chinese government published a five-year plan to resist “foreign architectural styles” and promote “Islamic architecture…full of Chinese characteristics,” among other things.

A leaked Chinese government memo shows that local authorities were instructed to “adhere to the principle of demolishing more and building less.”

History of Shadian Mosque

Shadian Great Mosque was built during the Ming Dynasty. It was destroyed in an uprising known as the Shadian Incident.

It was later rebuilt and expanded by decision of the government. Its design was based on the Prophet’s Mosque in Mecca, Saudi Arabia, where Muhammad is believed to be buried. It contains three prayer rooms and can accommodate 10,000 worshipers.

Intensifying religious worship

The plan to transform mosques in China is now largely complete, but it is only part of the government’s plans. In February, Beijing tightened regulations on religious worship to ensure religions “conform to the trend of transformation” and avoid intolerance.

Many local authorities already prohibit people under the age of 18 from attending mosques, and in Nagyaing minors are prohibited from fasting.

“The campaign to destroy Islamic places of worship was never just about the appearance of mosques,” commented Hannah Theker, a historian of Islam at Plymouth University in China.