China Accused of Systematic Mosque Closures in Effort to Curb Islam

Human Rights Watch Report Reveals Expansion of 'Mosque Consolidation' Campaign Beyond Xinjiang to Northern Provinces

Human Rights Watch (HRW) has accused China of systematically closing, destroying, and repurposing mosques in an effort to curb the practice of Islam.
The campaign, known as 'mosque consolidation', has expanded beyond Xinjiang, where China has long been accused of persecuting Muslim minorities, to the northern provinces of Ningxia and Gansu.
Local authorities have been removing architectural features of mosques to make them look more 'Chinese', part of a campaign by the ruling Communist Party to tighten control over religion.
President Xi Jinping in 2016 called for the 'Sinicization' of religions, initiating a crackdown that has largely concentrated on Xinjiang, home to more than 11 million Uyghurs and other Muslim minorities.
HRW has urged China to scrap its religious Sinicization campaign, repeal laws and regulations restricting the right to freedom of religion, and release those detained for speaking out or protesting against the crackdown.