Page 131 - Communist Chinas Policy of Oppression in East Turkestan
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O ne of the important indications of the commu-
nist regime's hostility to religion is the way
that many mosques have been closed down
and used for storage since the earliest days
of the regime. The picture to the side shows a
ruined mosque in Hotan.
terrible conditions in Chinese labor
camps. 14
Throughout that period, physical and
mental torture was inflicted on men of
faith. Some Muslims were rounded up into
public squares and made to confess the so-called "divinity" of Chairman
Mao (surely Allah is beyond that). The people were forced to carry out
practices in flagrant violation of Islamic ideas, such as cremation of the
dead. The closed mosques were used as military depots and barracks, or
as places of entertainment (such as theatres and cinemas). All forms of
public worship, including Friday and other prayers, were prohibited and
heavy taxes were imposed on those Muslims who continued to pray in
the few remaining mosques. The communist administration confiscated
Harun Yahya - Adnan Oktar