Page 12 - ARUBA TODAY

A12 WORLD NEWS
Monday 13 august 2018

Religion must obey Chinese law, paper says of mosque protest

By SAM McNEIL added.
YANAN WANG “How could we allow them
Associated Press to tear down a mosque that
WEIZHOU, China (AP) — A is still in good condition?”
newspaper of the ruling he said, adding that the
Communist Party said Sat- mosque conducts prayers
urday that no religion is attended by about 30,000
above the law in China, Muslims and was built using
urging officials to stay firm believers’ personal funds.
while dealing with a rare Officials in the county and
protest over the planned city propaganda offices
demolition of a massive said they were not aware
mosque in the northwest. of the situation. Other local
The Global Times said that authorities could not im-
local officials in the town mediately be reached for
of Weizhou in Ningxia, a re- comment.
gion that’s home to many “Demolishing the mosque is
ethnic minority Hui Muslims, sure to earn the ire of local
must act against what it religious followers. Howev-
described as an illegal ex- er, if the local government
pansion of a religious build- does not react to the illegal
ing. act, it will fuel the idea that
Thousands of Hui people religions are superior over
gathered at the towering China’s laws,” the paper
Grand Mosque on Thurs- said.
day and Friday to prevent Vehicles are parked outside the Grand Mosque in Weizhou in northwestern China’s Ningxia Hui In May, the county disci-
authorities from demolish- Autonomous Region, early Saturday, Aug. 11, 2018. plinary inspection com-
ing the structure, residents Associated Press mission published a notice
contacted by The Associ- was at the protest from love the faith!” be at home anywhere in saying that Weizhou au-
ated Press said. It was a Thursday morning until Fri- The protest comes as faith the Islamic world, save for thorities had failed to prop-
rare, public pushback to day afternoon. “Many groups that were largely the large red and yellow erly inspect what it said
the party’s efforts to rewrite people were crying. We tolerated in the past have Chinese flags fluttering was illegal expansion in the
how religions are practiced can’t understand why this seen their freedoms shrink from the ramparts and the construction of the Grand
in the country. is happening.” as the government seeks to wide central staircase. Mosque. As a result of lax
“People are in a lot of Ma said the group shouted “Sinicize” religions by mak- Authorities were clearly ner- supervision, the notice said,
pain,” said Ma Sengming, “Protect faith in China!” ing the faithful prioritize al- vous about the unrest. Early four mosques in the coun-
a 72-year-old man who and “Love the country, legiance to the officially Saturday morning, men ty had received a total of
atheist Communist Party. in plainclothes, including 1.07 million yuan ($156,148)
Islamic crescents and one who identified himself in foreign donations. It did
domes have been stripped as police, prevented AP not specify whether the
from mosques, Christian reporters from conducting Grand Mosque was among
churches have been shut interviews at the mosque the four.
down and Bibles seized, and chased them away. Ma Sengming said pro-
and Tibetan children have Later Saturday, police testers remained at the
been moved from Buddhist stopped the reporters at mosque through the night
temples to schools. a checkpoint in the direc- from Thursday to Friday
Such efforts were clearly tion of the mosque and and were twice visited by
behind the planned de- detained them for more a local official who encour-
molition of the mosque in than an hour before order- aged them to go home.
Weizhou, where dozens ing them to turn around, Ma said the official did not
of men, women and chil- and tailing them with two make any specific prom-
dren milled about on the cars to ensure they did not ises, but tried to assure the
mosque steps, on plastic change course. protesters that the govern-
chairs and in the large dirt The residents of Weizhou ment would work with them
parking lot early Satur- were alarmed by news on the matter.
day before dawn prayers. that the government was More than 100 police of-
Above them hung long planning to demolish the ficers surrounded the
banners from the second mosque despite initially ap- mosque, but did not at-
story of the mosque that pearing to approve its con- tempt to stop the protest,
read in Chinese: “Stick to struction, which was com- according to Ma.
directives of Sinicized reli- pleted just last year. Public demonstrations are
gion.” The authorities now rare in China, where the
The mosque, an imposing planned to take down government is often quick
white building lit at night eight out of the nine domes to quash any hint of dissent.
with gold, green and yel- topping the mosque on the Under President Xi Jinping,
low, dwarfs the surround- grounds that the structure the Communist Party is
ing dim warren of brick and was built larger than per- cracking down on religious
concrete homes. Its archi- mitted, said Ma Zhiguo, a expression and attacking
tecture of four minarets resident in his late 70s. But what it calls radical ideas
and nine domes tipped community members were among the country’s more
with crescent moons would standing their ground, he than 20 million Muslims.q