Beijing, – Authorities halted the demolition of a mosque after protests by hundreds of Muslims belonging to the Hui ethnic group in north-western China’s Ningxia region, the South China Morning Post reported Friday.
The large crowd that had gathered outside the mosque was asked by the authorities to go home after assurances that the mosque would not be touched.
The management of the Weizhou grand mosque was given a deadline until Friday to demolish the mosque because they lacked the necessary permits.
The government would “forcefully demolish it according to the law” in case of non-compliance, the management was notified.
After days of negotiations between the authorities and Muslim leaders, an agreement was reached Thursday to remove the soaring domes from the mosque instead of completely demolishing it, South Morning China Post quoted a government official as saying.
However, the local Muslim population has rejected that the domes from the mosque be removed.
The protests in front of the mosque were peaceful.
Chinese President Xi Jinping had introduced a policy of “Sinicise religion” in 2015, under which all the religious communities in China would follow the Chinese culture and follow the strict policies of the government.
Hui Muslims, along with Uighur ethnic Muslims, face repression from the Chinese authorities.
Human Rights Watch has in the past decried “highly intrusive religious control” by the Chinese government.
