China's Silent Mosque Demolitions: A Visual Investigation Reveals Shocking Cultural Erasure

The Financial Times has recently published a ground-breaking visual investigation, aiming to meticulously document the extensive destruction of mosques and the erasure of Islamic culture in various regions of China. What's notably perplexing is the lack of condemnation from any of the countries within the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation regarding this cultural obliteration in China. Thousands of mosques across China have either been altered or completely demolished, reflecting Beijing's relentless suppression of Islam that has extended to almost every corner of the nation. Based on satellite based analysis conducted on 2,312 mosques, originally featuring Islamic architecture, a staggering three-quarters of them have undergone modifications or have been razed since 2018. These buildings have been systematically stripped of their Arabic elements, often replaced with traditional Chinese architectural designs. In some instances, mosques have been outright demolished. The alterations were particularly methodical in regions with larger Muslim populations. Documented mosque demolitions and modifications have been primarily concentrated in Xinjiang, the north-western region where hundreds of thousands of Turkic Muslims have been detained. However, there is also some evidence of architectural changes occurring in other parts of China.