In "China's little Mecca," the town of Linxia, Gansu, every domed mosque has had its dome(s) removed.

All of these satellite images are from Linxia.

This is part of a government program that has hit cities across China.
Many are replaced with gabled roofs that the government deems more "Chinese," in an official campaign to "Sinicize Islam," part of the current ethno-nationalist effort to assimilate minority cultures and religions. Image
I couldn't find a single mosque in Linxia with its dome intact. Those in the gif I posted are just some of the more important mosques. Even small mosques in the surrounding countryside were targeted.
Demolition and closure of mosques is also happening. The euphemism is that they are being "merged."
xw.qq.com/cmsid/20200429…
These policies get a lot of online support from racist and anti-Muslim commenters in China, commonly called 穆黑 (Muslim disparagers). tieba.baidu.com/p/6374163338 (page won't archive) Image
The dome demolitions appear to have started in December of 2019 and continued through the spring, in the midst of the pandemic. Most removals completed by the end of May, with some "Chinese" style roofs completed by then too.
The domed mosques are called "Arab" style, but most are much closer to mosque architecture in India.
(photo credit: sohu.com/a/234431035_55…) Image
The truth is that the domed mosques are a form of Chinese architecture. And like virtually all Chinese architecture, they embrace influences and inspiration from near and far. Still, I doubt that the Great Hall of the People or Summer Palace will be Sinicized soon.
In June, bitterwinter.org reported that a government "insider" in Linxia said the prefecture was planned to lose at least 400 mosques. bitterwinter.org/mosque-siniciz…

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More from @RianThum

17 Aug
While the Chinese state has destroyed some of the most important Uyghur sacred and historical sites, they have supported the construction of invented sites, with exoticizing, primitivizing, fantasies of indigenous culture. Here is Xitiya "Mystery City" (photo from CITS site).🧵 Image
Begun in 2011 and still expanding as of the last two years, Xitiya, near Karghalik, appropriates elements of Uyghur shrine architecture that are being destroyed at actual sacred places. For example, this "sacred tree" has Uyghur-style votive ribbons attached. Image
These elements are mixed with exoticizing concoctions that have nothing to do with any local traditions, like this altar: Image
Read 6 tweets
6 Jul
3+ years after my colleague Rahile Dawut's disappearance, some news about the official reasons for her detention. Police station at Xinjiang University says she was "provoking" farmers against the government. You can hear the phone recording from RFA here: rfa.org/uyghur/xewerle…
Rahile did most of her fieldwork in rural locations. As a star scholar visiting from the top provincial university, she was in a position to tell local officials in remote areas that the religious traditions she was studying were innocuous and important to Uyghur inhabitants.
Her daughter Akida is reporting a change in her family's communication (which is presumably closely monitored by the government) since the phone call.
Read 7 tweets
7 Jul 20
Before and after pics of a Uyghur sacred historical site, Imam Asim, desecrated by China's authorities.

Thread on what it means for Uyghur culture to be destroyed, using photos of what has been lost in the banning of the shrine festival at Imam Asim. ImageImage
First a note on the photos: faces have been distorted and blurred. This is because authorities have put people in internment camps for religious activities they participated in as long as ten years ago. Image
All but the desecration image in tweet#1 are by me, from visits in 2008, 2010, & 2013. Desecration pic from tripadvisor user marceltraveller.
Read 28 tweets
21 Jan 19
China’s propaganda push on its mass internment program for Uyghurs and other minorities has been remarkably successful. Thread 1/x
Western media have been widely reproducing Chinese propaganda images from staged, dressed-up internment camps: ordinary classrooms, fence-free spaces, dancing inmates -- often without alternative images for context. But this is what internal Chinese propaganda portrayed before: Image
Is it feasible for reporters to explain to their photo/graphics people that if they insist on using propaganda images of dressed-up internment camps, they should pair them with more realistic images? 3/x
Read 17 tweets

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