China has shut down hundreds of mosques in the northern regions of the country.
Human Rights Watch (HRW) says that Chinese authorities have closed or repurposed hundreds of mosques in areas of Ningxia and Gansu in the north of the country, which have the largest Muslim population after the Xinjiang province.
The Chinese Communist Party has long been implementing strict control over the activities of religious and ethnic minorities in China, and since 2016, the pace and intensity of mosque closures or conversions have increased.
In April 2018, Beijing issued a directive requiring government officials to strictly control the construction and layout of spaces designated for Islamic activities.
Satellite imagery analysis of mosques in Ningxia by Human Rights Watch researchers revealed that between 2019 and 2021, the domes and minarets of seven mosques were removed, and four mosques were significantly altered.
Hannah Ticker, a lecturer at Plymouth University who researched the issue with David Stroup from the University of Manchester, estimates that since 2020, about 1,300 mosques in Ningxia, one-third of the total registered number, have been closed.