A mosque in Gansu province, in north-central China, was partially dismantled on April 11, the latest casualty of a national campaign to eradicate Islamic traditions.

Chinese authorities have been systematically cracking down on Muslim minorities in the country, notably in the northwestern region of Xinjiang, where around a million Uighurs are being held in detention camps.

But the repressive measures are steadily extending into other regions, with local reports of the destruction of mosques and the removal of Islamic symbols in Ningxia and Gansu Provinces, home to large numbers of the country’s Hui Muslim community.

On April 11, authorities demolished part of a mosque located in Gazhuang village, in Gansu’s Linxia Hui Autonomous Prefecture, leaving a huge gash in its golden dome and pulling down Islamic motifs inside. The mosque was built less than a month ago and residents were warned not to publish photos and videos of the destruction, according to Bitter Winter and Deutsche Welle.

But videos emerged on Twitter days later showing the damaged dome, debris scattered on the roof and near the entrance, and a large crane with a red bow attached to its bumper sitting in the courtyard of the mosque. Several people are seen crying on the ground.





The individual who took the videos sent them to Erkin Azat, a Xinjiang-born freelance journalist now based in Kazakhstan, who then posted them online. Azat, who uses a pseudonym to protect family members still living in Xinjiang from repercussions, said his source told him several people who took videos of the demolition were later arrested.



