Just Earth News | @justearthnews | 11 Aug 2018, 09:48 am Print
Beijing: Angry mob took to the streets in China's Tongxin county, Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region, protesting the authorities' decision to demolish the Weizhou Grand Mosque.
The incident took place earlier this week.
The agitation has forced authorities to delay their plans to demolish the newly built structure. The mosque was completed last year.
Reports said that the decision is Beijing's attempt to build an atheist China, a doctrine followed by the ruling Communist Party.
According to a report by the South China Morning Post, authorities had served a notice to the mosque's management, asking them to take down the building as it did not have the necessary planning and construction permits.
However, following a meeting between authorities and mosque administrators, the former said that the entire structure will not be demolished but eight of its domes to be severed.
Agitators have, however, cried foul at government's comment about the mosque being illegally constructed. Several of them have question why it wasn't stopped during construction as the same took two years to complete.
This incident is not solitary in China as at least two other mosques had their domes removed earlier this year.
The Chinese government has also removed all Arabic and Islamic signs from the streets.
"Several mosques in Nigxia have been ordered to cancel public Arabic classes, while a number of private Arabic schools have been told to shut down," the Post reported.
Image: Screengrab from YouTube
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