[…T]he current move to demolish the Ningxia mosque is an indication that the government is now looking to extend control over other Muslim ethnic minorities, says rights group Amnesty International.<\/p>\n
Earlier this year, in neighbouring Gansu province, children under 16 in the region of Linxia were banned from religious activities, in a move that alarmed Hui imams.<\/p>\n
“It’s clear that the Chinese government’s hostility towards Muslims in China is not only limited to Uighurs,” researcher Patrick Poon told the BBC.<\/p>\n
“Hui Muslims are generally considered less vulnerable to crackdowns, but this incident proves that the government is determined to use a holistic and heavy-handed approach towards all Muslim ethnic minorities in China.” [Source<\/strong><\/a>]<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
The SCMP editorial board writes that the protest by Hui Muslims in Weizhou was less a reflection of expanding religious oppression and more a consequence of the government’s lack of sensitivity and consideration towards local conditions in drawing up regulatory policies<\/strong><\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
Religious institutions and communities share in China\u2019s rising prosperity. This is often reflected by lavish property developments that project worldly rather than spiritual values associated with places of worship and spark friction with secular bureaucracy. Despite the wealth of religious bodies, it can take a long time to obtain various permits to build a new place of worship on the mainland, and just a stroke of the pen for an order to pull it down because it still does not have all the necessary paperwork. That is a recipe for conflict in which heavy-handed regulation is conflated with religious oppression.<\/p>\n
[…] Regardless of perceptions, it is reasonable for officials to expect religious institutions to comply with local building regulations and standards. But even legitimate enforcement, often prompted by a higher authority, is fraught with the risk of misrepresentation of political motives. Officials need to exercise their power with sensitivity and common sense. Demands for demolition and radical changes to churches, mosques and temples without so much as lip service to negotiation or consultation are examples. They show little empathy with the feelings of people amid political concerns, as mainlanders increasingly turn to religion to fill the spiritual vacuum left by wealth and materialism.<\/p>\n
That said, it is a sweeping conclusion to regard the Weizhou protest as an issue of religious freedom. Examples of conflict with authority over places of worship may be found throughout China but they are not part of a universal pattern. There is a historical background in that Beijing has drawn up policies on the design and construction of temples. In this case, it has apparently come down to an issue of building standards. However, even though Beijing may be able to cite rules as the basis of action, officials have to be sensitive to local conditions and sentiment in applying them and take into consideration circumstances on the ground. [Source<\/strong><\/a>]<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n
At the BBC, David Stroup, an expert on Hui Muslims at the University of Oklahoma, writes that the government’s action in Weizhou could backfire as it risks antagonizing an Islamic community\u00a0that benefited from China’s economic development<\/strong><\/a> and, as a result, think of themselves as both Chinese patriots and loyal Muslims.<\/p>\n
The Great Western Development Campaign of the early 2000s poured resources into towns like Weizhou and with this economic support, the people of this tiny Hui enclave pulled themselves out of poverty, and reconnected with their Islamic heritage.<\/p>\n
Local residents engaged in entrepreneurship and became modestly prosperous. The community opened schools for poor children to learn to read the Koran. People began to pray regularly. One person I spoke to told me: “People here have simple lives. There aren’t any high-rise buildings, but the locals are really quite prosperous. Life here is good.”<\/p>\n
Far from extremist rejection of the party-state’s authority, Weizhou’s Hui community prospered under state-led development initiatives.<\/p>\n
The community’s religious devotion grew alongside its economy. Residents of the town view themselves as exemplars of both Islamic devotion and Chinese patriotism.<\/p>\n