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SHANGHAI: China’s Foreign Ministry denied claims by an Australian think tank that it had destroyed thousands of mosques in its western Xinjiang region, saying there are more than 24,000 mosques there, “more mosques per capita than many countries. Muslims”.
The Australian Strategic Policy Institute (ASPI) had released a report on Thursday (September 24) that estimated that some 16,000 mosques in Xinjiang have been destroyed or damaged as a result of government policies, mainly since 2017.
The estimates were made using satellite imagery and were based on a sample of 900 religious sites prior to 2017, including mosques, shrines, and holy sites.
“The Chinese government has embarked on a systematic and intentional campaign to rewrite the cultural heritage of the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region … in order to turn those indigenous cultural traditions into the service of the ‘Chinese nation’,” the report said. of the ASPI.
“Along with other coercive efforts to redesign the social and cultural life of the Uighurs by transforming or eliminating the language, music, homes and even the diets of the Uighurs, the Chinese government’s policies are actively erasing and altering key elements of their heritage. tangible cultural “.
In response to the report, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin called it “nothing but defamatory rumors” during a press conference on Friday, and said ASPI had received foreign funding to “support its invention of lies against China. “
“If we look at the numbers, there are more than 24,000 mosques in Xinjiang, which is more than 10 times more than in the United States,” Wang said. “It means there is one mosque for every 530 Muslims in Xinjiang, which is more mosques per capita. than many Muslim countries. “
READ: US House votes to ban imports from Xinjiang for forced labor
China has come under scrutiny for its treatment of Uyghur Muslims and allegations of alleged forced labor abuses in Xinjiang, where the United Nations cites credible reports that 1 million Muslims detained in camps have been put to work.
China has denied mistreating Uighurs, saying the camps are vocational training centers needed to combat extremism.
