China destroys thousands of mosques in Xinjiang
News Desk || risingbd.com
Chinese authorities destroyed thousands of mosques in Xinjiang in just three years, according to a report of Australian Strategic Policy Institute (ASPI).
The revelations are contained in an expansive data project by ASPI, which used satellite imagery and on-the-ground reporting to map the extensive and continuing construction of detention camps and destruction of cultural and religious sites in the north-western region.
“This is the lowest number since the Cultural Revolution, when fewer than 3,000 mosques remained,” the report said.
It found around two-thirds of the area’s mosques were affected, and about 50% of protected cultural sites had been damaged or destroyed, including the total destruction of Ordam Mazar (shrine), an ancient site of pilgrimage dating back to the 10th century, reports theguardian.com.
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