Yunnan: Chinese authorities clash with Hui protesters over plans to demolish mosque | Oneindia News

A major clash has erupted between Chinese authorities and Muslims in the Yunnan province.

Thousands of ethnic minority Muslims surrounded a mosque in southwestern China in a last-ditch effort to prevent what they said was an attempt by authorities to remove its dome and minarets, as a crackdown on religious freedoms widens.

The apparent alteration of a mosque belonging to the Hui ethnic group in Najiaying village, Yunnan province comes amid a sweeping campaign unleashed by China’s leader Xi Jinping to “sinicize” religion.

The policy aims to purge religious faiths of foreign influence and align them more closely with traditional Chinese culture – and the authoritarian rule of the officially atheist Communist Party.

The Hui are one of 56 ethnic groups recognised by Beijing and are predominantly Sunni Muslims. Yunnan, in the country's south-west, is home to some 700,000 of about 10 million Hui Muslims in China.

They are often referred to as Chinese Muslims by local media, and are seen as well-integrated into Chinese society after centuries of intermarriage and assimilation.

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