The mosque, an imposing white building lit at night with gold, green and yellow, dwarfs the surrounding dim warren of brick and concrete homes. Its architecture of four minarets and nine domes tipped with crescent moons would be at home anywhere in the Islamic world, save for the large red and yellow Chinese flags fluttering from the ramparts and the wide central staircase.

Kinesiske myndigheder vil rive en mega-moské i byen Weizhou i Ningxia-provinsen ned, for at vise at ingen, selv ikke islam, står over kinesisk lov, dvs. kommunistpartiet.

Moskéen, som har ni kupler og fire minareter, kan rumme 30.000 troende. Den er bygget for indsamlede midler og stod færdig i starten af sidste år.

Flere tusind mennesker samlede sig i weekenden og slog ring om moskéen. De er forfærdet ved tanken om at moskeen skal rives ned. Hundredvis af politifolk passede på, men foretog sig ikke noget. Protester i et sådant omfang er sjælden i Kina.

The residents of Weizhou were alarmed by news that the government was planning to demolish the mosque despite initially appearing to approve its construction, which was completed just last year.

The authorities now planned to take down eight out of the nine domes topping the mosque on the grounds that the structure was built larger than permitted, said Ma Zhiguo, a resident in his late 70s. But community members were standing their ground, he added.

“How could we allow them to tear down a mosque that is still in good condition?” he said, adding that the mosque conducts prayers attended by about 30,000 Muslims and was built using believers’ personal funds.

Presset om nedrivning ser ud til at komme fra centralt hold. Lokale myndigheder kritiseres for at have sovet i timen. Moskéen er langt større end det, der oprindeligt blev givet tilladelse til, hævdes det.

Lederen i avisen Global Times skriver, at myndighederne ønsker at sende et budskab:

But the Global Times newspaper said in an editorial Saturday that the authorities had to send a message to all religious groups that none of them are above the law.

“Demolishing the mosque is sure to earn the ire of local religious followers. However, if the local government does not react to the illegal act, it will fuel the idea that religions are superior over China’s laws,” the paper said.

Det er ikke bare muslimerne, der har fået den hårdere linje at mærke. Også kirker er blevet lukket. Men myndighederne er ekstra meget på vagt overfor radikal islam. Det er særlig i Xinjang-provinsen de har slået ned på muslimske skoler og moskéer.

In the far west region of Xinjiang, following sporadic violent attacks by radical Muslim separatists, hundreds of thousands of members of the Uighur and Kazakh Muslim minorities have been arbitrarily detained in indoctrination camps where they are forced to denounce Islam and profess loyalty to the party.

Kina har 20 millioner muslimer. Hui-muslimerne står meget nær han-kineserne i kultur og sprog, men heller ikke her stoler myndighederne på muslimerne.

Compared to those ethnic groups, the Hui are culturally much closer to China’s Han majority, similar in appearance and speaking a variation of the mainstream Mandarin language.

But recently, reports said authorities have shut down Hui religious schools and Arabic classes and barred children from participating in Muslim activities.

Den hårde linje er en del af en større og mere autoritær tendens i Kina. Præsident Xi Jinping tolerer ikke, at der findes magtcentre udenfor hans kontrol. Etniske eller religiøse minoriteter er potentielle trusler.