China seals 3 mosques in southern province

By Fuat Kabakci</p> <p>BEIJING (AA) – Chinese authorities have shut down three mosques in Weishan town of the country’s southern Yunnan province, media reported.</p> <p>The mosques belonging to Hui Muslims were shut for what the authorities said “illegal religious education,” the South China Morning Post, a Hong Kong-based daily, said in a report.</p> <p>A video shared by the daily on its website shows dozens of uniformed police officers confronting Hui Muslim worshippers, who were trying to prevent the closure of a mosque.</p> <p>It is not known whether the security forces detained any of them.</p> <p>The footage also showed that a door of mosque was chained and sealed. No details were shared about the name of the mosque. </p> <p>According to China’s People’s Daily, a Weishan local government’s official statement said the police in coordination with the Weishan County Ethnic and Religious Affairs Committee carried out a raid in the villages of Huihuideng, Sanjia and Mamichang to &quot;protect harmony and stability in the religious domain.&quot;</p> <p>It is estimated that 700,000 Chinese Hui Muslims live in Yunnan province. </p> <p>Muslims comprise 10 of around 56 ethnic minorities in China. The Muslim ethnic groups — Hui, Uyghurs, Kyrgyzs, Kazakhs, Tajiks, Tatars, Uzbeks, Salars, Bao’ans, and Dongshiangs — mostly live in northern and northwestern China.