By Tahir Imin Uyghurian | Uyghur Times | July 2025
A Turkish tourist has exposed the alarming transformation of mosques in Urumqi, the capital of the Uyghur homeland, into controlled, securitized spaces that no longer serve as centers of Islamic worship but rather as tools for state propaganda and surveillance.
Taha Yasin Erel, a Turkish national, visited Urumqi in May 2025 and documented his experiences in a one-hour video. During his visit, he explored how Uyghur Muslims live under Chinese rule and observed the state of religious freedom—or the lack thereof—in the region. What he uncovered was deeply disturbing.
Mosques Turned Into Museums
Erel visited several historic mosques in the Dongkowruk area of the Tengritagh district, including Dongkowruk Mosque (also known as Erdaoqiao Mosque), Aq Mosque, and Salar Mosque. He found them all either closed to the public or open only for tightly regulated visits. Dongkowruk Mosque, once a vibrant place of worship, had been turned into a museum. Worship was restricted or entirely prohibited unless authorized.
At the Aq Mosque, Erel attempted to pray but was denied access to the worship hall. The individual in charge refused to let him enter the main prayer area, told him to remain outside, and even declined to turn on the lights. Across the street, Salar Mosque was similarly closed, with no sign of active worship.
Friday Prayer Under Surveillance
On Friday, May 23, 2025, Erel returned to observe Friday prayers. Upon entering a mosque, his passport was photographed—a clear sign of state surveillance. He noted that despite being in the Uyghur region, the congregation was forced to follow Beijing Standard Time rather than local time.
The Friday sermon (khutba) was not delivered in the Uyghur language, nor did it begin with the Islamic invocation “Bismillah.” Instead, the imam delivered the sermon entirely in Chinese, reading directly from state documents, particularly the “Regulations on National Unity and Progress in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region” (《新疆维吾尔自治区民族团结进步工作条例》). He recited sections of Chapters 4 and 5—covering surveillance, propaganda, and patriotic education—before closing with a single line from the Qur’an.
What the read includes the following”: Article 48:
People’s governments at all levels shall regularly hold commendation conferences for national unity and progress to recognize and reward units and individuals who have made significant achievements and outstanding contributions in areas such as joint ventures by all ethnic groups, poverty alleviation, mutual assistance, and neighborhood solidarity.
The autonomous region shall hold such commendation conferences at least once every five years; prefectures and cities at least once every three years; and counties, cities, and districts at least once every two years.
Article 49:
People’s governments at all levels shall treat the promotion of national unity as strategic, foundational, and long-term work. They shall fully utilize the results of unity and progress, educate and inform the masses, build consensus, and unite people’s hearts.
Article 50:
Units designated as demonstration models for national unity and progress in the autonomous region may receive a one-time reward at the end of each year.
Specific methods for the creation and rewarding of national unity and progress demonstration units shall be formulated by the people’s government of the autonomous region.”…”
There were no Qur’an copies visible in the mosque. The shelves reserved for religious texts were completely empty. Erel also observed that nearly all the worshippers were elderly, mostly between 50 and 60 years old. He was the only young man in attendance—a reflection of the fact that young Uyghurs either do not, or cannot, attend mosque.
Conversations and Fear
Erel attempted to engage with Uyghur worshippers, but many appeared afraid to speak openly. In one instance, he tried to initiate a conversation in Uyghur with a small group after prayer, but they refused to speak and urged him to leave.
When he tried to take a photo of another mosque, he was aggressively stopped, shouted at, and expelled from the site.
A Clear Pattern of Suppression
Erel concludes in his video that the Islamic and Turkic identities of Uyghurs are under systematic attack. He describes an atmosphere of fear, control, and cultural erasure. What he witnessed was not religious freedom but a performance stage-managed by the Chinese state to neutralize Islam and rewrite Uyghur identity under the banner of “ethnic unity.”
His firsthand account adds to the growing body of evidence that religious repression in the Uyghur homeland is not just a policy—it is a core element of China’s assimilation strategy through “Sinicization” of Islam.