Tensions Rise at Nagu Town Mosque: Clash of Culture and Control

In the southwestern mountains of China, signs of a vibrant Muslim community in Nagu Town are abundant. Amplifiers play excerpts from the translated Quran while women in headscarves gather their lively children from school. Homes are adorned with Arabic decorations.

Dominating the scene is the towering Nagu Camp Mosque, a 70-meter white structure with a jade dome and four minarets. For decades, this mosque has been a source of pride for the Muslim Hui ethnic minority who live here.

Last month, however, it became a scene of conflict. On May 27, tensions escalated as authorities brought in cranes to the mosque courtyard, leading to clashes between residents and hundreds of riot police equipped with riot gear. Police sealed off the mosque, using pepper spray against protesters while residents responded with thrown water bottles and bricks.

Witness accounts and social media videos depict these rare clashes, underscoring periodic turbulence amid the Chinese Communist Party’s intensified religious control efforts.