The mosque was built in 1442 (although it incorporated older structures dating back to 996)[citation needed] by Saqsiz Mirza, the elder of two sons of Amir Sayyid Ali, to commemorate his ancestors.[1] The mosque covers an area of around 16,000 square meters.[2]
The mosque's modern golden-brick structure was built in 1798, replacing the older building, and was further expanded in 1838 to its current size.[3]
On 9 August 1933, Chinese Muslim General Ma Zhancang killed and beheaded the Uyghur leader Timur Beg, displaying his head on a spike at Id Kah mosque.[4][5][6][7]
In March 1934, it was reported that the Uyghur emir Abdullah Bughra was also beheaded, the head being displayed at Id Kah mosque.[8][9]
In April 1934, the Chinese Muslim general Ma Zhongying gave a speech at Id Kah Mosque in Kashgar, telling the Uyghurs to be loyal to the Republic of China Kuomintang government of Nanjing.[10][11][12]
The mosque received a renovation in 1981,[13] and the mosque's façade was covered with tiles between 2004 and 2005.[14]
On 30 July 2014, the imam of the mosque at the time, Jume Tahir, was stabbed to death by extremists shortly after attending morning prayers.[15][16] His unknown successor was jailed for 15 years by the Chinese authorities in 2017, having been accused of spreading extremism.[17][18]
The current imam of the mosque is Memet Jume.[19]
Decline in attendance
In 2009, Id Kah was the largest mosque in Xinjiang and in China.[20][21] Every Friday, it housed nearly 10,000 worshippers and could accommodate up to 20,000.[22] On other days of the week, around 2,000 Muslims came to the mosque to pray.[20]
In 2011, between 4,000 and 5,000 people attended Friday prayers in the mosque.[23] However, the current mosque's imam, Memet Jume, said in a 2021 interview with the Associated Press that the number of worshippers attending Friday prayers at the mosque dropped to between 800 and 900 in 2021;[23] he attributed the drop to "a natural shift in values", rather than Chinese government policies.[23]
^ 旅游词典 (1992). 旅游辭典 (in Chinese). 陕西旅游出版社.
^ Qi, Xiaoshan (October 1994). Ancient art in Xinjiang, China. 新疆美術攝影出版社. ISBN 9787805472232.
^ Steinhardt, Nancy Shatzman (2015). China's Early Mosques. Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press. p. 268. ISBN 978-0-7486-7041-3.
^ S. Frederick Starr (2004). Xinjiang: China's Muslim borderland. M.E. Sharpe. p. 77. ISBN 0-7656-1318-2. Retrieved 28 June 2010.
^ James A. Millward (2007). Eurasian crossroads: a history of Xinjiang. Columbia University Press. p. 198. ISBN 978-0-231-13924-3. Retrieved 28 June 2010.
^ Andrew D. W. Forbes (1986). Warlords and Muslims in Chinese Central Asia: a political history of Republican Sinkiang 1911–1949. Cambridge, England: CUP Archive. p. 93. ISBN 0-521-25514-7. Retrieved 28 June 2010.
^ The British newspaper The Times reported that a turki chief was beheaded on August 25, 1933
^ Christian Tyler (2004). Wild West China: the taming of Xinjiang. New Brunswick, New Jersey: Rutgers University Press. p. 116. ISBN 0-8135-3533-6. Retrieved 28 June 2010.
^ Andrew D. W. Forbes (1986). Warlords and Muslims in Chinese Central Asia: a political history of Republican Sinkiang 1911–1949. Cambridge, England: CUP Archive. p. 123. ISBN 0-521-25514-7. Retrieved 28 June 2010.
^ S. Frederick Starr (2004). Xinjiang: China's Muslim borderland. M.E. Sharpe. p. 79. ISBN 0-7656-1318-2. Retrieved 28 June 2010.
^ James A. Millward (2007). Eurasian crossroads: a history of Xinjiang. Columbia University Press. p. 200. ISBN 978-0-231-13924-3. Retrieved 28 June 2010.
^ Andrew D. W. Forbes (1986). Warlords and Muslims in Chinese Central Asia: a political history of Republican Sinkiang 1911–1949. Cambridge, England: CUP Archive. p. 124. ISBN 0-521-25514-7. Retrieved 28 June 2010.
^ China. Apa Publications. 1997. ISBN 978-0-395-66287-8.
^ Robert Neville (28 June 2009). "Pourquoi la Chine casse-t-elle Kachgar?". LExpress.fr (in French). L'Express. Archived from the original on 30 June 2022. Retrieved 8 May 2021.
^ "Imam of China's largest mosque killed in Xinjiang". BBC News. 31 July 2014. Retrieved 29 April 2021.
^ Areddy, James T. (31 July 2014). "State-Appointed Muslim Leader Killed in China". The Wall Street Journal. ISSN 0099-9660. Retrieved 29 April 2021.
^ NEWS, KYODO (23 May 2021). "Ex-Muslim leader at China's biggest mosque in Xinjiang incarcerated". Kyodo News+. Archived from the original on 19 April 2022. Retrieved 19 April 2022.
^ "Former Muslim leader at China's biggest mosque in Xinjiang incarcerated". The Japan Times. 24 May 2021. Archived from the original on 19 April 2022. Retrieved 19 April 2022.
^ Moritsugu, Ken; Kang, Dake (6 May 2021). "Will there be any Muslims left among the Chinese Uyghurs?". Christian Science Monitor. Associated Press. ISSN 0882-7729. Retrieved 19 May 2021.
^ a b "All Quiet on the Western Front -- Beijing Review". www.bjreview.com. Retrieved 5 May 2021.
^ China Report: Political, Sociological and Military Affairs. Foreign Broadcast Information Service. 1985.
^ Peter Neville-Hadley. Frommer's China. Frommer's, 2003. ISBN 978-0-7645-6755-1. Page 302.
^ a b c Ken Moritsugu; Dake Kang (6 May 2021). "Ramadan in China: Faithful dwindle under limits on religion | Taiwan News | 2021-05-06 12:20:36". Taiwan News. Associated Press. Archived from the original on 19 April 2022. Retrieved 19 April 2022.
Add new comment