JAKARTA - The former imam of the grand mosque and historic Id Kah mosque in Xinjiang, China, has been detained by Chinese authorities since 2017 on charges of spreading extremism, a source said.
"The former imam at id Kah mosque was sentenced to 15 years in prison. In addition to the person who led the prayer at the mosque, other religious leaders were also detained," the source said Sunday, May 23, as reported by Kyodonews Monday, May 24.
However, the mosque's current imam denies religious persecution by the ruling Communist Party. Id Kah Mosque is a historical mosque and the largest mosque in Xinjiang that opened in 1442 ago.
China's move will come under criticism from the United States and other democratic countries, which have denounced accusations of oppression against Uighur Muslims as genocide, amid accusations the Chinese Government is violating human rights in the region.
China is known to have been criticized for the mass incarceration of the Uighur Muslim minority, for opposing the country's growing scrutiny under a re-education campaign in Xinjiang.
However, President Xi Jinping's administration has consistently said its internment camp is a vocational training center set up to combat terrorism and religious extremism. They urged the United States not to interfere in its internal affairs.
Last March, the United States condemned the genocide that has occurred against the Uighur Muslim minority in China's Xinjiang, in its annual human rights report issued for the first time under the administration of President Joe Biden.
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