Beijing’s crackdown on religious freedom has focused on the display of Arabic texts in the past three months, with officials removing Islamic prayer verses seen in ethnic Islamic communities, human rights portal Bitter Winter has reported.

Religious inscriptions carved above the entrances of people’s homes, a practice common among Chinese Muslims, were taken down or covered during multiple operations conducted across several provinces starting June this year.

“Officials said that all Arabic texts across the country should be removed because of ‘Uighur troubles’ in Xinjiang,” a resident at the ethnic Hui town of Pengjiazhuang in Hebei province said. “They want us to follow only the Communist Party, not Allah, aiming to eliminate Islam.”

Millions of Chinese-speaking Muslims live in China and mostly fall under one of two groups, the Hui and the Uighurs. Their Islamic way of life has come under increasing attack in recent years as the Chinese government carries out “sinicization” campaigns, modifying mosques and getting rid of Islamic crescent symbols.

In Yucun, an ethnic Hui town in Shandong province, all “duas” — inscribed prayer verses hung over residential doorways — were covered with Chinese paintings in an operation carried out at 71 houses in June.

“The government prohibits us from learning Arabic; only Chinese must be used,” a resident of the village said. “It’s like people in Xinjiang are banned from studying the Uighur language. The government aims to control us through ‘sinicization,’ fearing that we’ll oppose it.”

Officials have threatened to “break down doors and gates” if residents do not give in to the removal orders, according to other villagers quoted by Bitter Winter.

“Anyone who tried reasoning with them was threatened with punishment,” an unnamed resident of Pingliang city in the northwestern province of Gansu said. “Hanging duas has been our custom for years, but the government has issued orders to cover them.”

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