A newspaper of the ruling Communist Party responded to the demonstration by staying no religion is above the law.
BEIJING — A newspaper of the ruling Communist Party said Saturday that no religion is above the law in China, urging officials to stay firm while dealing with a rare protest over the planned demolition of a massive mosque in the northwest of the country.
The Global Times newspaper said local officials in the town of Weizhou in Ningxia, a region that’s home to many ethnic minority Hui Muslims, must act against what it described as an illegal expansion of a religious building.
Thousands of Muslims gathered at the mosque on two days last week to protest the planned demolition in a rare public response to the government’s efforts to rewrite how religions are practiced in the country.
A large crowd of Hui people began congregating at the towering Grand Mosque in the town of Weizhou on Thursday, local Hui residents said.
‘‘People are in a lot of pain,’’ said Ma Sengming, a 72-year-old man who was at the protest from Thursday morning until Friday afternoon. ‘‘Many people were crying. We can’t understand why this is happening.’’
Ma said the group shouted ‘‘Protect faith in China!’’ and ‘‘Love the country, love the faith!’’
The protest comes as faith groups that were largely tolerated in the past have seen their freedoms shrink as the government seeks to ‘‘Sinicize’’ religions by making the faithful prioritize allegiance to the officially atheist ruling Communist Party.
Islamic crescents and domes have been stripped from mosques, Christian churches have been shut down and Bibles seized, and Tibetan children have been moved from Buddhist temples to schools.
The residents of Weizhou were alarmed by news that the government was planning to demolish the mosque despite initially appearing to approve its construction, which was completed just last year.
The town’s Communist Party secretary had even made a congratulatory speech at the site when the mosque’s construction began, said Ma Zhiguo, a resident in his late 70s.
