China: Friday prayers at the Id Kah mosque with worshippers spilling into the square in front of the mosque, Kashgar, Xinjiang Province

China: Friday prayers at the Id Kah mosque with worshippers spilling into the square in front of the mosque, Kashgar, Xinjiang Province

The Id Kah mosque (Uyghur: Héytgah Meschit, Chinese: Aitígaer) is a mosque located in Kashgar, Xinjiang, in the western People's Republic of China. It is the largest mosque in China. Every Friday, it houses nearly 10,000 worshippers and may accommodate up to 20,000. The mosque was built by Saqsiz Mirza in ca. 1442 (although it incorporated older structures dating back to 996) and covers 16,800 square meters. In 1933, on August 9, the Chinese Muslim General Ma Zhancang killed and beheaded the Uighur leader Timur Beg, displaying his head on a spike at Id Kah mosque. In March 1934, it was reported that the uighur emir Abdullah Bughra was also beheaded, the head being displayed at Id Kah mosque. In April 1934, the Chinese Muslim general Ma Zhongying gave a speech at Id Kah Mosque in Kashgar, telling the Uighurs to be loyal to the Republic of China Kuomintang government at Nanjing.

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