The tomb of the Muslim saint Imam Asim lies in China\u2019s Taklamakan Desert, at the end of a long walkway lined with poplar trees.<\/p>\n
By ALICE SU
\u200b\u200b\u200b\u200b\u200b\u200b\u200b1 January 2017<\/p>\n
The tomb of the Muslim saint Imam Asim lies in China\u2019s Taklamakan Desert, at the end of a long walkway lined with poplar trees. An elevated mud structure, the shrine would easily be camouflaged by the sand if not for the flags, rams\u2019 skulls and strips of cloth decorating it. It is located near the town of Hotan, in the autonomous region of Xinjiang, in the country\u2019s north-west\u2014the homeland of the Turkic-speaking Uyghur Muslim community. For centuries, Uyghur Sufis would journey through the desert between shrines such as this one, stopping at each to recite poems celebrating religious heroes.<\/p>\n
\u201cChinese people don\u2019t come here,\u201d said Tudi Mohammad, a 50-year-old sheikh who is the shrine\u2019s guardian. \u201cIt\u2019s not a tourist site.\u201d Mohammad has lived near the shrine for most of his life; his father was also its guardian. He remembered how thousands of people would visit the shrine in May, when locals commemorated the anniversary of the saint\u2019s death. But now, he said, the government has prohibited that ceremony, and Uyghurs come to the tomb in tens, at most. Before he could elaborate, a police car arrived at the shrine. Several personnel entered the building with large batons in hand, demanding that we leave. Mohammad turned around and returned to his room near the shrine\u2019s entrance, glancing pointedly at a security camera hanging above his door.<\/p>\n