JAKARTA: Fakhry Affan could easily qualify as a human catalog with information on every Muslim place of worship across Indonesia.
For the past seven years, the official from the Ministry of Religious Affairs (MRA) has been in charge of its Sistem Informasi Masjid (SIMAS), or Mosque Information System — a digitized database to find out how many mosques the world’s largest Muslim majority nation has.
“This is a never-ending job with new mosques and musallas constructed all the time,” Affan told Arab News.
A musalla is an open space outside a mosque, mainly used for prayer.
The idea is to get the best estimate on the number of mosques in the country, where more than 80 percent of its 270 million population is Muslim.
Affan said that before the SIMAS’ establishment in 2013, various agencies had issued different estimates on the total number of mosques in the country without providing any official reference.
The ministry’s manual data itself listed more than 741,000 mosques, while then-Vice President Jusuf Kalla was quoted in 2018 as saying that there were more mosques than schools in the country and that “only God knows” how many mosques Indonesia had.
“We were challenged by the difference in the numbers, so we started digitalizing the data in 2013 to verify and validate our manual data,” Affan told Arab News.
Helping him with the project is a dedicated team of 5,000 MRA personnel, down to the sub-district level across Indonesia.
Their task? To register and digitize data on the various sites, irrespective of size, where Muslims can pray in the respective areas.
Each place registered, from the Istiqlal Mosque — the state mosque in the capital Jakarta — to a prayer room inside a restaurant, gets its own identification number, with a brief description of the place and how to get there.
“We register them all one by one. If, for example, a mall has more than one prayer room located on different floors of the building, we list each prayer room individually,” Affan said.
It is a common sight in Indonesia to find mosque signage outside an eatery, to inform Muslim customers that they have a place to pray in the vicinity.
When Arab News interviewed Affan last Monday, his team had gathered information on 599,486 mosques and musallas.
“In 10 minutes, the number could change. It’s constantly updated by colleagues nationwide,” he said.
As of Saturday, that number had increased to 600,581 — almost 80 percent from the manual number provided and out of the 90 percent target that Affan and his team aim to reach by the year-end.
There are hurdles, of course, Affan said, such as collecting data from the country’s eastern region and remote, far-flung islands in the sprawling archipelago of 17,000 islands, which usually trickles in due to slow Internet connectivity.
The team also deploys a drone to get pictures of the mosque and its surroundings from various angles. Many mosques are too big to capture with a regular camera or are located in a densely populated neighborhood with narrow alleys, making it challenging to get a complete photograph.
Since 99 percent of the mosques are constructed and maintained by the local community, Muhammad Agus Salim, the MRA’s director of Islamic affairs and Sharia development, said that having an official and verified mosque catalog would serve as a “basic reference” for government policies related to mosques, such as local community empowerment, construction and renovation, water and sanitation improvement, caretakers’ capacity building, and religious moderation to prevent mosques from becoming a place that spread extreme Islamic teachings.
“This data collection is crucial in mapping Muslims’ potential in Indonesia. We did not have official data on imams, mosque caretakers and youth clubs, so we were unable to allocate a budget to mosques development,” Salim told Arab News.
Developing youth clubs would also encourage young people to become mosque activists and imams, he added.
It would also ensure transparency in alms’ collections and donations, for which the MRA is working with financial authorities to allow mosques with verified data to open a Shariah bank account as well.
Secretary-general of the Indonesian Mosque Council (DMI), Imam Addaqurutni, told Arab News that the DMI has been working on a similar project for three years.
“We have an open database to which anyone can enter data of a mosque with its coordinates. Once an entry is completed, we will lock it in for verification. We will use the data to develop mosques to be more than just a venue for religious activities,” he said.
Recently, DMI chairman, Jusuf Kalla, said that the government had welcomed the council’s proposal to use mosques as COVID-19 vaccination centers for senior citizens from next month.
Since the two and a half months of rolling out the vaccination campaign, about 3,000 people in three priority groups — medical workers, frontline and public workers, and senior citizens — have received their second jab, while almost 7,000 have had their first jab, out of 40,349,051 in the three groups.
The move is part of the government’s plan to vaccinate 181.5 million by year-end and reach herd immunity.
“We are finalizing the mechanism with the Health Ministry to accelerate the number of senior citizens getting vaccinated,” Addaqurutni said.
Work is worship: Indonesia’s 5,000 mosque counters seek to answer one question
https://arab.news/pjpd6
Work is worship: Indonesia’s 5,000 mosque counters seek to answer one question
- Government-appointed team has been scouting across the archipelago for the past seven years to document every Muslim place of worship
- “This is a never-ending job with new mosques and musallas constructed all the time,” Affan told Arab News
Iran-Israel war must not become refugee crisis: UN
“This region has already endured more than its share of war, loss and displacement,” said Grandi
GENEVA: The United Nations said on Saturday the Iran-Israel war must not be allowed to trigger another refugee crisis in the Middle East, saying once people fled there was no quick way back.
UNHCR, the UN’s refugee agency, said the intensity of the attacks between the two sides was already triggering population movements in both countries.
Such movements had already been reported from Tehran and other parts of Iran, it said, with some people crossing into neighboring countries.
Strikes in Israel had caused people to seek shelter elsewhere in the country and in some cases abroad.
“This region has already endured more than its share of war, loss and displacement. We cannot allow another refugee crisis to take root,” said Filippo Grandi, the UN high commissioner for refugees.
“The time to de-escalate is right now. Once people are forced to flee, there’s no quick way back — and all too often, the consequences last for generations.”
Israel said on Saturday it had launched fresh air strikes against missile storage and launch sites in central Iran.
Iran has responded with barrages which Israeli authorities say have killed at least 25 people.
Iran hosts the largest number of refugees in the world — around 3.5 million — mostly of them from Afghanistan.
If the conflict persists, Iran’s existing refugee populations would also face renewed uncertainty and yet more hardship, UNHCR said.
The agency called for an urgent de-escalation in the conflict and urged countries in the region to respect the right of people to seek safety.
The Israeli government says the unprecedented wave of attacks it has launched at Iran since June 13 is aimed at preventing its rival from developing nuclear weapons — an ambition Tehran strongly denies.
Israel has maintained ambiguity about its own atomic arsenal, neither officially confirming nor denying it exists, but the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute says it has 90 nuclear warheads.
Aviation regulator orders Air India to remove officials
- Airline’s voluntary disclosures “point to systemic failures in crew scheduling, compliance monitoring, and internal accountability”
- Air India crash in June 12 in Ahmedabad killed all but one of the 242 people on board. At least 38 others on the ground also perished
NEW DELHI: New Delhi’s civil aviation regulator has ordered Air India to remove three officials from their roles over “systemic failures,” according to a directive seen by AFP Saturday, as the carrier comes under scrutiny after a deadly crash.
The instruction from the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) did not detail whether it was linked to the June 12 crash in Ahmedabad, which killed all but one of the 242 people on board. At least 38 others on the ground were killed.
The DGCA directive noted that the airline’s voluntary disclosures “point to systemic failures in crew scheduling, compliance monitoring, and internal accountability.”
“Of particular concern is the absence of strict disciplinary measures against key officials directly responsible for these operational lapses,” said the order, which was issued on Friday.
“These officials have been involved in serious and repeated lapses,” it said.
The regulator has directed Air India to remove three officials named in the order “from all roles and responsibilities related to crew scheduling,” take disciplinary action, and report on steps taken within 10 days.
Future violations could also result in “license suspension.”
The airline said on Saturday it had implemented the order.
“Air India is committed to ensuring that there is total adherence to safety protocols and standard practices,” it said in a statement.
Investigators are attempting to find out what caused the airline’s London-bound plane to hurtle to the ground moments after takeoff in Ahmedabad.
Air India said on Thursday that the Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner plane was “well-maintained” and that the pilots were accomplished flyers.
The cockpit voice recorder and the flight data recorder have been recovered from the crash site.
Suicide blast kills 20 anti-jihadist fighters in Nigeria: militia leader
- Surrounding villages have been repeatedly targeted by suicide bombers said to be acting for Boko Haram, a group of armed Islamic militants that has been active in the area for at least 16 years
KANO: A suicide attack in Nigeria’s Borno state by a woman allegedly acting for Boko Haram has killed at least 20 anti-jihadist fighters, militia fighters said AFP on Saturday.
Police have confirmed 10 people have been killed and said the overall toll could be higher.
Late on Friday, a woman allegedly detonated explosives strapped to her body at a haunt for vigilantes and local hunters assisting the Nigerian military in fighting “jihadists” in the town of Konduga, the militia told AFP.
“We lost 20 people in the suicide attack which happened yesterday around 9:15 p.m. (2015 GMT) while our members were hanging out near the fish market,” said Tijjani Ahmed, the head of an anti-jihadist militia in Konduga district.
Konduga is about 40 kilometers (25 miles) from Maiduguri, the capital of the northeastern state of Borno.
Surrounding villages have been repeatedly targeted by suicide bombers said to be acting for Boko Haram, a group of armed Islamic militants that has been active in the area for at least 16 years.
Konduga town itself had seen a lull in such attacks in the past year.
“Eighteen people died on the spot, while 18 others were injured. Two more died in hospital, raising the death toll to 20,” Ahmed said.
A mass burial was held on Saturday, an AFP reporter saw.
The alleged bomber was dressed as a local heading to the crowded nearby fish market.
She detonated her explosives as soon she reached the shed used by the militia fighters as a hangout, said militia member Ibrahim Liman.
He gave the same toll as Ahmed.
Borno state police spokesman Nahum Daso told AFP 10 bodies had been recovered from the “suicide attack.”
He said the toll could be higher as “details are sketchy.”
Konduga fish market, which is usually busy at night, has been the target of a series of suicide attacks in the past.
The conflict between the authorities and Boko Haram has been ongoing for 16 years.
In that time, more than 40,000 people have dioed and around two million been displaced from their homes in the northeast, according to the United Nations.
The violence has spread to neighboring Niger, Chad and Cameroon, prompting a regional military coalition to fight armed militant Islamic groups.
Pakistan to nominate Trump for Nobel Peace Prize
- Some analysts in Pakistan said the move might persuade Trump to think again about potentially joining Israel in striking Iran’s nuclear facilities
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan said on Saturday it would recommend US President Donald Trump for the Nobel Peace Prize, an accolade that he has said he craves, for his work in helping to resolve the recent conflict between India and Pakistan.
Some analysts in Pakistan said the move might persuade Trump to think again about potentially joining Israel in striking Iran’s nuclear facilities. Pakistan has condemned Israel’s action as a violation of international law and a threat to regional stability.
In May, a surprise announcement by Trump of a ceasefire brought an abrupt end to a four-day conflict between nuclear-armed foes India and Pakistan. Trump has since repeatedly said that he averted a nuclear war, saved millions of lives, and grumbled that he got no credit for it.
Pakistan agrees that US diplomatic intervention ended the fighting, but India says it was a bilateral agreement between the two militaries.
“President Trump demonstrated great strategic foresight and stellar statesmanship through robust diplomatic engagement with both Islamabad and New Delhi, which de-escalated a rapidly deteriorating situation,” Pakistan said. “This intervention stands as a testament to his role as a genuine peacemaker.”
Governments can nominate people for the Nobel Peace Prize. There was no immediate response from Washington. A spokesperson for the Indian government did not respond to a request for comment.
Trump has repeatedly said that he’s willing to mediate between India and Pakistan over the disputed Kashmir region, their main source of enmity. Islamabad, which has long called for international attention to Kashmir, is delighted.
But his stance has upended US policy in South Asia, which had favored India as a counterweight to China, and put in question previously close relations between Trump and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
In a social media post on Friday, Trump gave a long list of conflicts he said he had resolved, including India and Pakistan and the Abraham accords in his first term between Israel and some Muslim-majority countries. He added: “I won’t get a Nobel Peace Prize no matter what I do.”
Pakistan’s move to nominate Trump came in the same week its army chief, Field Marshal Asim Munir, met the US leader for lunch. It was the first time that a Pakistani military leader had been invited to the White House when a civilian government was in place in Islamabad.
Trump’s planned meeting with Modi at the G7 summit in Canada last week did not take place after the US president left early, but the two later spoke by phone, in which Modi said “India does not and will never accept mediation” in its dispute with Pakistan, according to the Indian government.
Mushahid Hussain, a former chair of the Senate Defense Committee in Pakistan’s parliament, suggested nominating Trump for the peace prize was justified.
“Trump is good for Pakistan,” he said. “If this panders to Trump’s ego, so be it. All the European leaders have been sucking up to him big time.”
But the move was not universally applauded in Pakistan, where Trump’s support for Israel’s war in Gaza has inflamed passions.
“Israel’s sugar daddy in Gaza and cheerleader of its attacks on Iran isn’t a candidate for any prize,” said Talat Hussain, a prominent Pakistani television political talk show host, in a post on X. “And what if he starts to kiss Modi on both cheeks again after a few months?”
Pope Leo warns politicians of the challenges posed by AI
VATICAN CITY: Pope Leo warned politicians on Saturday of the challenges posed by the rise of artificial intelligence (AI), addressing its potential impact on younger people as a prime concern.
Speaking at an event attended by Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni and parliamentary delegations from 68 countries, Leo revisited a topic that he has raised on a number of occasions during the first few weeks of his papacy.
“In particular, it must not be forgotten that artificial intelligence functions as a tool for the good of human beings, not to diminish them or even to replace them,” Leo said at an event held as part of the Roman Catholic Jubilee or Holy Year.
AI proponents say it will speed up scientific and technological progress and help people to carry out routine tasks, granting them more time to pursue higher-value and creative work.
The US-born pontiff said attention was needed to protect “healthy, fair and sound lifestyles, especially for the good of younger generations.”
He noted that AI’s “static memory” was in no way comparable to the “creative, dynamic” power of human memory.
“Our personal life has greater value than any algorithm, and social relationships require spaces for development that far transcend the limited patterns that any soulless machine can pre-package,” he said.
Leo, who became pope in May, has spoken previously of the threat posed by AI to jobs and has called on journalists to use it responsibly.
