SRINAGAR: The Jammu and Kashmir police has launched an exercise to gather information related to mosques and madrassas in the Valley, including personal details of imams, muezzins and members of the religious institution's management committees and their charity wings.
Apart from detailed info regarding the finances of the Muslim religious institutions, the police has also sought granular personal details of people associated with the mosques including the model of their mobile phone, its IMEI number, voter ID numbers and details of their social media, ATM cards, ration cards, and credit cards.
A four-page form with one page for information on mosques and three pages dedicated to personal details of their members, is being distributed across Kashmir.
The forms have been given to village numberdars (village-level revenue department employees) for collecting the information.
For the first time, police is seeking information on the sectarian affiliation of mosques, including whether they follow the Barelvi, Hanafi, Deobandi or Ahle-Hadith schools of thought.
The form also seeks details regarding the structure of the mosque including number of floors, approximate construction cost and source of funds for its construction.
It further seeks details about the monthly budget of the mosques, their bank account details, and how they are managed, as well as about the nature of land (state, milkiyat or shamilaat) on which the mosques are constructed.
The police also seeks information on the family members of people associated with the mosques including members of its management committee, the imam (person who leads prayer), muezzin (person who gives the call for prayer), khateebs (those who deliver Friday sermons) and the Bait-ul-Maal (the mosque’s charity wing).
Every mosque in the Valley has a Bait-ul-Maal that is run on donations from the locals.
Personal information including dates of birth, phone numbers, email IDs and educational qualifications, along with voter ID numbers, Aadhaar details, PAN cards, driving licence numbers, ration cards and ATM or debit card information have been sought from people associated with the religious institutions.
The IMEA numbers of their mobile phones, details of their social media presence and the apps they use on their mobile phones have been sought. People associated with the mosque, along with their family have been asked to provide their WhatsApp number, email addresses and social media handles.
They have also been asked to furnish passport details, including passport number, date of issue and expiry, as well the number of countries visited and the names of relatives living abroad.
Besides, financial information of those associated with the mosques, including bank account details, monthly earning and expenditure, property ownership and estimated value have been sought by the police.
Speaking to TNIE, the Imam of a mosque in Srinagar said that the police had taken their photographs in front of the mosque.
"They also took our photographs in front of the mosque. This is the first time such detailed information has been sought from us," he said.
Expressing concern over what is being seen as an extensive surveillence over the Muslim religious institutions, Mutahida Majlis-e-Ulema (MMU), the largest conglomerate of Islamic religious organisations in Jammu and Kashmir stated the police action violates the fundamental rights guaranteed in the Constitution.
"MMU categorically states that this exercise is in complete violation of fundamental rights and the right to privacy and personal information even guaranteed under the Constitution," a spokesman of MMU said.
He noted that mosques are "sacred institutions meant for worship, guidance and community service" asserting that "their internal religious affairs cannot be subjected to arbitrary surveillance and intrusive scrutiny."
"The nature and depth of information being sought goes far beyond any routine administrative requirement, raising serious questions of intent, reflecting an attempt to control and regulate religious institutions through coercive means and checks," he said.
The MMU also questioned the motive behind the exercise noting that it has been targeted at only the Muslim community in J&K.
Slamming the exercise as a "project of right wing ideology," National Conference MP Aga Ruhullah Mehdi called it an "attempt to control religious practices that do not align with the RSS's ideology."
"Such surveillance, intimidation and attempts to control religious practice is an infringement to freedom of practice and a clear violation of constitutional rights," he said.
The NC MP also questioned the rationale behind such data collection in Kashmir, where already there is an extensive surveillance of security forces including the IB, CID, paramilitary forces and military intelligence.
"The security agencies already have Aadhaar and all personal data. If you single out people associated with a particular religion and place them under an extra layer of surveillance, it appears to be an attempt to intimidate and control practices of that religion," he said.
Cautioning that such monitoring could lead to direct interference in religious affairs, Mehdi said, "Tomorrow, mosque preachers may be told to deliver the Friday sermons drafted by BJP and RSS. It seems they want to control the functioning of the religion itself."
Meanwhile, PTI news agency cited officials as saying that the exercise was planned after the arrests of Kashmiri residents associated with what investigative agencies have described as the "white collar terror module."
"During the investigation into the 'white collar' terror module, which was busted in November last year, it came to light that some of the suspects were radicalised through madrassas or social media. The role of some imams like Moulvi Irfan has also put them under the scanner," the official said.
The official also said the rise of "puritanical Islam" in Kashmir is also seen by the investigative agencies as a factor in radicalisation of the youth in the valley.