Members of the Muslim community in Dimapur seen here in prayers
Members of the Muslim community in Dimapur seen here in prayers in one of the Muslim prayer centers. As a security check, the Dimapur administration today issued an order to the community to register all its members. (Caisii Mao/Photo)
Dimapur : Following the terrorist attacks in Mumbai and the series of bomb blasts across the country, and recently in Assam, the Dimapur administration has issued an order to the Muslim community in Nagaland’s trade center to start registering all its members.
The order comes as a security measure to monitor any eventuality in the state, especially Dimapur. Dimapur is severely vulnerable due to the unrestricted influx and severe concentration of unchecked elements, including foreign illegal immigrants.
Mention may be made here that the subsequent military and police operations following the shocking bomb blasts in Assam, in fact, has also triggered widespread speculations among citizens that terrorist elements are escaping into Nagaland. Dimapur is considered the most porous and unrestricted of all areas in the state which foreign elements – in extreme numbers – continue to take advantage of.
In the order issued by the district’s deputy commissioner, all the Muslim ‘Masjids’ in Dimapur have been ordered to maintain a census register of all its members.
The notification received from the office of the DC, Dimapur, issued this directive to ensure safety and to prevent breach of peace. The order is to check and monitor the influx of “any new members” coming into the district and to detect habitual offenders.
The order of the administration was addressed to the president of the Muslim Council of Dimapur and to the chairman or secretary of all the Muslim prayer and worship centers in Dimapur.
Alongside constant surveillance of the town through police and army patrolling, revitalization of the disaster management cells, coordination with hospitals and orders for selected shopping complexes to install CCTVs have been suggested to help insure security.
When contacted, president of Muslim Council Ahidur Rahman said the council had been informed of the directive since November and had been through several rounds of discussions on the issue with the district administration, police as well as among members.
He said that the council had called for a community meeting and directed all the Muslim prayer houses in Dimapur to be registered under the Muslim Council before registration of its members could be carried out.
Dimapur Masjids ordered to register ‘members’
The Muslim prayer house is said to be of two types. The first are the Jama Masjids and the second are the Panjagenas or temporary prayer houses.
While there are only four Jama Masjids in Dimapur, so far about 70 Panjagenas are said to be seeking to be registered under the Muslim Council in Dimapur. Rahman said that the council has even constituted a committee to physically verify if there was really a need for so many temporary prayer houses.
He said only after finalizing the list of prayer houses, the council would direct the people to register.
However, the Muslim Council president expects it to be a difficult task to accomplish because unlike Nagas, with every Christian being a registered member of a church or the other, there are many Muslims who are not registered in any mosque.
“Unofficially they just go and pray in any Mosque” said Rahman. Only in times of trouble or occurrences of death, these unregistered groups of people seek help from the mosques and the council.
Another problem in this exercise would be the fact that very few people of the Muslim community have their own permanent residences due to which they keep shifting. In such a case, it would be virtually impossible for people to register themselves in any single prayer house”, he said.
Despite these overwhelming problems, the president said if only the local people would lend their support, there would be no trouble at all. Rahman said that the council appealed to landlords and the Naga people to make it mandatory to produce permission from the Muslim Council of Dimapur in allotting site for construction of any prayer houses.
He also said that if land lords and house owners would likewise seek a letter from the council, verifying a person’s identity before keeping them as tenants, the job of the Muslim Council of Dimapur would be easier.
Dimapur : Following the terrorist attacks in Mumbai and the series of bomb blasts across the country, and recently in Assam, the Dimapur administration has issued an order to the Muslim community in Nagaland’s trade center to start registering all its members.
The order comes as a security measure to monitor any eventuality in the state, especially Dimapur. Dimapur is severely vulnerable due to the unrestricted influx and severe concentration of unchecked elements, including foreign illegal immigrants.
Mention may be made here that the subsequent military and police operations following the shocking bomb blasts in Assam, in fact, has also triggered widespread speculations among citizens that terrorist elements are escaping into Nagaland. Dimapur is considered the most porous and unrestricted of all areas in the state which foreign elements – in extreme numbers – continue to take advantage of.
In the order issued by the district’s deputy commissioner, all the Muslim ‘Masjids’ in Dimapur have been ordered to maintain a census register of all its members.
The notification received from the office of the DC, Dimapur, issued this directive to ensure safety and to prevent breach of peace. The order is to check and monitor the influx of “any new members” coming into the district and to detect habitual offenders.
The order of the administration was addressed to the president of the Muslim Council of Dimapur and to the chairman or secretary of all the Muslim prayer and worship centers in Dimapur.
Alongside constant surveillance of the town through police and army patrolling, revitalization of the disaster management cells, coordination with hospitals and orders for selected shopping complexes to install CCTVs have been suggested to help insure security.
When contacted, president of Muslim Council Ahidur Rahman said the council had been informed of the directive since November and had been through several rounds of discussions on the issue with the district administration, police as well as among members.
He said that the council had called for a community meeting and directed all the Muslim prayer houses in Dimapur to be registered under the Muslim Council before registration of its members could be carried out.
Dimapur Masjids ordered to register ‘members’
The Muslim prayer house is said to be of two types. The first are the Jama Masjids and the second are the Panjagenas or temporary prayer houses.
While there are only four Jama Masjids in Dimapur, so far about 70 Panjagenas are said to be seeking to be registered under the Muslim Council in Dimapur. Rahman said that the council has even constituted a committee to physically verify if there was really a need for so many temporary prayer houses.
He said only after finalizing the list of prayer houses, the council would direct the people to register.
However, the Muslim Council president expects it to be a difficult task to accomplish because unlike Nagas, with every Christian being a registered member of a church or the other, there are many Muslims who are not registered in any mosque.
“Unofficially they just go and pray in any Mosque” said Rahman. Only in times of trouble or occurrences of death, these unregistered groups of people seek help from the mosques and the council.
Another problem in this exercise would be the fact that very few people of the Muslim community have their own permanent residences due to which they keep shifting. In such a case, it would be virtually impossible for people to register themselves in any single prayer house”, he said.
Despite these overwhelming problems, the president said if only the local people would lend their support, there would be no trouble at all. Rahman said that the council appealed to landlords and the Naga people to make it mandatory to produce permission from the Muslim Council of Dimapur in allotting site for construction of any prayer houses.
He also said that if land lords and house owners would likewise seek a letter from the council, verifying a person’s identity before keeping them as tenants, the job of the Muslim Council of Dimapur would be easier.