Govt has no actual imams, muezzins data: Kaikobad

Religious Affairs Minister Kazi Shah Mofazzal Houssain (Kaikobad) told the parliament on Thursday that the government does not have any actual statistics on the number of imams and muezzins currently serving across the country.

However, citing a 2020 estimate, the minister said Bangladesh had 331,125 mosques, suggesting that the combined number of imams and muezzins could be around 662,250.

The minister disclosed the information while replying to a question from Gaibandha-1 MP Md Majedur Rahman during the question-answer session in the House presided over by Speaker Hafizuddin Ahmed.
Responding to the same question, the minister said the government has been providing monthly honoraria to imams, muezzins and khadems as part of implementing its election manifesto commitments.

So far, 12,810 individuals have been brought under the allowance programme.
He said the Islamic Foundation’s “Mosque-based Children and Mass Education Programme (Eighth Phase)”, launched during the BNP government in 1993 to promote morality and religious values, has now been expanded nationwide.

The minister added that a proposal would be made to increase the number of centres when the project’s Development Project Proposal (DPP) is revised.

The minister also informed Parliament that the “Temple-based Children and Mass Education Programme” under the Hindu Religious Welfare Trust is currently being implemented in its sixth phase, which will continue until June 30, 2026.

He noted that no similar project exists under the Christian Religious Welfare Trust, limiting the scope of such activities for the Christian community, although initiatives may be undertaken in future.

Replying to a question from Sirajganj-4 MP Md Rafiqul Islam Khan, the minister said the government plans to construct 564 Model Mosques and Islamic Cultural Centres across the country under a project aimed at establishing one such facility in every district and upazila.

Of them, construction of 342 mosques has already been completed, while work on 186 others is underway. The remaining mosques are expected to be completed by June 2028, he added.

In response to a question from reserved-seat MP Rokeya Begum, the minister said various programmes are being implemented to promote religious values, moral education and awareness against extremism among women and young people.

The minister further said the Hindu Religious Welfare Trust is currently operating 7,400 temple-based children and mass education centres across the country alongside training programmes for priests and temple caretakers.

Replying to a question from Dhaka-4 MP Syed Zainul Abedin, the minister said teachers under the mosque-based education programme currently receive a monthly honorarium of Tk 6,000, which will be increased gradually to Tk 7,500 by the 2029–30 fiscal year in line with the project’s DPP.

In response to a question from Cox’s Bazar-3 MP Lutfur Rahman, the minister said 8,600 fewer Bangladeshi pilgrims performed Hajj in Saudi Arabia in 2026 compared to the previous year. A total of 78,500 Bangladeshis performed Hajj this year.

Answering a question from Cumilla-4 MP Md Abul Hasnat, the minister said unregistered waqf properties can be recovered through registration, court proceedings and eviction drives conducted by district administrations under Section 64 of the Waqf Ordinance, 1962.

He said initiatives have been taken over the past year to recover 151.1795 acres of waqf land from illegal occupiers.

However, while the lawmaker sought information on the actual amount of listed waqf properties and debottar properties belonging to the Hindu community recovered from influential land grabbers during the past year, the minister did not provide any specific recovery figures.