Arya Dipa, Bandung – Tens of thousands mosques in West Java were built without building permits, head of the West Java chapter of the Indonesian Mosque Council Zulkarnaen said in Bandung on Tuesday.

Zulkarnaen explained that around 62 percent of no less than 162,000 mosques and prayer rooms in the province did not have land certificates. "It's rare for mosques to have building permits. Many of them do not have land certificates," he said.

Eighty-two percent of over 162,000 mosques and prayer rooms were built on land donated by the public. "If a mosque is built on a land donated by someone, their heirs can still sell the land. The ownership of the mosque will not be accounted for," Zulkarnaen said.

Tedja Suar Mosque in Cirebon regency was sold by its heirs due to the absence of a land certificate, Zulkarnaen said, adding that the Cirebon regency administration had intended to take over the house of worship but to no avail as its price had soared.

"Last month I was informed that the ownership of the mosque had gone to a second party, " he said.