Indonesia's 'mosque hunters' count them up one at a time

Suada mosque in Mamuju. As Friday prayers wrap up at Suada mosque, worshippers turn their attention outside where Fakhry Affan steers a drone high above, snapping pictures of the building tucked in a corner of Indonesia's Sulawesi island.

Muhammad Cheng Ho mosque in Surabaya. Affan leads a government team of some 1,000 mosque hunters who have spent years visiting every corner of the 5,000 kilometre (3,100 mile) long archipelago to answer one question: how many mosques are there in the world's biggest Muslim majority nation?

Al Akbar mosque in Surabaya. "Only God knows exactly how many mosques there are in Indonesia," former vice president Jusuf Kalla quipped recently.

Indonesia's grand mosque Istiqlal in Jakarta. As Friday prayers wrap up at Suada mosque, worshippers turn their attention outside where Fakhry Affan steers a drone high above, snapping pictures of the building tucked in a corner of Indonesia's Sulawesi island.

Al Furqon mosque in Lampung. So far, Affan's team has registered 554,152 mosques and the census - which kicked off in 2013 - is only about 75 percent done, Affan says.

Al Furqon mosque in Lampung. Earlier government estimates pegged the total at more than 740,000 nationwide.

Muhammad Cheng Ho mosque in Surabaya. Nearly 90 percent of Indonesia's 260 million people are Muslim and it is home to Jakarta's Istiqlal mosque, Southeast Asia's biggest with room for 200,000 worshippers.

Nurul Huda mosque in Denpasar, Bali. So it's an Herculean task for Affan and his team at the religious affairs ministry as it scours a country of some 17,000 islands, where new mosques are going up all the time.

Keuchik Leumiek mosque in Banda Aceh. After getting key information about Mamuju city's 3,000 capacity Suada mosque - including building permit and mosque committee details - Affan uploads his drone pictures to a bulging online database.

Al Akbar mosque in Surabaya. "We did it manually in the past, but now we're going digital," he told AFP.

Baiturrahman great mosque in Banda Aceh. The government is also planning to launch an Android-based app called Info Masjid (Mosque Info) so Muslims can use their smartphone to find the nearest place of worship.

Baiturrahman great mosque in Banda Aceh. Nur Salim Ismal, who attends the Suada mosque, hopes the move online will bring greater transparency.

Kubah Mas (Gold Dome) mosque in Jakarta. "Mosques manage huge amounts of money from worshippers and it should be clear how it's being used," he said.

Babut Taqwa mosque in Banda Aceh. "We want to ensure that all imams and (mosque) committees are moderate because Islam in Indonesia is moderate," he added.

A mosque is seen in between housing at dense settlements in Jakarta. Indonesia's long-held reputation for tolerant pluralism has been tested in recent years.

A mosque located on the side of a busy road in Jakarta. Muslim hardliners are becoming increasingly vocal in public.