They first raise dust from their feet, then complain they cannot see. Who told us to trust web groups that collect personal data? Who convinced us that the information we share with banks, realtors, educational institutions, departmental stores, car rentals or airlines, etc., is safe? Why would intelligence agencies not buy them? Why would big marketing groups not avail them?
The only weapon against deception and wrongdoing is one's moral compass built in the frame of accountability to the divine. Nothing can prevent you from selling your soul, religion, country, or even family if you do not have it.
What incentives have Muslim Pro App not to sell the personal information of their users? Why would Muslim institutions not disclose the information about their members to intelligence agencies for a price?
When you trust someone without safeguarding your interests and taking every possible caution, you pay the price. Ninety-eight million people who downloaded the prayer time table app will now face the consequences for decades.
It is not the first time the US military or intelligence agencies have bought the data from Muslim groups. In the early eighties, someone in the World Muslim League, known as Rabita tul Islami and the world Assembly of Muslim Youth, sold the data about Muslim organizations and leaders who attended its conferences to the US intelligence bidders. The information got shared with Israel and other agencies later. In fact, the intelligence officers were present in their conferences.
In Pakistan and India, selected Islamic group members, as reported, regularly share information about their intelligence agencies' activities, foreign and local. Tablighi Jamat is an example. The recruits from ISIS, RAW, the two main intelligence groups from India and Pakistan, provide detailed information to their bosses regularly. The bosses share this information with Israel, Russia, or the CIA, depending on the nature of their relations.
During the 80s, a well-known Muslim clergy in England worked closely with MI5 and linked the secret service and the Tablighi Jamat visiting eastern Europe and Russia.
From the '80s till the '90s, Muslim organizations, mostly from Pakistan, UK, and Europe, worked closely with the CIA, MI5, ISIS, and Raw in Afghanistan's jihad. Of course, it was not voluntary work. They received millions from intelligence and other groups under different pretexts.
In India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, and countries in the Muslim world, several people working in Islamic institutions and parties secretly provide information to agencies directly or indirectly.
Intelligence agencies spend an undisclosed amount of money on collecting information.
They recruit people for the collection, analysis, production, dissemination, or use of information. The information relates to a foreign country, a government, political group, party, military force, movement, or other association, or it may relate to the defense, foreign policy, national security, or related policies of their nations.
They include Activities taken to counter similar activities directed against the United States.
They use the information to launch covert and clandestine activities affecting their nations' relations with a foreign govt, political group, party, military force, movement, or other association.
They recruit agents for collecting, analysis, production, dissemination, or information about persons' activities within their countries or nationals abroad.
They also run covert or clandestine activities directed against persons within their borders or abroad, who threaten the power elites' interests.
The intelligence agencies have a considerable budget, secret, and manifest. For instance, no one, not even the house or Senate intelligence committee members except those who are part of the political elites, knows the exact budget. For instance, the CIA's manifest funding for 2020 for National and Military intelligence Programs is 86 billion dollars, while the Defence spending is about 760 billion. How much is unknown. Not many Americans have privy to that.
They purchase individuals and agents. In the US, intelligence agencies collect information about Muslims through their operatives in several organizations and institutions. Sometimes these recruits play the role of sting operators by inciting Muslims and provoking them to say or do illegal things.
Now the information purchased by the US military from Muslim Pro App will become available to countries working closely with the US. For example, Saudi Arabia, Israel, Egypt, Sudan, UAE will have access to that data to determine Muslims' religious and political profile. Based on their information, these countries will recruit many of them for their intelligence. The data collected will come back to the CIA to suggest policy experts' ideas about their political action. It is an unending process that will continue.
The only precaution one take is to keep one's privacy intact. Social media is the worst place to share your personal information, and intelligence agencies recruit to collect much of the data from these platforms. Please don't trust any social media forum when it says that the data is safe. No, it is not secure. They sell it to the highest bidder. If they refuse, the intelligence has the power to coerce them to share it.
Yes; it is jihad against our own religion and followers and need to be condemned by all. But in this highly digital era how we can stop this information flow? We can little bit slow it down but there are several ways to gather information about any group or community or religion. The best way is we all Muslims must follow our real Islam and stick to the principles of Islam keeping ourselves away from any wrong doings, no one can do anything wrong to us. Until we Muslims fight with our own brothers and sisters; our enemies will continue thrive and celebrate their win and we always will be losers.