The short version
- We only collect what we need to run the masjid, the madrasah and our community services.
- Our volunteers and staff only see what they need for their role.
- We never sell your information or use it for advertising.
- You can ask to see, correct or delete your information at any time by emailing info@lancasterisoc.org.
Who we are
The organisation responsible for your personal information (the “data controller”) is Lancaster Islamic Community Hub, registered charity no. 1208606. We run Masjid al-Noor and operate as Lancaster Islamic Society.
Address: Masjid al-Noor, 7 Dallas Road, Lancaster LA1 1TN
Email: info@lancasterisoc.org
What we collect and why
Data protection law says we must have a lawful reason (a “lawful basis”) for everything we do with your information. For each of our activities, here is what we collect, why, the lawful basis, and how long we keep it.
Visiting our website
Any page on lancasterisoc.org and its sub-sites.
- What we collect
- The pages you visit, the time, the website you came from, and your browser, device and operating system, recorded automatically by our hosting provider (IONOS). Your IP address is anonymised as soon as it is collected. IONOS also uses this anonymised data to give us basic visitor statistics, without cookies. We also use a few small cookies and browser storage items (see Cookies).
- Why
- To run the website, keep it secure and stop spam and misuse.
- Lawful basis
- Legitimate interests: running a secure website.
- How long
- Up to 8 weeks, then deleted automatically by our hosting provider.
Marriage (nikah) enquiries
When you use our marriage enquiry form.
- What we collect
-
- Your name, phone number and email address.
- The bride’s and groom’s names and dates of birth.
- The city where the couple live, and their religion.
- Whether either has reverted to Islam, and whether they have a certificate.
- The bride’s and groom’s citizenship or residency status.
- Whether both sets of parents are aware.
- Your IP address and browser details when you submit the form.
- Why
- To respond to your enquiry and arrange the nikah; to confirm both people are 18 or over, as the law requires; to give the right advice where someone’s residency status needs extra steps; to help protect against forced marriage; to keep a record of marriages we conduct; and to stop spam submissions.
- Lawful basis
- Legitimate interests (handling your enquiry and keeping an accurate record of nikahs we conduct), legal obligation (the minimum marriage age), and explicit consent for information about religion. See Religious and health information.
- How long
- Enquiries that don’t go ahead: deleted after 12 months. Records of nikahs we conduct: kept in our nikah register for at least 5 years.
Filling in the form for someone else? Often a parent or relative makes the enquiry. If you give us details about the bride or groom, please make sure they know you are doing so and point them to this notice.
Burial services
When you contact our Lancaster Muslim Burial Services volunteers.
- What we collect
- Your name and contact details, your relationship to the deceased, and the details needed to arrange the burial.
- Why
- To arrange the washing, janazah prayer and burial, and to work with the funeral director, coroner, registrar and cemetery.
- Lawful basis
- Legitimate interests: providing burial services to our community. Information about religious belief is handled as described in Religious and health information.
- How long
- 12 months after the burial.
School and organisation visits
When you book a visit to the masjid.
- What we collect
- The organiser’s name and contact details, the organisation’s name, group size and age range, preferred dates, and any access needs you tell us about.
- Why
- To arrange and host the visit safely.
- Lawful basis
- Legitimate interests: welcoming visitors and education about Islam. If you tell us about health or access needs, we use them only to make the visit work for your group, with your consent.
- How long
- 12 months after the visit.
Madrasah Noor and Pray & Play
When you register a child, and while they attend.
- What we collect
-
- Your child’s name and date of birth.
- Parent or carer names and contact details, and emergency contacts.
- Attendance, class and progress records.
- Fee and payment records.
- Medical, allergy or special educational needs information, if you give it to us.
- Photos, only with your permission.
- Why
- To run classes, keep children safe, contact parents (including notices and newsletters by email), and manage fees.
- Lawful basis
- Legitimate interests (running the madrasah and keeping in touch with parents), and our agreement with you for fees. Health information is used only with the parent’s or carer’s explicit consent, or to protect a child in an emergency.
- How long
- While your child attends, plus 2 years.
We collect children’s information from their parents or carers, not from the children themselves.
CCTV
When you visit Masjid al-Noor or Madrasah Noor.
- What we collect
- Video footage from cameras covering parts of the masjid and madrasah, including prayer halls, classrooms, entrances, corridors, communal areas, the garden and terrace. The masjid and madrasah have separate CCTV systems. Neither records audio. There are no cameras in toilets, wudu or changing areas.
- Why
- To keep worshippers, children, staff, volunteers and visitors safe, protect the premises, and help look into incidents, crime or safeguarding concerns. We do not use madrasah footage to check teaching, attendance or children's day-to-day behaviour.
- Lawful basis
- Legitimate interests: keeping people safe and protecting our premises.
- Who sees it
- Only authorised people when there is a good reason, such as an incident or safeguarding concern. Madrasah footage has additional safeguards to protect children. We may share relevant recordings with the police or safeguarding authorities where necessary and lawful.
- How long
- 30 days, then deleted automatically. Footage needed for an incident, complaint or safeguarding matter may be kept securely for longer.
Donations and Gift Aid
When you give through our donation page, by bank transfer or in person.
- What we collect
- Your name, the amount and date of your gift, and, if you claim Gift Aid, your home address and Gift Aid declaration. Card payments are handled by our payment provider (Give A Little), and we never see your card details.
- Why
- To process your donation, thank you, and claim Gift Aid from HMRC.
- Lawful basis
- Legitimate interests (managing donations) and legal obligation (keeping Gift Aid records for HMRC).
- How long
- Gift Aid records: at least 6 years, as HMRC requires. Other donation records: 6 years.
Getting in touch with us
By email, phone, our contact form, WhatsApp or social media.
- What we collect
- Your name, contact details and whatever you tell us in your message.
- Why
- To answer you.
- Lawful basis
- Legitimate interests: replying to people who contact us.
- How long
- 12 months after our last contact.
Website chat
The “Ask Noor” chat button on our website.
- What we collect
-
- If you only ask questions: the questions you type. Answers come from a set list written by our volunteers, not from a person or an AI. Questions we can’t answer are saved without your name, and we remove anything that looks like an email address or phone number first.
- If you ask to speak to a person: your name, phone number and email address, your messages, the page you were on, whether you’d like a message or a call back, and the best time to call.
- A coded version of your IP address, changed daily, to stop spam and misuse.
- Why
- To answer your question, let a volunteer reply or call you back, email you if we haven’t replied within 30 minutes, and improve the chat’s answers.
- Lawful basis
- Legitimate interests: answering people who contact us and keeping the chat free of spam.
- Who sees it
- Only the volunteers who answer the chat, through our own system. When a message arrives, they get a phone alert showing your name and the start of your message, sent through our notification service (Webpushr).
- How long
- Conversations with a person: deleted 12 months after they finish. Unanswered questions: we keep the most recent 500, with no names or contact details. Spam-check codes: deleted after 1 day.
Please don’t share sensitive details in the chat, such as health or family matters. If you need to, ask for a call back and a volunteer will speak to you directly.
Live audio, video and maps
Our live audio player, YouTube live streams and the map on our pages.
- What we collect
- Nothing ourselves. These features are provided by eMasjid Live, YouTube and Google Maps. When they load, those companies receive your IP address and may set their own cookies, under their own privacy policies.
- Broadcasts
- We broadcast the adhan, khutbahs and talks from the masjid. Our cameras face the imam and speakers, not the congregation. If you ask a question during a broadcast talk, your voice may be heard.
Religious and health information
The law treats some information as more sensitive, including information about someone’s religion or health. We take extra care with it.
- Religion. For marriage enquiries, we ask for your explicit consent on the form before we collect information about religion or reverting to Islam. For our members and people in regular contact with the masjid, we may also rely on the condition for not-for-profit religious bodies. We never share this information outside the masjid without your consent, unless the law requires it.
- Health. We only collect health information (for example a child’s allergy) when it is needed to keep someone safe, with explicit consent, or to protect someone in an emergency.
You can withdraw consent at any time by emailing us. This won’t affect anything we did before, but it may mean we can’t continue with your request.
Keeping it safe
Our website uses a secure (HTTPS) connection. Personal information is kept in password-protected systems, and only the volunteers and staff who need it for their role can see it. Our volunteers are briefed on keeping information confidential.
Your rights
You have the right to:
- see the information we hold about you, and get a copy;
- correct anything that is wrong or incomplete;
- ask us to delete your information;
- ask us to limit how we use it;
- object to us using it on the basis of legitimate interests;
- receive it in a format you can take elsewhere, where this applies;
- withdraw your consent wherever we rely on it.
We don’t make any decisions about you by automated means alone.
To use any of these rights, email info@lancasterisoc.org or write to us at the address above. It’s free, and we will reply within one month. We may ask you to confirm your identity first. Some rights have limits; for example, we must keep Gift Aid records for HMRC. If so, we will explain why.
Questions and complaints
If you have a question or concern, please contact us first at info@lancasterisoc.org and we will do our best to put it right.
You also have the right to complain to the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO), the UK regulator for data protection: ico.org.uk/make-a-complaint or 0303 123 1113.
Changes to this notice
We review this notice from time to time and will update the date at the top when we change it.