10 Facts of Istiqlal Mosque
Photo by Mosquegrapher on Unsplash
As a country with the domination of Moslem population, Indonesia has a mosque which considered as the biggest in Southeast Asia, named Istiqlal Mosque at Jl. Taman Wijaya Kusuma, Jakarta. But do you know these interesting facts about Istiqlal Mosque?
- The construction of this mosque was planned after the proclamation was over, the name “Istiqlal” itself means free, or in Indonesian language “Merdeka”.
- The designer of this mosque was a non-Moslem, Frederich Silaban, who won the mosque design contest in 1955.
- The construction of Istiqlal Mosque was purposely built next to Cathedral Church to bring the spirit of fraternity, unity, and tolerance of religion as well written on Pancasila.
- The building architecture adapted the style of international modern Moslem with marble and stainless steel materials.
- Istiqlal Mosque can accommodate 200.000 people.
Photo by Mosquegrapher on Unsplash
- The building project has meaningful numbers and size, such as 7 gates for the entrance means 7 layers of the sky and 7 days in a week. While the dome has 45 meters of diameter. The number “45” means the freedom year of Indonesia. The main dome is supported by 12 poles. The number “12” represents the born date of The Prophet of Muhammad and also means 12 months in a year. The 4-story balcony with 1 main floor means the number of 5 which represents 5 pillars of Islam and 5 morals of Pancasila. Last but not least, the two mosque buildings means a side by side dualism that complete each other like the sky and the earth, also like two forms of relationship between human and God.
- In 1991, there was the first Istiqlal Festival to introduce the art and culture of Moslems in Indonesia, attended by the delegates from other countries such as Iran, Saudi Arabia, China, and Uyghur.
- There was a bombing incident of the mosque’s ground floor in 1999 with an unrevealed motive until now.
- The foreign officials also ever visit this mosque, name the American President Bill Clinton and Barrack Obama.
- Besides a worship place, Istiqlal Mosque has other rooms such as library, clinic, mini-store, and gymnasium.