Do you know that in Jakarta there is a mosque resembles to Taj Mahal, a famous mausoleum in India? The mosque called Masjid Ramlie Musofa stand proudly towering in the middle of a row of big houses on Jalan Danau Sunter Selatan in North Jakarta. A giant dome surrounded by small piles adorns the three-story building. Outside of the mosque there are Arabic carving ornaments which make the mosque more beautiful.
According to the Ramlie Musofa Mosque manager, the white-polished mosque architecture was deliberately made like the Taj Mahal. Why Taj Mahal? Because they want to take the philosophy. The Ramlie Musofa Mosque founder was inspired by the story behind the founding of Taj Mahal, which became a monument symbolizing a king's love for his wife. The founder of the mosque hopes that Ramlie Musofa Mosque can be a symbol of his love for Allah SWT, Islam and his family.
Then what is the meaning of Ramlie Musofa’s name? The name apparently came from the initials of the mosque's founding family, Ram for Ramli Rasidin and Lie for Lie Njok Kim, Ramli’s wife. Whereas Mu is for Muhammad, Ramli’s first son; So from Sofian; Ramli's second son; and Fa from Fabian, Ramli's third son.
In addition to its architecture that resembling Taj Mahal, Ramlie Musofa Mosque also has other uniqueness, it’s the calligraphy of the Al Quran letters on the mosque walls which are carved in three languages, Arabic, Indonesian, and Mandarin. The use of Chinese characters to indicate that the mosque was founded by Chinese descendants.
In addition, the use of calligraphy in Chinese also aims to facilitate Chinese tourists who want to learn about Islam. The mosque is indeed not only used as a place for prayer, but also become one of the attractions in the North Jakarta. The mosque is open to anyone who wants to visit.