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The marvels of a modern mosque
On high: The view of the Grand Mosque at Semarang from the Asmaul Husna Tower shows the sheer scale and artistry of the complex’s design
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span class="inline inline-right">On high: The view of the Grand Mosque at Semarang from the Asmaul Husna Tower shows the sheer scale and artistry of the complex’s design. JP/Simon Marcus Gower
The city of Semarang is home to an amazing and unusual sight: A delightful example of how modern architecture can be attractive, distinctive and welcoming, while still maintaining an imposing and impressive air.
With the forests of modern office blocks, apartment towers and shopping malls that form our urban environment, it can often seem that modern architecture is about little more than sleek steel and glass.
But a recent addition to Semarang’s cityscape is in a whole other class: The Grand Mosque of Semarang, or the Masjid Agung, Jawa Tengah, as it is known locally.
The entire mosque complex covers more than 10 hectares and can hold up to 15,000 worshippers at any one time.
The three main — and largest — buildings of the complex all feature immense pitched and tiled roofs, and the central mosque area has a large white dome and four slender minarets. So far, that is nothing out of the ordinary, impressive though the large buildings are.
However, the buildings in the complex are laid out to create a central courtyard, and what you find in that courtyard is truly awe-inspiring: Six large, quite odd-looking objects that appear at first glance to be rockets of some description waiting to be launched skyward.
In fact, they are six giant umbrellas; they appear rocket-like when they stand folded and they are opened when necessary to provide shelter for worshippers — or rather, perhaps, pilgrims.
When the six giant umbrellas are opened — operated hydraulically — they effectively cover the entire massive space of the courtyard.
Another distinctive feature of the mosque that is even more outstanding, both metaphorically and literally, is the Asmaul Husna Tower.
Again looks can be deceptive, and one might be forgiven for mistaking this mighty structure for something like an air-traffic control tower at an international airport.
This tower, built for the glorification of God, is used for the call to prayer but there is much more to it than just this.
This tower rises to a height of 99 meters. At its base are a radio station and museum of Islamic culture. But what attracts most visitors to the tower is the elevator ride to the 19th floor where there is an observation deck.
This observation deck, not unlike the observation deck at the National Monument (Monas) in Jakarta, allows for 360 degree views of the city of Semarang and beyond.
Particularly impressive are the views across the city to the city’s port and the coast, as well as those views down onto the expanse of land covered by the mosque complex. On the 18th floor of the tower is the Moslem Café.
Together, these features give a real sense of visitors coming here and visiting the tower as a tourist
attraction. The “touristy” aspect of the whole complex is also accentuated by the buses or trams available for visitors to tour the grounds.
These brightly colored vehicles slowly circumnavigate the area, ridden by women with little children bouncing excitedly.
But the Grand Mosque is no mere tourist attraction. The two buildings that form the two longer sides of
the central courtyard are, respectively, a library and a large auditorium and meeting hall, both of which are intended for serious study and worship.
The sheer scale of the development is itself an act of devotion and commitment to a faith. Less than three years after it was opened, the mosque has already established itself as a place of pilgrimage.
The building was officially completed in November 2006, just over four years after construction began.
With the size of the place and the numbers of visitors, maintenance of the complex is evidently demanding.
At the “open end” of the central courtyard is an attractive semi-circle of Arabic-style arches that enclose the courtyard, while still giving it a feeling of being open and welcoming. But already some of the steps leading to these arches are shattered, split or broken.
Whether the original construction was not completely sound or whether the buildings are still “settling” into the land, the damage to these steps shows that maintaining the grandeur of this massive, modern mosque will require ongoing work and dedication.
Despite its size and the ambition evidently at the heart of this development, the Grand Mosque awes without being overawing, or as overdone, cumbersome and clumsy as some modern buildings can be. The spacious layout and attractive design of the Grand Mosque means that it can feel inviting — even cozy — a delightful place to visit, to marvel at this devotion to God.
