Other than for prayers, visitors also use the Cheng Ho mosque to rest during Ramadhan. (JP/Indra Harsaputra)" border="0" height="341" width="511">Other than for prayers, visitors also use the Cheng Ho mosque to rest during Ramadhan. (JP/Indra Harsaputra)

The afternoon call to prayer came from the Cheng Ho mosque, also known as Muhammad Cheng Ho Surabaya, which boasts Islamic and Chinese architecture.

Susilo Wibowo, who works as a disc jockey at a venue in the East Java capital, was deep in prayer.

The 33-year-old had been fully aware that it would not be easy when he converted from Catholicism to Islam upon his marriage three years ago to a Javanese woman.

“Even today, inter-faith marriage is hard here. The marriage of people of Chinese descent to a Javanese is still not widely accepted,” said Susilo, a Chinese-Indonesian whose family members are Christians and Buddhists.

He said that both his and his wife’s families had initially opposed their union. His family had declined to accept his wife, whose religion was different from theirs, while his wife’s family did not approve because they were of different races.

But after they had a son two years into their marriage, their families finally accepted their union.

“Now, every Ramadhan, my non-Muslim family come and we break the fast together,” Susilo says.

Around the mosque, food traders continued to serve customers.

“We’re a Pancasila country and we should respect other’s religion and race. Even our independence fighters and the country’s founding fathers taught us that,” said Mulyono, a fried rice seller within the mosque complex.

He said many non-Muslims who bought food from him chose to take their orders home out of respect for the people fasting.

Other than for prayers, visitors also use the Cheng Ho mosque to rest during Ramadhan. (JP/Indra Harsaputra)

The afternoon call to prayer came from the Cheng Ho mosque, also known as Muhammad Cheng Ho Surabaya, which boasts Islamic and Chinese architecture.

Susilo Wibowo, who works as a disc jockey at a venue in the East Java capital, was deep in prayer.

The 33-year-old had been fully aware that it would not be easy when he converted from Catholicism to Islam upon his marriage three years ago to a Javanese woman.

'€œEven today, inter-faith marriage is hard here. The marriage of people of Chinese descent to a Javanese is still not widely accepted,'€ said Susilo, a Chinese-Indonesian whose family members are Christians and Buddhists.

He said that both his and his wife'€™s families had initially opposed their union. His family had declined to accept his wife, whose religion was different from theirs, while his wife'€™s family did not approve because they were of different races.

But after they had a son two years into their marriage, their families finally accepted their union.

'€œNow, every Ramadhan, my non-Muslim family come and we break the fast together,'€ Susilo says.

Around the mosque, food traders continued to serve customers.

'€œWe'€™re a Pancasila country and we should respect other'€™s religion and race. Even our independence fighters and the country'€™s founding fathers taught us that,'€ said Mulyono, a fried rice seller within the mosque complex.

He said many non-Muslims who bought food from him chose to take their orders home out of respect for the people fasting.

Fried rice seller Mulyono wears the yellow uniform of street food vendors around the Cheng Ho mosque at Jl. Gading, Surabaya. (JP/Indra Harsaputra)
'€œI see that non-Muslims place banners wishing Muslims a good fasting month. Even the Chinese and churches hand out breaking-of-the-fast snacks and hold charity events for Idul Fitri,'€ he said.

Historical accounts describe how Ming Dynasty legend Cheng Ho, also known as Zheng He, embarked upon a world voyage with 30,000 soldiers, officials, accountants, merchants, healers, fortunetellers and interpreters to advance trade, exploration and diplomacy as well as to exchange scientific and cultural knowledge.

The devout Muslim set out on seven exploration missions in all, reaching Sri Lanka, India, the Middle East, Africa and many parts of this country.

The Cheng Ho mosque, built on a 21-by-11-meter plot of land on which stands an 11-by-9-meter main building, can accommodate some 200 people. The design of the mosque, located in a non-Muslim residential and office area in Surabaya, was inspired by the Niu Jie Mosque in Beijing.

East Java Deputy Governor Saifullah Yusuf has referred to the mosque as a symbol of peace among people of different faiths in the province.

'€œThe unison of two cultures, between Chinese and Islam, represents unity. This is a place of worship that symbolizes harmony, love and togetherness despite race or language,'€ he said.