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Istiqlal shares thousands of free 'iftar' meals everyday
The mosque's management prepares 3,500 food packages on weekdays and 4,500 on weekends.
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Men prepare boxes of free 'iftar' (breaking-of-the-fast) food at Istiqlal Mosque in Central Jakarta on May 7. During Ramadan, the mosque shares 3,500 food packages on weekdays and 4,500 on weekends. (JP/Wendra Ajistyatama)
E
very Ramadan, Istiqlal Mosque in Pasar Baru, Central Jakarta, prepares thousands of servings of food to be shared with Muslims to break the fast. This year is no exception.
Istiqlal Mosque protocol and tourist service unit head Abu Hurairah Abdul Salam said that this year the mosque's management would hand out 3,500 servings every day from Monday to Friday.
"While on Saturday and Sunday, we have 4,500 servings because more people come," he said on Thursday as quoted by kompas.com.
The food is prepared by eight vendors, one of which is located in the mosque's kitchen itself.
Abdul went on to explain that the eight vendors worked together to ensure the food’s quality and that it was served on time.
"We want to maintain the food’s quality. The management decides the menu for them to cook. So the taste might be different from one another," he added.
Sharing iftar (breaking-of-the-fast) food is a tradition that the management of the Istiqlal Mosque has continued for 20 years. The mosque has been a popular place to break the fast since it was still in construction.
"Even before the construction was complete, people were breaking the fast here in 1968. Back then, we received food from people, but today we are serving it for them," Abdul said. (vla)
