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Muslims in Jakarta set to enjoy Istiqlal Mosque's new exterior

The newly renovated prayer hall of Istiqlal Mosque in Central Jakarta will be ready to welcome worshippers in time for the first tarawih (evening Ramadan prayers held after isya) of this year’s Ramadan

The Jakarta Post
Jakarta
Thu, February 13, 2020

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Muslims in Jakarta set to enjoy Istiqlal Mosque's new exterior

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span>The newly renovated prayer hall of Istiqlal Mosque in Central Jakarta will be ready to welcome worshippers in time for the first tarawih (evening Ramadan prayers held after isya) of this year’s Ramadan.

The Istiqlal management is speeding up the renovations, which are expected to be completed in March.

“So far, 80 percent of the renovations to the main prayer hall have been completed, so we are confident worshippers will be able to perform the first tarawih of this year’s Ramadan in the prayer hall,” Istiqlal spokesperson Abu Hurairah Abdulsalam told The Jakarta Post on Monday.

This year’s Ramadan is expected to start on April 23.

Abu said the renovations of the main prayer hall would be completed on time as the revitalization of the mihrab had almost been completed and a new set of lights and sound system equipment had also been installed.

Abu said the mosque would feature several new technologies, such as 104 CCTV cameras and a system to count visitors automatically, as well as an undisclosed technology in the mihrab, which he claimed would be the first time such technology had been used in a mosque in Indonesia.

“We want it to be a surprise, so we will not reveal the technology now,” he said.

The renovations, the most extensive work done to the mosque since it opened in 1978, began on May 6, 2019, coinciding with the first day of last year’s Ramadan. The project includes increasing the parking capacity, landscaping and renovating the plaza, toilets, ablution blocks, electrical system and plumbing.

The Rp 475 billion (US$33.92 million) project was expected to be finished in March, but will likely be delayed by around one to two months.

“We are still trying our best to expedite it,” Abu said, adding that the renovations would allow the mosque to hold more than 200,000 worshippers and further strengthen its position as the biggest mosque in Southeast Asia.

The Istiqlal management initially wanted to completely close the mosque so that renovations could be finished according to the target, but many worshippers demanded the mosque remain open to visitors. As a consequence, construction has had to be stopped regularly, especially during Friday prayers, so the noise would not bother worshippers.

On Monday, a large excavator was being used near the main entrance while construction workers completed welding in several corridors of the mosque, producing a lot of noise that could even be heard from the prayer hall.

“We need to stop work when the worshippers pray and resume work as soon as they finish. That’s one of the reasons progress has been slow. If the mosque was totally closed, we might be able to finish the renovations on time,” Abu said.

The management, he added, had a new task to conduct a feasibility study for an underground tunnel connecting the mosque to the Jakarta Cathedral across the road after President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo gave his approval last Friday.

“The President has only agreed to build the tunnel; we still don’t know who will provide the budget,” Abu said.

Visitors are eager to see the new face of Istiqlal.

“If the final result [of the renovation] is magnificent, I might consider visiting the mosque more frequently. I hope the renovation will include new lavatories, as several of the toilet cubicles don’t even have doors,” Nurdin, a 19-year-old visitor from Tambora, West Jakarta, said, adding that the noise of the construction did not bother him.

Another visitor, Marni Jamhuri, 38, was also curious to see the results of the renovation, expressing hope it would attract more Muslims in Jakarta to pray at the mosque.

“I don’t mind if the renovation takes a long time as long as the results are great. I’m very eager to see the mosque once the renovations are done,” Marni said.

During his visit to the mosque on Friday, Jokowi called on the Istiqlal management to speed up the renovations, saying everything should be completed by April.

“I am very satisfied with the renovations because everything looks very clean, including the marble tiles and marble
exterior," (glh)

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