Mosque Without Middle East Symbol, Sunda Kelapa Mosque

Hi everybody. How are you? I hope you're okay. By the way, I want to tell you about a beautiful mosque. I visited this place, April 2022. From the information I got, this mosque is the first mosque in the Menteng area, Jakarta. Serves for education, worship, social or other. the name of this mosque is the Sunda Kelapa Mosque

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Picture by Nurdiani Latifah



The complete address of this mosque is in Menteng, Central Jakarta, Indonesia. This mosque was built in 1960 at the suggestion of the generals who lived in the Menteng area. From the information I got, General A.H Nasution also proposed to build this mosque. I have reviewed the A.H Nasution museum. This mosque was designed by Gustav Abbas. There are interesting things in this mosque.

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Picture by Nurdiani Latifah



In Indonesia, mosques are synonymous with domes, minarets or religious symbols (Islamic) others. However, this mosque does not have a dome. I once reviewed a mosque without a dome. Gustav abbas, the architect of this mosque, did not use architecture with Islamic symbolism in this mosque. Recognized or not, if the religious symbols in the mosque is very flexible. Don't get hung up on Middle Eastern symbols.

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Picture by Nurdiani Latifah



In Indonesia, the symbol of the Middle East is a natural thing in the architecture of a mosque. Then, what is interesting about this mosque? This mosque is in the shape of a boat. Actually the symbol of this boat was made as a symbol of the Sunda coconut port. At that time, before Indonesia's independence, the most famous port in Indonesia was harbor Sunda Kelapa.

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Picture by Nurdiani Latifah



Where many ships from various countries pass through the port. In addition, the Sunda Kelapa Harbor also functions as a place for Muslim trade. In fact, the port has also become the spread of Islam in Indonesia. from the information I got, as well as from my observations, if the mosque has a shape like a boat. In Islam, the boat symbol has a symbol of surrendering to God. Under these circumstances, people only expect love from God. In addition, this mosque also does not have a building. Gedug is a sign and a reminder to pray (in Islam)

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Picture by Nurdiani Latifah



Apart from these two things, what are the other interesting things? Entering the mosque area, there is a green gate with gold writing "Masjid Kelapa Sunda" above the gate. On the left and right there are gold carvings of Arabic calligraphy. It also has a rather spacious mosque courtyard. Then there are the dense trees.

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Picture by Nurdiani Latifah



Among other places in Jakarta, this place is quite cool during the day. Elsewhere, there are other food vendors. If you are hungry, you can enjoy the food in this mosque. When you enter the mosque, you will be greeted with a large room with semi-open conditions. This room is designed for you who do not do any worship. You can discuss with friends, you can do it here.

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Picture by Nurdiani Latifah



Or you can also relax for a while. Well, the doors and windows are designed quite wide. This is done to get a breeze that enters the room so that it makes it cool, without air conditioning, for the interior of the mosque, which is very minimal in the Middle East. There is only the framework of the sentence "god" and "prophet muhammad" using Arabic flanked by the pulpit. You'd be hard pressed to find Middle Eastern ornaments in this room.

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Picture by Nurdiani Latifah



On the inside of the mosque, using brown tiles. So are the walls. As for the ceiling of the mosque, it uses white color with classic hanging decorations. This chandelier is the main source of lighting for the mosque. There is a shelf containing the Koran. Oh yes, on the left side of the platform there is a very elegant wooden clock. In my opinion, the clock is very beautiful. As soon as I tell you about this place, I hope you enjoy my story.

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Picture by Nurdiani Latifah



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About Author

Nurdiani Latifah

My name is Nurdiani Latifah. I currently live in Jakarta – Indonesia, after 25 years I live in Bandung. I am a media staff at an NGO in Indonesia. I have worked in this institution for almost 2 years on issues of women and peace. I had been a journalist in Bandung for 3 years.

If you like his content, don't forget to upvote and leave a comment to show some love. You can also reblog if you want to. Also, don't forget to follow him to be updated with his latest posts.

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Thank you

Very interesting. Thanks for sharing! I always associated Mosques with Domes and Crescent symbols. Do you know if it’s the only Mosque that has no middle eastern symbols or there are others?

in several regions in Indonesia, I have reviewed it in other articles. one of them is a mosque in Bandung, al-irsyad mosque

Beautiful facilities, I have always found mosques fascinating! For the decorations so far away from the western aesthetics, I love the space allocated to the gardens, it makes it look like a place of peace and tranquility.

Greetings!

Hermosas instalaciones, desde siempre las mezquitas me han parecido fascinantes! Por las decoraciones tan alejadas de la estética occidental, me encanta el espacio que destina a los jardines, hace que parezca un lugar de paz y tranquilidad

Saludos

thank you, hope you enjoy my article

Hello @nnurdiani. Seldom have I seen mosques without their traditional architectural elements like domes and other Islamic conventions. And this sacred building definitely differentiated itself without domes and used the symbolism of a boat to adapt to its environment's context.

Which particular detail of that mosque is shaped like a boat? Would you mind elaborating further?

I like mosques without Middle Eastern ornaments. oh yeah, for the boat part, it's not obvious. because the mosque is being renovated. I will return to this mosque, and take a picture for you, if this mosque has been renovated

I see. The boat concept of that mosque is certainly not obvious. And I'm simply curious to see its actual application as soon as the building renovations are completed. Please update me on this when everything is ready. Thank you. 😊

The things that catch my eyes the most are the sitting sofa in the end of your post. Is it provided from the mosque? I have never seen it before in the mosque.

sitting sofa provided by the mosque management. it is used for the elderly who pray.

Thats actually really a nice idea, wish there will be more mosque provided that

I agree with you. I also hope that other mosques can provide it. especially in big mosques

greetings from Aceh to you my friend, reading your review made me want to visit the mosque directly, and it looks like I will be there soon, the architect and design of the mosque is very cool

I hope you can visit this mosque soon

 3 years ago  

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