Two old mosques share same name<\/p>\n
By Ida Indawati Khouw<\/p>\n
For many, Marunda is just a dirty slum area where the poor
\nfishermen families of North Jakarta live. Few realize that the
\nsubdistrict was once home to many historic buildings and sites.
\nOne of the existing ones is the Al-Alam mosque. Strangely,
\nanother mosque located in neighboring Cilincing subdistrict bears
\nthe same name and has the same status. This is the 19th article
\nin a series on Jakarta's historical sites and buildings in the
\nSaturday edition of The Jakarta Post.<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): Finding the two 300-year-old mosques is no easy
\njob.<\/p>\n
The Mesjid Al-Alam (mesjid means a place to pray and al-alam
\nmeans the universe in Arabic) in Marunda is actually clearly
\nmarked on Gunther W. Holtorf's Jakarta Jabotabek map.<\/p>\n
But that is no guarantee it can be found as easily as Blok M
\nPlaza, for instance, where many people could readily guide you.<\/p>\n
Reaching the mosque, built in the 17th century, is a little
\nbit nerve-racking since the road leading to it is not well-
\nestablished. In the dry season, bicycles and motorcycles are the
\nonly means able to transport you there.<\/p>\n
If rain falls, the Al-Alam mosque is only reachable on foot,
\nexcept if you are a professional motorcycle trial rider who is
\nused to riding on muddy trails.<\/p>\n
The sole path to the mosque is less than one and a half meters
\nwide and is hemmed in on both sides by fishponds.<\/p>\n
The mosque, itself surrounded by fishponds, is the most finely
\nconstructed building in the neighborhood.<\/p>\n
The mosque and its surroundings are ever so quiet in the
\nafternoon. The only noises disturbing the peace are the sound of
\nengines on the fishermen's boats and the cries of local children.<\/p>\n
It's therefore not unusual that locals like Rudi, 21, prefer
\nto spend the hours around midday in the mosque complex, fleeing
\ntheir tiny and stuffy houses.<\/p>\n
"Every afternoon I rest here. It is more relaxing than doing
\nso at my house," Rudi, who had just woken up from a nap in an
\nopen-air section of the mosque, said.<\/p>\n
"I sometime even sleep here at nights, especially on Kliwon
\nnights when the mosque is busy with worshipers," he added,
\nreferring to the fifth night of the Javanese five-day week, a
\nnight full of Friday the 13th-style superstition for the
\nJavanese.<\/p>\n
Budget<\/p>\n
Thanks to routine financial support from the Jakarta
\nauthorities, the original section of the mosque, capable of
\naccommodating some 200 people, still exists.<\/p>\n
With annual help and donations from local Muslims, the mosque
\nhas been extended by building an open-air structure at the back.<\/p>\n
The ground has been cemented to enable more people to worship,
\nsuch as on Kliwon nights, tarawih (evening prayers during
\nRamadhan) and the post-Ramadhan Idul Fitri morning prayer.<\/p>\n
Like many other mosques in the country, the original part of
\nMarunda's Al-Alam mosque is divided into four parts: a main
\nprayer room, a Mihrab (a chamber indicating the direction of
\nMecca), a pulpit and a foyer.<\/p>\n
According to the book Heritage Buildings in DKI Jakarta
\npublished by the city administration, the mosque is a plain
\nquadrangle whose architecture combines Indonesian, Moorish or
\neven European traditions.<\/p>\n
The style of the latter can be seen in the four round pillars
\nin the middle of the main building.<\/p>\n
There are conflicting versions on who built the mosque. One
\ncomes from the city administration, and the other from local
\nMarunda residents and the many pilgrims who flock to the mosque.<\/p>\n
According to the administration, the mosque was built by
\nsoldiers from the Javanese Mataram kingdom who attempted to
\nconquer Batavia between 1628 and 1629.<\/p>\n
Batavia was under Dutch colonial rule at that time.<\/p>\n
The soldiers initially occupied Marunda as it is situated
\nclose to the bay of Jakarta. They then built a logistics center
\nfor the preparation of further attacks, according to archeologist
\nCandrian Attahiyat.<\/p>\n
When finished, the building looked more likely a prayer house
\nthan a logistics center.<\/p>\n
"But it wasn't intended for a large congregation. That's why
\nit is a small mosque," Candrian said.<\/p>\n
Like many old mosques in Java, Al-Alam was constructed under
\nthe influence of Hinduism and has a layered roof.<\/p>\n
The Mataram soldiers left the site after being defeated by the
\nDutch and the area was once again deserted.<\/p>\n
Betawi<\/p>\n
At the end of the 18th century, a group of people -- believed
\nto be Betawians (native Jakartans) -- were stunned to see a
\nneglected mosque in the vacant area, Candrian explained.<\/p>\n
They considered the mosque was built by 'nature' alone.<\/p>\n
"That's why they later called the mosque Al-Alam, which means
\n'nature' in Bahasa Indonesia," he said.<\/p>\n
Candrian believed the mosque has been renovated several times,
\nparticularly in the 1920s.<\/p>\n
"The ventilation is similar to that in the old railway
\nstations in the city which were built during that time by the
\nDutch," he said.<\/p>\n
The locals refer to the mosque as Mesjid Gaib, or a mysterious
\nmosque, because they believe it was built within one night by
\nWali Songo (one of the nine pious leaders who spread Islam in
\nJava).<\/p>\n
This belief lures people from towns as far away as Madura,
\nEast Java, to the sacred place.<\/p>\n
Every Kliwon night, Rudi said, some 50 people come to the
\nmosque in search of God's blessing.<\/p>\n
"I think people consider the place sacred because it was built
\nby Wali Songo," he said.<\/p>\n
Rohamn, a 72-year-old sugar trader from Indramayu in West
\nJava, at the mosque on a pilgrimage said, "Every time I am facing
\nproblems I come here to search for God's direction and blessing."<\/p>\n
The Al-Alam mosque in Cilincing has the same function.<\/p>\n
Unlike Marunda, the Cilincing mosque is quite noisy and busy
\nsince it is situated in the middle of a fishermen's village and
\nnext to shipyard.<\/p>\n
The residents sell their fish from behind the mosque. It has
\nalso becomes a temporary shelter for fishermen from outside the
\ncity.<\/p>\n
"There are about 25 fishermen who stay here every night. The
\nmosque keepers allow them to stay here as long as they keep the
\nbuilding clean and look after their own possessions because
\npeople lose their belongings so often here," said Iman Rofi'i,
\none of the keepers.<\/p>\n
Unfortunately, there are no historical records regarding the
\nmosque, whose walls are made of woven bamboo.<\/p>\n
An inscription states that the mosque was built in the 16th
\ncentury, but it is not clear whether it is related to the Marunda
\nmosque.<\/p>\n
How can two mosques in neighboring areas share the same name
\nis a question that still leaves experts wondering.<\/p>\n
Candrian referred to the common belief that a group of people
\nsearching for the Al-Alam mosque in Marunda mistakenly found the
\none in Cilincing.<\/p>\n
"They considered the Cilincing mosque to be the Al-Alam
\nMarunda mosque," he said.<\/p>",
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