Al Markaz al Islami, a South Sulawesi landmark

Al Markaz al Islami, a South Sulawesi landmark

By Jupriadi

UJUNGPANDANG (JP): Jakarta has the Istiqlal, Banda Aceh its
Baiturrahman and Ujungpandang its Al Markaz al Islami. Those are
the three largest and most popular mosques in the country.

Al Markaz, which is what the Ujungpandang people usually call
it, is indeed imposing. This mosque is now the symbol of Islamic
revival in Indonesia's eastern regions and the landmark of the
South Sulawesi people.

During Ramadhan nights the imposing quality of Al Markaz, the
pride of the South Sulawesi community, becomes more and more
charming as tens of thousands of Muslims chant their prayers and
confession of faith in Allah.

Since the first day of Ramadhan, this mosque has always been
crowded with people attending evening prayers. It is estimated
that some 11,000 Muslims attend the occasion every night.

"They also come from places outside Ujungpandang such as
Maros, Pangkep, Gowa and Takalar," said Darwis, secretary of the
Education Division of the Islamic Center Foundation.

Just like any other mosques, Al Markaz also prepares dishes
for the joint breaking of the fast dinner. "Some 3,000 people
break their fast here every day," he added.

The grand mosque, inaugurated on Jan. 12, 1996, stands on a
site in Baraya, which was formerly the campus of the Hasannudin
University. It is decked with basic ornaments, such as the
ceramics and crystal lights, from Europe as well as a sound
system and computer equipment from Japan. In terms of
architecture it is a blend of that of the Mosque of Haram in
Mecca, the Prophet's Mosque in Medina, and the oldest mosque in
Gowa, South Sulawesi, a mosque built in the 16th century. As
such, it is now one of the most imposing mosques in Southeast
Asia.

It has three floors and occupies an area totaling 6,932 square
meters. The first floor -- 2,916 square meters -- is used as
offices, discussion rooms, a hall and a library. The second floor
-- 2,916 square meters -- is devoted to the male Muslim
congregation and the third floor -- 1,100 square meters -- is for
the female Muslim congregation. The second and third floors are
neatly arranged and lit with 800 electric bulbs. When you are
there you will feel that they are spacious in the absence of
central pillars. The mosque features the strength of civil
architectural design.

On the walls of the front section there are dark blue ceramics
originally imported from Italy. Rays from the lights will be
beautifully reflected by the walls, all in natural colors. In
front of the mihrab, a chamber indicating the direction of Mecca,
there is a copper inscription of the syahadat, the profession of
faith in Islam. Inside this room there is a crystal lamp fixture
two meters in diameter with 150 bulbs.

"This arrangement will make everybody entering it feel small
before Allah," said H. Yusuf Kalla, chairman of the executive
board of Islamic Center Foundation.

Another interesting feature of Al Markaz al Islami, which
literally means Islamic Center, is the absence of air
conditioners. The mosque is designed in such a way that it
resembles a traditional house in which the room temperature will
range between 28 and 31 degrees Celsius only. To facilitate the
entry of people to the rooms on the second and third floors, an
escalator is fixed in the middle section with two flights of
stairs on either side. This escalator is specially imported from
Japan. These three entry doors symbolize faith, knowledge and
charity.

The place for wudhu, Islamic ritual ablution before prayers,
at Al Markaz is also luxurious. There are two wudhu places on
either side of the mosque. Each wudhu is 648 meters square and
has 178 water taps. Each place is covered with white granite with
tiny black spots. The water source is at a depth of 254 meters
underground. To drill the well, a drilling machine was donated by
Japan's Takafumi Hayashi Foundation. This well alone cost some Rp
500 million.

The most distinctive part of the mosque is its soaring tower.
The main tower, 3m x 3m, resembles the tower of the Prophet's
Mosque in Medina. At 85 meters tall, it is only 1 m shorter that
the tower of the Prophet's Mosque. This tower is covered with
Italian ceramics and is provided with 16 sound systems with a
capacity to reach a radius of 5 kilometers. The foundation of the
tower is connected to the 3-meter-wide and 564-meter-long
connecting open veranda. There are 376 spaces underneath with a
25-watt bulb each.

The pearl-colored stone floor of the open veranda connecting
the south and north plaza is 2,300 meters square while the
northern and southern parks total 3,600 square meters in area,
complete with twin blocks with fine grass in between.

To connect the wudhu places and the 2,460 meters square
parking lot, there is a corridor with a copper roof. The way
inside the mosque is 15 meters wide and 4,000 meters long.

The copper roof of this domeless mosque is sharp-pointed and
has five stages with lattices of soldered glass and copper ends
in the symbol of the moon. This room imitates that of the
Katangka Mosque, Gowa, which was built by Sultan Alauddin, the
father of the National Hero Sultan Hasanuddin of the Gowa
Kingdom, South Sulawesi. The five-stage roof of the mosque
symbolizes the five pillars of Islam while the square symbolizes
Sullapa eppa', a Bugis expression meaning that man originally
comes from earth, water, fire and wind.

A number of participants in the congress and gathering of the
first International Muslim Conference held by the Indonesian
Muslim University in Ujungpandang recently were apparently amazed
when they paid a visit to the mosque.

"Good heavens, this is a really imposing mosque," Syekh
Abdurrahman, a delegate representing the Philippines' Muslim Moro
people, could not help mumbling.

"At first, I did not believe that there was such an imposing
mosque in Ujungpandang. Now I have found that what I have heard
is true," he told The Jakarta Post.

Idea

The idea of building the mosque came from General (ret)
Mohammad Jusuf, former Minister of Defense and Security/Armed
Forces Commander and chairman of the Supreme Audit Body, when he
was on a haj pilgrimage in 1994. Returning home from Mecca, he
expressed this idea to then Minister of Religious Affairs Tarmizi
Taher, who gave an enthusiastic response.

Jusuf then established the Islamic Center Foundation, headed
by himself with members included his wife, Mar'ie Muhammad (then
Minister of Finance), Tunky Ariwibowo (then Minister of Industry
and Trade), Gen. (ret.) Edi Sudrajat (then Minister of Defense
and Security), Moch. Yogi SM (then Minister of Home Affairs),
Aburizal Bakri (president of Bakri group of companies), HZB
Palaguna (then South Sulawesi Governor) and Yusuf Kalla (a noted
local businessman).

According to Jusuf, Ujungpandang has been chosen as the
location of the foundation because it is the center of
Indonesia's eastern regions. "Not because I come from
Ujungpandang," he said then.

On May 8, 1994, Edi Sudrajat and Yogi SM inaugurated the
driving of the first piles of the tower of the mosque. Architect
Mohammad Noe'man, assigned to design the mosque in a year,
coordinated the construction, which began on July 10, 1994 and
was completed on Jan. 12, 1996, under the banner of PT Adhi
Karya.

The mosque took 17 months to build at a total cost of Rp 13
billion. The success in bringing the mosque construction to
completion in quite a short time was attributable to the
financial support extended by the community, including a number
of Chinese Indonesian businessmen like Prayogo Pangestu, Hari
Darmawan and James T. Riyadi.

The former rector of the Ujungpandang State Islamic Institute,
Saleh Putuhena, has predicted that if the area of the Al Markaz
Mosque acquires all the necessary facilities and infrastructure,
it will be Indonesia's center for culture, science and
technology. "God willing, it will be the center of Islamic
culture, science and technology in Indonesia's eastern regions,"
he said.

According to the master plan, the Al Markaz area will have a
number of educational institutes from kindergarten to university
level with facilities and infrastructure on a par with those of
the Al Azhar University in Cairo, Egypt, and with Cordoba in
Spain. "It is only a question of funds," said Yusuf Kalla.

Lately there have been reports that the mosque will be made a
center for religious tourism activities. It is hoped that this
idea may materialize and conform to the enhanced faith and piety
of the people of South Sulawesi, a province recently also
vulnerable to the outbreak of social unrest.