Beneficiaries of Friendly Mosque for Travellers Increase 122% Compared to 2025
The number of beneficiaries of the Friendly Mosque for Travellers (MRP) during the mudik and return flow for Eid al-Fitr 1447 H/2026 AD has increased significantly. The Ministry of Religious Affairs recorded 3,592,348 travellers stopping at mosques, a substantial rise compared to 1,617,641 in 2025.
This figure does not include travellers utilising viharas, churches, and other places of worship that also provided traveller-friendly services during the Eid holiday.
Director of Islamic Affairs and Sharia Development, Arsad Hidayat, stated that the increase demonstrates growing public trust in worship-based services along mudik routes. This is also due to effective socialisation, enabling the public to better understand the existence of Friendly Mosques for Travellers.
“There was an increase of around 122 per cent compared to the previous year. This shows that mosques are increasingly trusted as safe, comfortable, and open resting places for travellers,” said Arsad in Jakarta on Tuesday (7/4).
He explained that the rise in visitors is inseparable from improved service readiness on the ground. Thousands of participating mosques have been equipped with adequate basic facilities, supported by caretakers and volunteers.
According to Arsad, in 2026, the Ministry of Religious Affairs prepared 6,859 mosques spread across strategic areas, particularly on main routes such as the North Coast Road, Trans-Java, and Trans-Sumatra. All these mosques operated 24 hours from H-9 to H+7 of Eid al-Fitr.
Meanwhile, in 2025, the programme involved 8,710 mosques with around 1.6 million visitors. Arsad noted a significant increase in utilisation alongside the optimal quality of services at mudik route mosques.
“The sharp rise in utilisation indicates that the services provided are increasingly on target and needed by the public,” he clarified.
Arsad mentioned that the majority of travellers utilising MRP services came from private vehicle users, mainly motorbikes and cars. This aligns with the character of mudik flows in Indonesia, dominated by long-distance land travel.
In addition to places of worship, mosques also provided supporting facilities such as resting areas, drinking water, clean toilets, and device charging services. The presence of these facilities is deemed helpful in maintaining travellers’ physical condition during journeys.
He also revealed high public satisfaction with the services provided. Based on evaluations, nearly all respondents stated that main facilities like prayer spaces, cleanliness, and security were well fulfilled.
“Mosques are not only places of worship but also spaces for serving the congregation. Here, values of humanity, care, and togetherness are present in a real way,” said Arsad.
Furthermore, he added that the figure of 3.5 million travellers is a recapitulation from mosques recorded in the MRP programme. Factually on the ground, the actual utilisation is estimated to be higher.
“This data is still aggregate from mosques reported in the system. Beyond that, there are still mosques at toll road rest areas that serve large numbers of travellers and not all are yet compiled in this data,” he stated.
According to Arsad, the presence of mosques at toll rest areas plays an important role in supporting traveller comfort, especially on routes with high traffic intensity.
“We see that services at rest areas also have very high utilisation. Therefore, if all are recorded, the number could very well be larger than currently noted,” he added.
He appreciated the involvement of various parties in succeeding this programme, from mosque caretakers, religious instructors, KUA, to local communities. Such collaboration is key to delivering optimal services.
“We hope this positive trend can be maintained and improved in the coming years. The Friendly Mosque for Travellers programme is expected not only to be present during mudik season but to become a sustainable service model based on places of worship in society,” he concluded.