Crisis delays restoration works on aging mosque

Crisis delays restoration works on aging mosque

JAKARTA (JP): The current financial hardship has badly
affected the restoration of the nearly three-century-old Kebon
Jeruk mosque in Kota, the city's Chinatown in downtown Jakarta.

According to the head of the mosque restoration committee,
Ahmad Zulfakar, donations for the work last year totaled Rp 135
million (US$18,000) and it all came from a single source: the
Jakarta Museum and Restoration Agency.

"With that amount of money, we're only able to restore the
mosque's roof which was already extremely old and could have
collapsed easily," the 67-year-old Moslem preacher said on
Friday.

Located on the busy Jl. Hayam Wuruk, the 1,500-square-meter
mosque is believed to have been built in 1718 by a Chinese
immigrant family from Greece.

Ahmad said the mosque's last major renovation was in the
1950s.

The committee, he said, had been suffering financial problems
regarding the renovation work for some time.

With the renovation only half complete, the mosque could no
longer accommodate all the Moslems who want to use it,
particularly during Friday prayers, Ahmad said.

But it still opens for other regular daily prayers, he added.

The mosque is in the vicinity of several discotheques and bars
run mostly by Chinese-Indonesians.

Some of the entertainment spots were burned and looted during
the May riots.

According to Ahmad, "very few or no Chinese Moslems" have
prayed at the mosque since the unrest.

"Before the May riots, many Chinese Moslems -- about 20
percent of the entire congregation -- said their prayers daily
here.

"But since the riots, I have only seen a very few of them
coming here to pray," he said, adding that the renovation
committee had never accepted any donation from the operators of
the nearby entertainment spots.

Ahmad admitted that the mosque had been popular among
international Moslem preachers, such as those from Australia,
China, South Africa, the Netherlands, India, Saudi Arabia and
France, but is still unable to collect enough money to complete
the renovation.

He said the mosque received dozens of visiting Moslem
preachers from other abroad everyday.

"They visit us here just to preach," Ahmad said.

Those wishing to donate funds for the immediate restoration of
the aging mosque can contact Ahmad on 021 847 6631 or meet him at
the mosque. (ylt)