Indian merchants build mosques in Pekojan
By Novan Iman Santosa
Pekojan is simply a small site in the map of West Jakarta. But the neighborhood houses four old mosques, some of which are over 300 years old. The four Muslim places of worship, along with some 15 other old historical mosques are protected by the authorities. This is the 18th article in a series about Jakarta's historical sites and buildings appearing in the Saturday editions of The Jakarta Post. During Ramadhan, the stories will be mostly about old mosques.
JAKARTA (JP): Framed between Jl. Bandengan Selatan and Jl. Pekojan in Tambora subdistrict, Pekojan has been home to many old buildings, including four very old historical mosques.
Few of them still exist as they did in former times as most have changed their structures and resemble modern mosques.
Of the four mosques, however, which are located close to each other in the tiny neighborhood, two still display their past splendor. Their colors, wooden walls and padlocks have remained the same for centuries.
The first is Annawier Mosque, which is believed to have been built by Arabs from Hadhramaut, now called Yemen.
Chairman of the congregation at the mosque, Abdurrahman al Jufri said: "The Annawier mosque, or 'the shining one,' was built by Abdullah bin Hussein Alaydrus in 1760."
"Most ulemas from the region (Hadhramaut) prayed here after making a stop, before continuing their voyages to spread Islam in the archipelago," he said.
One of the more unique aspects of the mosque that is located on Jl. Pekojan is the minaret which is at the back, instead of the front of the building.
Unfortunately, no satisfying explanation is available on this.
"Perhaps the original entrance to the mosque was where the minaret is located now before the houses were built," said congregation member Abu Bakar.
Abdurrahman has another version, saying that the architects might have had a visionary consideration.
"They might have thought that the road would be widened in the future, so they built the minaret at the back," he said.
Like many old mosques across the country, the yard of Annawier was used for several graves.
According to Abdurrahman, one of the graves was used to contain the body of Syarifah Muznah, a rich lady from Padang, West Sumatra.
The land used to build the 300-square-meter mosque was a donation from Muznah.
"She had no relatives but appointed several Arabs to take care of her wealth," Abdurrahman explained.
"Muznah also donated a parcel of land in the Karet area of Tanah Abang in Central Jakarta to be used as a Muslim graveyard."
The Annawier mosque retains its L-shaped form with all its 33 pillars.
"That's the number of times we chant Allah's name in our prayers. I had no idea whether the builder designed the pillars intentionally," Abdurrahman said.
Currently, the mosque needs major renovation as it is damaged in several places.
"The floor has already dropped in a number of places and the roof is leaking in some spots," said Abu.
The congregation, for example, have had to clad the pillars' bases with ceramic tiles as they have started to crumble.
"The city's office on historical buildings didn't seem happy with it, but we had to do it to prevent further damage," said Abu.
A 1.5 meter by 1.5 meter pond was in the past used by the congregation to take wudhu (the ritual ablution before performing a prayer).
"We don't use it anymore and we keep the pond as it is," he said.
He, therefore, asked the city administration to help maintain the protected mosque.
"Usually the city gives a donation every two or three years, but we have not received such aid for several years," he said.
Some 200 meters east of Annawier, a mosque called Langgar Tinggi stands on stilts.
The eight meters by 24 meters langgar (literally means small mosque) is located on the river bank of Bacherachtsgracht, now Kali Angke.
A signboard at the entrance reveals that the mosque was built in 1829.
Its congregation and local residents asserted that the langgar was much older than the Annawier mosque.
Abu Bakar of the Annawier mosque supported such a belief.
"The earlier residents here used to perform the Friday prayers in Langgar Tinggi before the Annawier mosque was built," he said.
Judging from the old objects that still exist, Langgar Tinggi is more special that the other old mosques in Pekojan, which derived from kojah, or merchants in India.
The rectangular-shaped mosque has most of its wooden windows and door frames made of jati (teakwood). But many of its doors, window handles and hinges have already rusted.
The wooden flooring is made of original plank boards, also of jati.
"Most of its roof frames are also the original ones except for some minor changes," Herwani, a safeguard of the mosque, said.
In the past, Muslims from other parts of the river used boats to go to the mosque.
Like Annawier, Langgar Tinggi also needs immediate restoration as most of the its pillars and roof frames are crumbling due to its age.
"But the office of historical buildings requires us to take photographs of the damage before approving renovation funds," he said.
The third mosque is the 12 meters by 12 meters Al Anshor mosque, which is believed to be the oldest one in the neighborhood, or even the entire city.
Historian Adolf Heuken in his book titled Historical Sites of Jakarta stated that the mosque dated back as early as 1648 and was built by Muslim Indians from Malabar.
Today, Al Anshor is surrounded by a densely-populated housing complex, forcing newcomers to make several turns to reach the mosque.
"In the early 1950s, the mosque was not used as place of worship as the floor was filled with about a half-a-meter deep layer of mud," said congregation executive Muhammad Rais.
Originally, there were only five or six families around the mosque who became the first congregation members, he added.
The mosque, however, has lost most of its original materials as it has been renovated several times. It now only retains a two-layered roof, a sign of Hindu influence.
"The congregation renovated the mosque in 1963 with their own money," Rais recalled.
The city administration renovated the mosque in 1973, 1983 and 1993, he added.
"We retained some old door panels and seven roof girders made of solid jati," Rais said.
The other old mosque in the neighborhood is the Kampung Baru mosque on Jl. Bandengan Selatan, which also maintains most of its original form and has been renovated several times.
"The mosque is about 250 years old and was built by a Pakistani," said congregation chairman Djamhuri.
According to Adolf in his book, the Kampung Baru mosque was built in 1748, also by Indian merchants.
But Djamhuri insisted that the mosque was built by a Pakistani, Maulana Abu Bakar, on waqaf (gifted) land.
To commemorate their roles in building the mosque, the bodies of Maulana and his wife were buried on the right side of the building.
"The graves were later removed when we enlarged the mosque," said Djamhuri.
"The Muslim Indians and Pakistanis here still pray here at Idul Fitri and Idul Adha festivities," he added.
"The four pillars inside the initial mosque are also made from solid teakwood," said Djamhuri. The four pillars are now covered with ceramic tiles to prevent them from decaying, he added.
"But the roof frames maintain the original jati frames," he said.
Djamhuri stated that the city administration gave renovation assistance of between Rp 25 million to Rp 30 million triennially to the mosque since 1992.
"But we have never received the money, maybe it went to the mayor's office or to the mosque's foundation."
"It's the congregation themselves that finance the small-scale renovations at the mosque, such as the floor tilings and routine maintenance, with daily alms," he said.