Jakarta Islamic Center inaugurated

Bambang Nurbianto, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

Governor Sutiyoso officiated on Tuesday at the opening of a 14,625-square-meter mosque as part of the Jakarta Islamic Center, situated on the site of the former Kramat Tunggak brothel complex in North Jakarta.

Sutiyoso said the closure of the red-light district, followed by the construction of the religious facilities, was a response to the wishes of the public who wanted to eliminate a negative image of their area.

The governor said the area would be developed into the country's largest center for Islamic studies.

"We developed the center because there is nowhere which could comprehensively accommodate ... Islamic studies and Islamic cultural development," he said in his opening remarks.

Officially, the red-light district in the area has been closed since September 1999, but there is still a number of prostitution activities in the surrounding area.

The soft opening of the three-story mosque, which can hold 20,000 people, was previously held by the governor in September 2002.

The 66-by-66-meter main prayer area can hold 7,000 people without a single pillar obstructing views as the roof utilizes a "space frame" structure.

The mosque is the first building constructed in the area which will also be equipped with a museum, boarding school buildings, a library and other educational facilities.

More than Rp 110 billion (US$12.5 million) was spent on the project, which started in October, 2001. Money was sourced from the city budget, the public and donations from foreign Islamic countries.

The opening ceremony was attended by officials of the city administration, diplomats from Muslim countries and thousands of Muslims.

The opening ceremony featured a number of Islamic cultural performances and a preface by noted Muslim cleric Abdullah Gymnastiar.