Jakarta Islamic Center inaugurated

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.