Jakarta's oldest mosque lives on

By A. Junaidi

This grand mosque, the oldest in the capital, once had the national red and white flag on the top of its tower. It reddened the faces of the Dutch colonial authorities, who then assigned their soldiers to attack the Muslim holy place. This is the 20th article in a series on Jakarta's historical sites and buildings in Saturday editions of The Jakarta Post.

JAKARTA (JP): The 282-year-old mosque constructed and designed in a mixture of Javanese, Hindu, Arabic and Chinese styles still exists, although many parts of the protected building have been seriously neglected.

At a glance, the 1,000-square meter mosque in narrow Jl. Sawah Lio in Tambora, West Jakarta, is just like many other mosques in the capital.

However, a large billboard at the front gate that states its status as a protected and preserved building makes it slightly different from others.

Similar to most buildings protected under the law, the Al- Mansyur mosque -- which stands on 2,000 square meters of land -- looks much older than it once did.

Its interior lacks lights, leaving an impression of a gloomy and unhealthy room.

Built in 1717 by Raden Muchid, an ulema from the Islamic Mataram kingdom (now Yogyakarta) in Central Java, the mosque stills bears evidence of the country's struggle in the early days.

Raden Muchid was assigned by Mataram's king Sultan Agung as a spiritual envoy after the kingdom's troops were defeated by Dutch colonial soldiers in Batavia (the old name for Jakarta).

It was on his mission to Batavia that Muchid built the mosque.

Military headquarters

During Indonesia's struggle for independence, the mosque was headed by Muchid's fifth generation descendant, Mochamad Mansyur.

At this time the mosque was functioning as a headquarters for Indonesian soldiers.

Mansyur, also known as Guru Mansyur, once hoisted the country's red and white flag on the mosque's tower.

His daring maneuver sparked Dutch anger. The colonial authorities deployed their troops to teach the pribumi (local people) a lesson.

The mosque's six-meter high brick tower was shot at and damaged by the Dutch soldiers.

The damage caused by the bullets can still be seen on the tower, which the mosque keepers have intentionally left as evidence of the significant role played by the mosque and its congregation in the country's fight to free itself from colonization.

Mansyur was also a Betawi branch chairman of the Nahdlatul Ulama, a strong Muslim organization set up in 1926 by Hasyim Asy'ari, the grandfather of President Abdurrahman Wahid.

"Mansyur was a close friend of Hasyim during the independence years," Mansyur's oldest grandson, Fatahillah Ahmadi, in his 40s, told The Jakarta Post recently.

Fatahillah, who now leads the mosque, said his grandfather died in 1967. To honor him, local people named a nearby street after him.

Like many other old mosques across the country, the Al-Mansyur mosque is also home to graves and tombs, usually the mosque's founders and noted local preachers.

Mansyur's body, for example, is buried in a tomb in the front yard of the mosque.

Unfortunately, Fatahillah said, the whereabouts of the remains of his great grandfather, Raden Muchid, are still unknown.

According to him, the mosque has a close relationship with two other old mosques, one in Tambora, West Jakarta, and the other in Mangga Dua, Central Jakarta, since many of his grandparents and relatives are buried in these mosques' compounds.

At the center of the Al-Mansyur mosque there are four pillars, each two meters in diameter and four meters high.

The mosque's main doors are made of teakwood by Javanese craftsmen.

Fatahillah said the mosque used to be situated near a river with five bridges along its length. In those days, the river was used for day-to-day transportation needs.

It was due to these bridges the area is known as Jembatan Lima, literally meaning five bridges.

"But now the river has gone," Fatahillah added.

The design of the mosque, he believed, was mostly influenced by Muslim traders, including those of Chinese descent, who passed along the river with their merchandise and often stopped to perform their prayers.

Rice fields

Nowadays, the mosque is surrounded by houses, mostly belonging to Chinese Indonesian families.

"The area was bare in the past. There were only rice fields, that's why it was once called Kampung Sawah (Rice Field Village)," he said.

The name was then changed into Jl. Sawah Lio. Lio (probably deriving from a Chinese word) is the mud used for the basic material in making genting (brick roofs).

The influence of Arabic culture can be seen from the design and the color -- green -- of the mihrab and mimbar, the place for the imam.

Two big old clocks, two meters high, stand on either side of the mosque. The clocks, and their wooden cases, are believed to date back from the Dutch era, and they still work.

Unfortunately, there is no detailed written history of the mosque.

Historian Adolf Heuken only wrote two paragraphs about the mosque in his book Historical Sites of Jakarta.

Even the mosque's small library, which is always kept locked, cannot shed light on the history of the mosque.

For the maintenance of the mosque, the government, through the Jakarta museum agency, regularly donates Rp 60,000 (US$8.5) to help pay for three caretakers.

"We never asked for help. On the contrary, the museum agency often offer us help to renovate the mosque," Fatahillah, who also leads the Al-Mansyur education foundation, said.

He said the mosque, which can accommodate 1,000 worshipers, has not undergone substantial renovations for 10 years.

The toilet looks old and dirty.

The paint on the mosque's walls is peeling and blurred.

The central government and the city authority are therefore urged to pay prompt attention and immediately renovate the mosque, if they really want to preserve its old and historical character.