Two old mosques share same name

By Ida Indawati Khouw

For many, Marunda is just a dirty slum area where the poor fishermen families of North Jakarta live. Few realize that the subdistrict was once home to many historic buildings and sites. One of the existing ones is the Al-Alam mosque. Strangely, another mosque located in neighboring Cilincing subdistrict bears the same name and has the same status. This is the 19th article in a series on Jakarta's historical sites and buildings in the Saturday edition of The Jakarta Post.

JAKARTA (JP): Finding the two 300-year-old mosques is no easy job.

The Mesjid Al-Alam (mesjid means a place to pray and al-alam means the universe in Arabic) in Marunda is actually clearly marked on Gunther W. Holtorf's Jakarta Jabotabek map.

But that is no guarantee it can be found as easily as Blok M Plaza, for instance, where many people could readily guide you.

Reaching the mosque, built in the 17th century, is a little bit nerve-racking since the road leading to it is not well- established. In the dry season, bicycles and motorcycles are the only means able to transport you there.

If rain falls, the Al-Alam mosque is only reachable on foot, except if you are a professional motorcycle trial rider who is used to riding on muddy trails.

The sole path to the mosque is less than one and a half meters wide and is hemmed in on both sides by fishponds.

The mosque, itself surrounded by fishponds, is the most finely constructed building in the neighborhood.

The mosque and its surroundings are ever so quiet in the afternoon. The only noises disturbing the peace are the sound of engines on the fishermen's boats and the cries of local children.

It's therefore not unusual that locals like Rudi, 21, prefer to spend the hours around midday in the mosque complex, fleeing their tiny and stuffy houses.

"Every afternoon I rest here. It is more relaxing than doing so at my house," Rudi, who had just woken up from a nap in an open-air section of the mosque, said.

"I sometime even sleep here at nights, especially on Kliwon nights when the mosque is busy with worshipers," he added, referring to the fifth night of the Javanese five-day week, a night full of Friday the 13th-style superstition for the Javanese.

Budget

Thanks to routine financial support from the Jakarta authorities, the original section of the mosque, capable of accommodating some 200 people, still exists.

With annual help and donations from local Muslims, the mosque has been extended by building an open-air structure at the back.

The ground has been cemented to enable more people to worship, such as on Kliwon nights, tarawih (evening prayers during Ramadhan) and the post-Ramadhan Idul Fitri morning prayer.

Like many other mosques in the country, the original part of Marunda's Al-Alam mosque is divided into four parts: a main prayer room, a Mihrab (a chamber indicating the direction of Mecca), a pulpit and a foyer.

According to the book Heritage Buildings in DKI Jakarta published by the city administration, the mosque is a plain quadrangle whose architecture combines Indonesian, Moorish or even European traditions.

The style of the latter can be seen in the four round pillars in the middle of the main building.

There are conflicting versions on who built the mosque. One comes from the city administration, and the other from local Marunda residents and the many pilgrims who flock to the mosque.

According to the administration, the mosque was built by soldiers from the Javanese Mataram kingdom who attempted to conquer Batavia between 1628 and 1629.

Batavia was under Dutch colonial rule at that time.

The soldiers initially occupied Marunda as it is situated close to the bay of Jakarta. They then built a logistics center for the preparation of further attacks, according to archeologist Candrian Attahiyat.

When finished, the building looked more likely a prayer house than a logistics center.

"But it wasn't intended for a large congregation. That's why it is a small mosque," Candrian said.

Like many old mosques in Java, Al-Alam was constructed under the influence of Hinduism and has a layered roof.

The Mataram soldiers left the site after being defeated by the Dutch and the area was once again deserted.

Betawi

At the end of the 18th century, a group of people -- believed to be Betawians (native Jakartans) -- were stunned to see a neglected mosque in the vacant area, Candrian explained.

They considered the mosque was built by 'nature' alone.

"That's why they later called the mosque Al-Alam, which means 'nature' in Bahasa Indonesia," he said.

Candrian believed the mosque has been renovated several times, particularly in the 1920s.

"The ventilation is similar to that in the old railway stations in the city which were built during that time by the Dutch," he said.

The locals refer to the mosque as Mesjid Gaib, or a mysterious mosque, because they believe it was built within one night by Wali Songo (one of the nine pious leaders who spread Islam in Java).

This belief lures people from towns as far away as Madura, East Java, to the sacred place.

Every Kliwon night, Rudi said, some 50 people come to the mosque in search of God's blessing.

"I think people consider the place sacred because it was built by Wali Songo," he said.

Rohamn, a 72-year-old sugar trader from Indramayu in West Java, at the mosque on a pilgrimage said, "Every time I am facing problems I come here to search for God's direction and blessing."

The Al-Alam mosque in Cilincing has the same function.

Unlike Marunda, the Cilincing mosque is quite noisy and busy since it is situated in the middle of a fishermen's village and next to shipyard.

The residents sell their fish from behind the mosque. It has also becomes a temporary shelter for fishermen from outside the city.

"There are about 25 fishermen who stay here every night. The mosque keepers allow them to stay here as long as they keep the building clean and look after their own possessions because people lose their belongings so often here," said Iman Rofi'i, one of the keepers.

Unfortunately, there are no historical records regarding the mosque, whose walls are made of woven bamboo.

An inscription states that the mosque was built in the 16th century, but it is not clear whether it is related to the Marunda mosque.

How can two mosques in neighboring areas share the same name is a question that still leaves experts wondering.

Candrian referred to the common belief that a group of people searching for the Al-Alam mosque in Marunda mistakenly found the one in Cilincing.

"They considered the Cilincing mosque to be the Al-Alam Marunda mosque," he said.