Two old mosques share same name

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.