Istiklal Mosque in Indonesia, Jakarta Resort
Rating: 8,3/10 (1930 votes)  Istiklal Mosque or Mosque of Independence is located in the capital of Indonesia, Jakarta, and is the largest mosque in all of Southeast Asia. Approximately 88 percent of the country's inhabitants are Muslim, so after Indonesia gained independence, the construction of a large temple was only a matter of time. The idea to build one of the largest mosques in the world, which would be a symbol of the liberation of the people of Indonesia, came from Wahid Hasiim, the minister of religious affairs, and the prominent figure Anwar Kokroaminoto, who in 1953 developed a construction project and presented it to President Sukarno. After approval, the first person in the country took the process of building Istiklal under his personal control: the first step was to establish a competition for the best architectural solution and create a special jury to select the submitted projects. According to the results of the competition, the famous architect Frederic Silban was declared the winner, which caused a lot of gossip, since Silban was a respectable Christian. The construction of the Independence Mosque began in 1961 and ended only 17 years later. The construction of Istiklal cost Indonesia $ 12 million, the total area of the mosque is 10 hectares and it can accommodate more than 120 thousand believers. The temple is made of marble and stainless steel, the architectural style of the building is not easy to determine: most of all, the Independence Mosque resembles an enlarged Kremlin Palace of Congresses with a huge dome with a diameter of 45 meters and an attached minaret. The interior decoration of the mosque is minimalistic and even austere: a small number of decorative details are made of discreet aluminum. The shape of the dome and the construction of the one-hundred-meter minaret, which, in the opinion of the faithful, unnecessarily gravitate towards the Arab style, aroused heated discussion among Muslims. By the way, the rest of the mosque did not cause any complaints, apparently due to the fact that the Indonesians were too amazed by the rationalist-constructivist view of the giant temple. In addition to divine services in Istiklal (fortunately, the size allows) cultural and social events, as well as various kinds of conferences, seminars, exhibitions and lectures. The Independence Mosque currently remains the most important religious building in East Asia and receives many thousands of believers every year.   We also recommend reading National Monument in Indonesia, Jakarta Resort Topic: Istiklal Mosque in Indonesia, Jakarta Resort. |
