6 Most Magnificent and Stunning Mosques in Indonesia
- VIVA / Adi Suparman
VIVA – Indonesia is one of the countries dominated by Muslim, and mosques are an integral part of the country’s religious and cultural landscape. A mosque is a place of worship for Muslims. In addition, the mosque also functions to prosper Islam with Da'wah, education, and social activities such as the distribution of zakat, Qurban, weddings, discussion of community problems, and others.
There are many beautiful and historic mosques in Indonesia that reflect the country’s unique blend of Islamic and local traditions. Well, here are some stunning and magnificent mosques in Indonesia.
The largest mosque in Southeast Asia and has a capacity of more than 200,000 worshippers. The mosque's design is modern and minimalist, with a large central dome and towering minarets. Istiqlal was first inaugurated in 1978 and has modern, magnificent architecture. This mosque was built with a Modern-Tropical model that makes this building will always look timeless.
2. Al Jabbar Mosque, Bandung
Al Jabbar Mosque was inaugurated on December 30, 2022. The mosque, which is located in Gedebage, Bandung, West Java, has an area of 25.9 hectares.
This mosque was designed directly by Ridwan Kamil when he was still the Mayor of Bandung. Ridwan Kamil designed the Al Jabbar Mosque to be friendly for the elderly and people with disability. There is ramp access and 2 elevators and there are special ablution rooms and toilets for the disabled.
The concept of the Bandung Al Jabbar Mosque comes from a mathematical formula, namely the algebraic formula. It can be seen from the complicated ornaments, but impressive by having 27 doors as a symbol of the 27 regencies/cities in West Java.
3. Sheikh Zayed Mosque, Solo
The Sheikh Al Zayed Mosque located in Gilingan, Banjarsari, Solo, was recently inaugurated on November 14, 2022. This mosque was a gift from the Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi, Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al-Nahyan. In fact, the entire cost of building this mosque was also borne by the UAE government.
One of the new religious tourist destinations in Solo is a replica of the original mosque, the Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque in Abu Dhabi, UAE. There are four towering minarets in this mosque. In addition, there are also several domes made like the original mosque in Abu Dhabi.
4. Grand Mosque of West Sumatra
The Grand Mosque of West Sumatra is located in Padang City, West Sumatra, which won the award as the mosque with the best architectural design in the world given by the Abdullatif Al Fozan Award (AFAMA), a non-profit organization that observes and focuses on design or work, especially mosque architecture around the world.
This mosque has unusual things, such as there is no dome on top of the mosque. The dome, which is usually the icon of a mosque, is replaced with a rectangular shape with each corner towering like the roof of the Gadang House from West Sumatra.
There are also typical Minangkabau carving patterns on the walls of the mosque as a typical Minang cultural element included.
5. Baiturrahman Grand Mosque, Aceh
Baiturrahman Grand Mosque is located in the city center of Banda Aceh. This mosque is one of the most beautiful and grandest mosques in Indonesia that has typical Acehnese architecture and it also has beautiful ornaments.
6. Central Java Grand Mosque, Semarang
The Central Java Grand Mosque is located in the city of Semarang and is also one of the largest mosques in Indonesia. The mosque has five large domes and tall minarets. The architecture of this mosque combines elements of Javanese and Islamic culture.