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Friday Prayers
[Indonesia] FRIDAY PRAYERS: Muslims from different ethnic groups gather at Masjid Cheng Hoo to perform Sholat Jumat (Friday prayers). Inaugurated on 28 May 2003, it is the only mosque in Indonesia to be named after a Chinese Muslim. Its architecture is inspired by the Niu Jie Mosque in Beijing, which was built in 996 AD. Masjid Cheng Hoo is the brainchild of Bambang Sujanto, or Lioe Ming Yen (柳民源; b. 1947). Sujanto raised the first installment of US$50,000 to construct the mosque by publishing "Juz Amma", a chapter from the Koran, in Arabic, Mandarin and Berhasa Indonesia. At that time, it was still not allowed to publish books in Mandarin. Sujanto was interrogated for three days and released.
Architecturally, Masjid Cheng Hoo is ripe with symbolism that articulates Sujanto's ideas of ethnicity and religion. The mosque measures 11m by 9m. Its length approximates the length of two sides of the modern-day Ka’bah in Mecca. The number ‘nine’ refers to the Wali Songo in Indonesia. The pagoda-top of the mosque has eight sides and the number ‘eight’ is considered highly auspicious amongst the Chinese. At the same time, the octagon structure references the spider web outside the cave that protected the Prophet and Abu Bakr during their flight to Medina. A mural of Admiral Zheng He (Cheng Ho) beside the mosque serves to remind the believers that Chinese and Islam are not mutually exclusive categories. Initially, Muhammadiyah –- the second largest Islamic organization in Indonesia founded by reformist leaders –- was opposed to the idea, fearing that the Muslims would start praying to the idol. But Sujanto insisted, saying that Zheng He should be seen as a role model who arrived in Indonesia 600 years back to propagate Islam.
Friday Prayers
[Indonesia] FRIDAY PRAYERS: Muslims from different ethnic groups gather at Masjid Cheng Hoo to perform Sholat Jumat (Friday prayers). Inaugurated on 28 May 2003, it is the only mosque in Indonesia to be named after a Chinese Muslim. Its architecture is inspired by the Niu Jie Mosque in Beijing, which was built in 996 AD. Masjid Cheng Hoo is the brainchild of Bambang Sujanto, or Lioe Ming Yen (柳民源; b. 1947). Sujanto raised the first installment of US$50,000 to construct the mosque by publishing "Juz Amma", a chapter from the Koran, in Arabic, Mandarin and Berhasa Indonesia. At that time, it was still not allowed to publish books in Mandarin. Sujanto was interrogated for three days and released.
Architecturally, Masjid Cheng Hoo is ripe with symbolism that articulates Sujanto's ideas of ethnicity and religion. The mosque measures 11m by 9m. Its length approximates the length of two sides of the modern-day Ka’bah in Mecca. The number ‘nine’ refers to the Wali Songo in Indonesia. The pagoda-top of the mosque has eight sides and the number ‘eight’ is considered highly auspicious amongst the Chinese. At the same time, the octagon structure references the spider web outside the cave that protected the Prophet and Abu Bakr during their flight to Medina. A mural of Admiral Zheng He (Cheng Ho) beside the mosque serves to remind the believers that Chinese and Islam are not mutually exclusive categories. Initially, Muhammadiyah –- the second largest Islamic organization in Indonesia founded by reformist leaders –- was opposed to the idea, fearing that the Muslims would start praying to the idol. But Sujanto insisted, saying that Zheng He should be seen as a role model who arrived in Indonesia 600 years back to propagate Islam.