BUILDING A COPY OF THE SHEIKH ZAYD MOSQUE STARTED IN INDONESIA

The United Arab Emirates will build a replica of the Sheikh Zayed Mosque in Indonesia as a gift.

The Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi, Deputy Supreme Commander of the UAE Armed Forces, Muhammad bin Zayed, during his visit to Indonesia in July 2019, offered President Joko Widodo to build a copy of the Sheikh Zayed Mosque as a gift.

At the beginning of March this year, a groundbreaking ceremony took place in the president’s homeland, the city of Surakarta in Central Java. The event was attended by the Minister of Energy and Infrastructure of the UAE Suhail al-Mazrui and the chairman of the General Directorate for Islamic Affairs and Donations Mohammad al-Kaabi. The Indonesian side was represented by the mayor of Surakarta Gibran Rakabumin Raka, the Minister of Religious Affairs of Indonesia Yakut Cholil Kumas and the Minister of State Enterprise Affairs Eric Tohir.

Abdullah al-Dahari, the UAE’s ambassador to Indonesia, said the new mosque serves as a symbol of the two countries’ shared values ​​of tolerance and peaceful coexistence. “The Sheikh Zayed Mosque will serve as a beacon of moderate Islam for the Indonesian people and will become an architectural masterpiece like the Sheikh Zayed Mosque in Abu Dhabi,” he said.

The construction of the mosque is funded by the UAE and is expected to be completed by September 2022. Its cost is estimated at $ 20 million.

The copy will look almost identical to the original, but smaller in size. It will have four minarets and a central dome surrounded by four smaller domes. Elements from the national Indonesian architecture will be present in its design. It is also planned to use local building materials whenever possible. The copy of the mosque will accommodate 10,000 believers.

Also on the site of three hectares will be located the Islamic Center, sponsored by the UAE. It will train Indonesian clerics in the tradition of religious moderation.

The Sheikh Zayed Mosque in Abu Dhabi can accommodate over 40,000 people and is one of the largest Muslim temples in the world. It is also called one of the most beautiful mosques on earth. This is one of the main attractions of the emirate.

The construction of the mosque is not the first such initiative. Last year, Sheikh Mohammed announced plans to build a mosque in the diplomatic district of Abu Dhabi in honor of the Indonesian president. He also renamed Al Maarid Street behind the Abu Dhabi National Exhibition Center in honor of Joko Widodo in recognition of this leader’s role in fostering ties between the two countries.

Abdullah al-Dahari notes: “The UAE and Indonesia have close ties in politics, economics, health care, agriculture, education and religion, and the construction of the Sheikh Zayed Mosque will only strengthen this relationship.”