The Grand Mosque “Istiqlal”

Istiqlal Mosque is located at Jalan Pintu Air, Central Jakarta. The name “Istiqlal” means freedom. The idea of this great mosque came from KH. Wahid Hasyim, a Minister of Religious Affairs in President Soekarno’s era. The architect of this project is Frederick Silaban and built on August 24, 1961 on top of Dutch’s fort ruins. Because of “Gestapu” (Gerakan Tiga Puluh September or G30S PKI) and economic crisis, this mosque had not finished yet as wee see in the present time. Then Soeharto, the president after Soekarno, took-over the development of this mosque. Finished in 1978, it became an icon of Indonesia and also proclaimed as the biggest mosque in South East Asia.