The Great Mosque of Garut is a historical

congregational mosque A congregational mosque or Friday mosque (, ''masjid jāmi‘'', or simply: , ''jāmi‘''; ), or sometimes great mosque or grand mosque (, ''jāmi‘ kabir''; ), is a mosque for hosting the Friday noon prayers known as ''Friday prayer, jumu'ah' ...

in the city of

Garut Garut is a district and town in West Java of Indonesia, and the former capital of Garut Regency. It is located about 75 km to the southeast of the major city of Bandung. History The modern history of Garut started on 2 March 1811 when the B ...

Garut Regency Garut Regency is a Regency (Indonesia), regency in the Indonesian province of West Java. It covers an area of 3,065.19 km2 (1,186.91 mi2). Geographically, it lies between 6°5734 – 7°4457 South latitude and 107°2434 – 108° ...

West Java West Java (, ) is an Indonesian Provinces of Indonesia, province on the western part of the island of Java, with its provincial capital in Bandung. West Java is bordered by the province of Banten and the country's capital region of Jakarta to t ...

Indonesia Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania, between the Indian Ocean, Indian and Pacific Ocean, Pacific oceans. Comprising over List of islands of Indonesia, 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, ...

. The mosque is one of the oldest mosques in the region, first constructed on September 15, 1813 by the Dutch colonial representatives in the

Priangan Parahyangan () or Priangan (Sundanese script: ) is a cultural and mountainous region in West Java province on the Indonesian island of Java. Covering a little less than one-sixth of Java, it is the heartland of Sundanese people and their culture ...

. The mosque was renovated three times in 1949, 1979, and 1998 into a traditional Javanese Islamic architectural style with sloped roofs.Kisah Masjid Agung dan Sejarah Garut
''Liputan6''. Retrieved March 30, 2021.

Description

Initial construction

The regional capital of the Garut area was moved from Balubur Limbangan to the current area, and the Dutch colonial government initiated four infrastructure development plans, among which was the construction of the mosque. The Dutch constructed the pavilion building (the ''Babancong''), the residence of the regent, the office of the regent assistant (the present-day ''Bakorwil'' building), as well as the prison building in the vicinity of the mosque. The construction of the mosque was initiated by the Regent Wira Tanu Datar VII who held power until 1815, and succeeded by Musa Suria Kertalegawa who came to power in 1829. By the time, the mosque became a center of activities for the local religious community.

Renovation

The initial construction was intended for five-times daily prayers, but as the development continued, and the popularization of ''

pesantren ''Pesantren'' is a traditional Islamic boarding school in Indonesia. It is taught either in private houses, a ''wiktionary:pondok, pondok'' or a mosque, the teaching includes classical Islamic texts and ''santri'' thought, taught by Kyai, ''kya ...

'' (Islamic boarding school) culture, the mosque began to hold

Friday Prayer Friday prayer, or congregational prayer (), is the meeting together of Muslims for communal prayer and service at midday every Friday. In Islam, the day itself is called ''Yawm al-Jum'ah'' (shortened to ''Jum'ah''), which translated from Arabic me ...

Eid prayer Eid prayers, also referred to as Salat al-Eid (), are holy holiday prayers in the Islamic tradition. The literal translation of the word "Eid" in Arabic is "festival" or "feast" and is a time when Muslims congregate with family and the larger ...

s and other congregational religious activities. To accommodate this, the mosque was renovated in 1949, with a fresh outer look based on the Javanese Mataram Islamic architecture. The characteristics of the renovated style were the three-level roofs soaring upward. The mosque was renovated again in 1979 and a dome was installed. The third renovation was initiated on November 10, 1994, and completed on August 25, 1998. For the third renovation, the current governor of West Java

Ridwan Kamil Mochamad Ridwan Kamil (born 4 October 1971), alternatively Kang Emil or RK, is an Indonesian architect and politician who was the 15th Governor of West Java, the largest (most populous) province of Indonesia. He was also the List of mayors of ...

, who back then was an assistant professor of the

Bandung Institute of Technology The Bandung Institute of Technology (; , abbreviated as ITB) is a public research university located in Bandung, Indonesia. It has produced many notable leaders in science, engineering, politics, business, academia, and culture. ITB is one of th ...

, was involved as an architect. Ridwan Kamil was assigned to deploy a satellite technology to determine the direction of

Qibla The qibla () is the direction towards the Kaaba in the Great Mosque of Mecca, Sacred Mosque in Mecca, which is used by Muslims in various religious contexts, particularly the direction of prayer for the salah. In Islam, the Kaaba is believed to ...

. It was an assignment he directly received from his lecturer and was one of his first mosque projects. The third renovation has also widened the courtyard which is being used today for bazaar during Islamic events and the regional government's official ceremonies.

Religious education

Since

Ramadan Ramadan is the ninth month of the Islamic calendar. It is observed by Muslims worldwide as a month of fasting (''Fasting in Islam, sawm''), communal prayer (salah), reflection, and community. It is also the month in which the Quran is believed ...

in 1983, the mosque has been holding ''pesantren kilat'' or an Islamic boarding school program for a limited duration of time. The mosque has been a popular place for children's basic religious education such as Qur'anic recitation. It also opened a program for university students.

Gallery

File:COLLECTIE TROPENMUSEUM Moskee in Garoet TMnr 60016896.jpg, The initial Dutch colonial style File:COLLECTIE TROPENMUSEUM Moskee in Garoet TMnr 10016651.jpg, Javanese style since the 1949 renovation

References

{{Mosques in Indonesia Mosques completed in the 1810s Religious buildings and structures completed in 1813 Mosques in West Java