DDHK. ORG – The Sheikh Zayed Mosque is special because it is a symbol of relationship Indonesia with world. This was revealed by the Minister of Religion (Menag) Yaqut Cholil Qoumas.
Mosque Raya Sheikh Zayeddi in Surakarta City, Central Java Province, was inaugurated on 14 November 2022 and opened to the public on Tuesday (28/2/2022).
The mosque, which is located on Jalan Ahmad Yani Gilingan, occupies about 3 hectares of land and was inaugurated by President Joko Widodo (Jokowi).
"This mosque is a symbol of Indonesia's harmonious relationship with the international world," he said as reported by Republika.
"Hopefully the presence of the Sheikh Zayed Mosque will add to our enthusiasm in caring for moderate and tolerant religions," continued Yaqut.
The Minister of Religion said that the Indonesian people should be grateful because they were blessed with natural wealth and diversity and were given the strength to take care of this gift.
According to him, the relationship between religion and the state is that religion is the foundation of life, while the state is the guardian.
"Anything that doesn't have a foundation will be destroyed, as well as anything that doesn't have a guard, it will disappear," he said again.
This Great Mosque is a gift from the President of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) Mohammed bin Zayed (MBZ) to President Joko Widodo. This mosque was built with ornaments similar to one of the grandest mosques in the world, the Sheikh Zayed Mosque in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates (UAE). And this is a long series of international lobbying between the Government of Indonesia and the UAE.
The construction of the mosque began when the UAE Prince Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan visited Indonesia. During the meeting, apart from signing several cooperation agreements between the two countries, the prince also promised to reward or grant Jokowi a mosque which was planned to be built in the President's hometown of Solo.
The government then began building the Sheikh Zayed Solo Great Mosque, which is a symbol of Indonesia's friendship with the UAE, in the Gilingan Village, Banjarsari District, Surakarta City, Central Java, in December 2020. [DDHK News]
