VOI - Voice of Indonesia | RRI - Radio Republik Indonesia

Muslims celebrate Eid al-Adha (Eid Mubaroq) 31^st  July 2020.  It is commemorated as the event of sacrifice, namely when the Prophet Ibrahim, who was willing to sacrifice his son  Ismail for Allah.  In this  holiday,  Muslims gather in the morning and perform Eid prayer  together.  After the Id prayer,  animals such as cows, camels and goats are slaughtered to conduct  Allah's command to the Prophet Ibrahim.

At this Eid Al-Adha commemoration, we let you know about  Islamic Center Mosque of Samarinda in East Kalimantan, which is the second largest mosque in ASEAN after the Istiqlal Mosque in Jakarta.

The Islamic Center Mosque along with a number of other infrastructure projects was built in 2000. The declaration was done in Bontang, East Kalimantan  by President  Abdurrahman Wahid (Gus Dur). Moreover,   the groundbreaking  began on July 5, 2001 by President Megawati Soekarno Putri.  Finally, it was inaugurated on June 12, 2010 by President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono. The mosque has front ground of the Mahakam river bank and  the mosque with a main building area of 43,500 square meters has a large tower and dome that stand strongly. Meanwhile, the supporting building area is 7,115 square meters and the basement floor area is 10,235 square meters.

This mosque building has 7 towers, with the main tower as high as 99 meters that means Asmaul Husna or the 99 names of Allah. Then, the  main tower consists of a 15-storey building  with an average height of 6 meters. Meanwhile, there are 33 steps from the ground floor to the main floor. The numbers  are deliberately equated with one third of  the number of beads. These six towers also mean 6 pillars of faith. The foyer of the mosque is decorated with crystal chandeliers and unique wall lamps bearing Arabic calligraphy. The mosque is equipped with elevators and special lanes for people with disabilities to make it easier for them to reach upstairs. The major prayer room displays a soothing impression with the use of granite material on the floor  with a light  crème color  accented with black vertical lines.