JIC Mosque, the Pride of Muslims on Jakarta

By: Kurnia Khudzaifah, MINA Journalist

The fire occurred at the Jakarta Islamic Center Mosque located on Jalan Kramat Jaya RW 019, North Tugu Village, Koja District, North Jakarta on Wednesday afternoon, October 19, 2022 . The fire was caused by the use of a fire extinguisher to renovate the roof of the dome.

Islamic Center Jakarta is the Center for the Study and Development of Islam in Jakarta.

This building was erected in an area that was once very famous, not only in Indonesia, but also well-known throughout Southeast Asia as the largest snack center for mashers or places of prostitution.

In that location, the number of whores and pimps continues to grow so the place created new problems in the surrounding environment as well as tarnishing the image of the Betawi tribe, as a native of Jakarta, which is known as an Islamic society that is open, multicultural, tolerant and loves Islam. Therefore, the Islamic preachers and the community urged the place to be closed.

In 1998, the Governor of Jakarta issued Decree No. 495/1998 regarding the closure of the social institution by the end of December 1999 and on December 31, 1999, the place was officially closed through the Decree of the Governor of KDKI Jakarta No. 6485/1998.

After that, the Jakarta Government acquired the land and several parties proposed that the location be built for malls, offices, and so on.

However, Governor Sutiyoso had the idea to build an Islamic Centre. In 2001, he held a Brainstorming Forum with all elements of society to find out how much support the community had for a change that had been announced and the result was that the community was very enthusiastic.

As a result, the idea to build the Jakarta Islamic Center (JIC) was conveyed by Governor Sutiyoso to Prof. Azzumardi Azra (Rector of UIN Syarif Hidayatullah) and the idea received his support. After consulting with the community, scholars, and practitioners, a master plan for the construction of JIC in 2002 was finally drawn up.

To strengthen the ideas and ideas of JIC development, in August 2002 a comparative study was conducted at Islamic Centers in Egypt, Iran, England and France. In the same year, the JIC Organization and Management was formulated.

In order to meet the great ideals of Muslims who are dependent on the Jakarta Islamic Center, the Governor issued a Decree of the Governor of KDKI No. 99/2003 concerning the Establishment of the Organization and Work Procedure of the Jakarta Islamic Center.

In April 2004, the Management Agency of Jakarta Islamic Center for the Study and Development (Jakarta Islamic Center) was inaugurated through the Decree of the Governor of the Jakarta KDKI No. 651/2004.

The presence of JIC is expected to be one of the central nodes of Islamic civilization in Indonesia and Southeast Asia which is a symbol of the rise of Islam in Asia and the world.

The characteristic of the civilization in question is the complete facilitation of mosque prosperity functions which consist of worship functions, education and training functions, and trade/business functions. (T/ri/RE1)

Mi’raj News Agency (MINA)