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Iftar at Chinese mosque in Jakarta

CCTV.com

07-06-2016 12:53 BJT

In Jakarta, hundreds of people observed Ramadan at one of the city's largest mosques built by a Chinese Indonesian Muslim. The mosque is opening its doors this year to people from various religious backgrounds for Eid al Fitr.

It's a call to prayer for Muslims at this mosque. Nurhayati is waiting patiently, before she can take a sip of water after a long day of fasting. She says being a part of the Iftar experience here, is unlike any other she's ever had.

At first glance, this mosque may look like any other. But it holds a special story. The Ramlie Musofa Mosque is popularly known as the Taj Mahal of North Jakarta.

Its grand architecture boasts multiculturalism, combining inspirations from China, India and Indonesia.

Built by a second generation Chinese Muslim, scriptures from the Quran written in Mandarin cover the walls of this mosque.

Subtitle: "The writings in Mandarin identify our roots as Chinese. Also, for Chinese tourists that visit this mosque and do not know how to read Arabic, they will immediately understand the scriptures in Mandarin."

This is a big year for Sofyan. He's celebrating his first Ramadan at the mosque since it opened.

Subtitle: "We invite everybody of all religious backgrounds to celebrate Eid-Al-Fitr here. Our doors are always open to everyone."

This mosque is strengthening the Ramadan tradition of being together as a family and a community. It doesn't matter where you come from; there are people here from all over Indonesia, with different backgrounds and stories. But today they unite and share the same belief.

Ramlie Musofa Mosque is fast becoming a symbol of togetherness between China, Indonesia and beyond. A true a celebration of history, religion and tolerance.

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