Main prayer hall in Istiqlal Mosque, Jakarta, Indonesia. Image © Getty Images.
September 9 marks the end of Ramadan, or Eid ul-Fitr. For the past few weeks leading up to Eid, the Istiqlal Mosque in Jakarta, Indonesia has been a prime pilgrimage point for thousands of Indonesian Muslims.
In the month of Ramadan, Muslims from all over the country trek to the capital to spend a few nights in the mosque, reports the Jakarta Globe.
This practice retreating to a mosque during Ramadan is called i'tikaf . During this time, mosques like Istiqlal open their doors to travelers and provides them food and shelter. [...]According to Muhammad Wahyono, secretary for Ramadan activities at Istiqlal, there are an estimated 100 i'tikaf devotees currently staying at the mosque.
The number is expected to increase during the middle of Ramadan and swell even further in the last 10 days.
Some who do their i'tikaf in the Istiqlal Mosque have nowhere else to go - a good number are either homeless or desperately poor. The Mosque provides a vital service during this time, serving up to 3,000 meals a day for pilgrims breaking their fast (during Ramadan, Muslims cannot eat from sunrise to sunset; naturally, breaking the fast after sunset is a Big Deal.)
For more on the largest mosque in Southeast Asia, read our article: Istiqlal Mosque in Jakarta, Indonesia. And for our Muslim readers in Indonesia and the rest of the world: Eid Mubarak!