Ats-Tsauroh Great Mosque of Serang is a

congregational mosque A congregational mosque or Friday mosque (, ''masjid jāmi‘'', or simply: , ''jāmi‘''; ), or sometimes great mosque or grand mosque (, ''jāmi‘ kabir''; ), is a mosque for hosting the Friday noon prayers known as ''jumu'ah''.* * * * * * * ...

in the city of

Serang Serang ( id, Kota Serang, , Sundanese: ) is a city and the capital of Banten province and was formerly also the administrative center of Serang Regency in Indonesia (the Regency's capital is now at Baros). The city is located towards the north ...

Banten Banten ( id, Banten; Sundanese: , romanized ''Banten'') is the westernmost province on the island of Java, Indonesia. Its capital city is Serang. The province borders West Java and the Special Capital Region of Jakarta on the east, the Java Se ...

Indonesia Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania between the Indian and Pacific oceans. It consists of over 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, Java, Sulawesi, and parts of Borneo and New Guine ...

. Founded in 1870, it is one of the oldest mosques in Banten province.

History

The mosque was formerly known as Pegantungan Mosque and the Muslim community in the surrounding area initiated the establishment. The former regent of

Pandeglang Pandeglang Regency (Sundanese: ) is a regency of Banten province, Indonesia. It is mainly located on the west and south coasts of the island of Java, and is the most westerly regency on Java Island, but it also includes a number of offshore islands ...

as well as Serang, Raden Tumenggung Basudin Tjondronegoro endowed the current land of approximately 2.6 ha to facilitate the construction of the mosque.MASJID AT-TSAUROH
''Sistem Informasi Masjid''. Retrieved April 29, 2021. Since the foundation, the mosque was renovated several times throughout history. In the beginning, the mosque did not equip the

minaret A minaret (; ar, منارة, translit=manāra, or ar, مِئْذَنة, translit=miʾḏana, links=no; tr, minare; fa, گل‌دسته, translit=goldaste) is a type of tower typically built into or adjacent to mosques. Minarets are generall ...

, just like the traditional Javanese Islamic architecture style. In 1930, the mosque was renovated to resemble the

Great Mosque of Banten Great Mosque of Banten ( id, Masjid Agung Banten) is a historic mosque in Old Banten, 10 km north of Serang, Indonesia. The 16th-century mosque was one of the few surviving remnants of what used to be the port city of Banten, the most prosper ...

but without a minaret. In 1956, the minaret was attached after the renovation. In 1968 the mosque was renamed to Ats-Tsauroh which means "struggle". The mosque was renovated again in 1974 and 1993.

Architecture

Today, the mosque is built in a Javanese Islamic architectural style, most profoundly seen in the three-layered pyramidal roofs and an open pavilion-style typical to the

Joglo Joglo is a type of traditional vernacular house of the Javanese people (Javanese ''omah''). The word ''joglo'' refers to the shape of the roof. In the highly hierarchical Javanese culture, the type of the roof of a house reflects the social and ...

traditional houses. The three layers signify Islamic philosophy of ''

Iman Iman, Imann, Imaan, Eman, Emaan, or Imman may refer to: Places * Iman, Iran, a village in Kalashi District, Kermanshah Province * The Iman River, the former name of the Bolshaya Ussurka River, a tributary of the Ussuri River in Russia's Primors ...

'', ''

Islam Islam (; ar, ۘالِإسلَام, , ) is an Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic Monotheism#Islam, monotheistic religion centred primarily around the Quran, a religious text considered by Muslims to be the direct word of God in Islam, God (or ...

'' and ''

Ihsan Ihsan ( ar, إحسان , also romanized ''ehsan''), is an Arabic term meaning "to do beautiful things", "beautification", "perfection", or "excellence" (Arabic: , ). Ihsan is a matter of taking one's inner faith ('' iman'') and showing it in b ...

''. On top of the roof is a traditional Bantenese ''memoro'' ornament in the shape of a goose, built with terracotta clay ceramic. The open-pavilion-style prayer space is supported by 16 columns, four of which are the main pillars. The use of four main pillars follows the Javanese architectural tradition, which signifies the presence of ''

guru Guru ( sa, गुरु, IAST: ''guru;'' Pali'': garu'') is a Sanskrit term for a "mentor, guide, expert, or master" of certain knowledge or field. In pan-Indian traditions, a guru is more than a teacher: traditionally, the guru is a reverentia ...

'' or mentor. These "mentor's pillars" have Islamic inscriptions written in

Arabic Arabic (, ' ; , ' or ) is a Semitic languages, Semitic language spoken primarily across the Arab world.Semitic languages: an international handbook / edited by Stefan Weninger; in collaboration with Geoffrey Khan, Michael P. Streck, Janet C ...

. The base of all the columns is built in the shape of a pumpkin, which symbolizes the fertility of the Banten region. The

mihrab Mihrab ( ar, محراب, ', pl. ') is a niche in the wall of a mosque that indicates the ''qibla'', the direction of the Kaaba in Mecca towards which Muslims should face when praying. The wall in which a ''mihrab'' appears is thus the "qibla w ...

is decorated in Arabic calligraphy as well as

Islamic geometric patterns Islamic geometric patterns are one of the major forms of Islamic ornament, which tends to avoid using figurative images, as it is forbidden to create a representation of an important Islamic figure according to many holy scriptures. The geom ...

and shaped in Chinese style. The minaret, which was added in 1956, is hexagonal in shape and built with pyramidal roofs and ''memoro''. The minaret is built to increase the resonance of

adhan Adhan ( ar, أَذَان ; also variously transliterated as athan, adhane (in French), azan/azaan (in South Asia), adzan (in Southeast Asia), and ezan (in Turkish), among other languages) is the Islamic call to public prayer (salah) in a mos ...

prayer call. The location of the mosque symbolizes religious harmony; the mosque is surrounded by cathedrals of

Batak Christian Protestant Church The Huria Kristen Batak Protestan (''HKBP''), which translates in English as ''Batak Christian Protestant Church'', is a Lutheran church that is oriented towards Protestant among the Batak people, generally the Toba Batak in Indonesia. With a ...

and Kristus Raja Church.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Tsauroh Great Mosque of Serang Buildings and structures in Banten Mosques completed in 1870 Mosques in Indonesia