Riau
Riau is a province of Indonesia. It is located on the central eastern coast of Sumatra along the Strait of Malacca. The province shares land borders with North Sumatra to the northwest, West Sumatra to the west, and Jambi to the south. Accord ...
,
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 ...
. The mosque is famously known for being built without nails and considered a cultural heritage of the Riau Province. The mosque is located in Air Tiris Village,
Kampar Regency
Kampar is a regency (''kabupaten'') of Riau, Indonesia. It has an area of 11,289.28 km2 and had a population of 686,204 at the 2010 Census, 793,005 at the 2015 Intermediate Census and 841,332 at the 2020 Census. The administrative centre of t ...
, 50 km from
Pekanbaru
Pekanbaru is the capital of Indonesian province of Riau, and a major economic center on the eastern part of Sumatra, Sumatra Island. Its name is derived from the Malay language, Malay words for 'new market' ('pekan' is market and 'baru' is new). ...
, the capital of Riau Province.Wisata Religi Masjid Jami' di Kampar Riau, Dibangun Tanpa Paku hingga Dianggap Keramat ''Kompas''. Retrieved March 30, 2021. The mosque is officially designated as an Object of Cultural Heritage in 2004 based on the decree no. KM.13/PW.007/MKP/2004 adopted by the Minister of Culture and Tourism,
Jami Mosque of Air Tiris was built in 1901 and inaugurated in 1904, and it is the oldest mosque in Kampar Regency. It was built with a blend of Malay and Chinese architectural styles, with a three-tiered roof in the shape of a pyramid. Originally, the entire building was made of wood, including the roof, but today the roof is replaced with a tin roof. The building has 40 wooden pillars which symbolize the minimum number of persons required for
Friday Prayer
In Islam, Friday prayer or Congregational prayer ( ar, صَلَاة ٱلْجُمُعَة, ') is a prayer ('' ṣalāt'') that Muslims hold every Friday, after noon instead of the Zuhr prayer. Muslims ordinarily pray five times each day according ...
. It is also uniquely constructed by only using pegs and without nails, thus built with minimum expenses.
The building was originally a site of Air Tiris market on the riverbank which was founded in 1881. The construction of the mosque was carried out jointly by the local people of Air Tiris, led by the local leader Datuk Ongku Mudo Songkal.Kisah Masjid Air Tiris, Berkali-kali Selamat dari Bencana ''dream.co.id''. Retrieved March 30, 2021. The architect was H. Burhanuddin and the construction committee involved the leaders of 24 tribes in the village of Air Tiris. The building is said to be inspired by
Demak Mosque
Demak Great Mosque ( id, Masjid Agung Demak, Pegon: مَسْجِد اَڮَوڠ دَمَق) is one of the oldest mosques in Indonesia, located in the center town of Demak, Central Java, Indonesia. The mosque is believed to be built by the ''W ...
in
Central Java
Central Java ( id, Jawa Tengah) is a province of Indonesia, located in the middle of the island of Java. Its administrative capital is Semarang. It is bordered by West Java in the west, the Indian Ocean and the Special Region of Yogyakarta in t ...
. The mosque was inaugurated with a ''
qurban
''Qurbanī'' ( ar, قربانى), ''Qurban'', or ''uḍḥiyah'' () as referred to in Islamic law, is a ritual animal sacrifice of a livestock animal during Eid al-Adha.
The concept and definition of the word is derived from the Qur'an, the s ...
i'' (ritual animal sacrifice) of 10 buffalos.
The locals believe the divine power protects the mosque. It is said the Dutch colonial government once attempted to burn the mosque by dousing it with oil, but the mosque stood intact. In 2016, there was a severe flood, with the surrounding area submerged in water, but the water did not rise in the mosque compound. There are several artifacts inside the mosque that locals believe endowed by divine power, including two wooden pillars of the mosque as well as a sacred stone in the shape of a buffalo head.
The mosque is a popular destination for the locals, especially during the Islamic holidays of Isra and Miraj, Maulid Nabi, and
Eid al-Fitr
, nickname = Festival of Breaking the Fast, Lesser Eid, Sweet Eid, Sugar Feast
, observedby = Muslims
, type = Islamic
, longtype = Islamic
, significance = Commemoration to mark the end of fasting in Ramadan
, dat ...
. Recently, many international tourists visit the place especially from
Malaysia
Malaysia ( ; ) is a country in Southeast Asia. The federation, federal constitutional monarchy consists of States and federal territories of Malaysia, thirteen states and three federal territories, separated by the South China Sea into two r ...
and
Singapore
Singapore (), officially the Republic of Singapore, is a sovereign island country and city-state in maritime Southeast Asia. It lies about one degree of latitude () north of the equator, off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, borde ...