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I feel God in Masjid Istiqlal

I am in Masjid Istiqlal in Jakarta, Indonesia.  I do not know why it is that I found myself here. It certainly was not my plan to visit this place, which until now I knew nothing of.  Initially, I thought that my presence would not be tolerated here.  After all, I am a Catholic and a woman.  Yet, I have been allowed through the gates of Masjid Istiqlal and in the sacred premises of this mosque.

As I explore this mosque, I am accompanied by a person of this faith.  This person is genuine, gracious and welcoming.  He is interested in my thoughts, and at the same time, he takes pride in showing me this place.

As I climb the steps of this mosque, I am moved to tears and surprised that I feel God’s presence so intensely.  Why do I feel God now when I am not looking for Him?  Why does He make  His presence felt in this place?  I am shocked.  I am perplex.  I am awed.  I am grateful.

Perhaps I thought that I would not find God in this place. After all, I did not come here to look for Him or to pray. I do sense Him everywhere.  I feel God in the corridors of this mosque.  I recognize Him in the people of this faith who I watch as they cleanse themselves before prayer and as they sit in quiet corners of this mosque to pray.

As I walk bare-footed in the corridors of Masjid Istiqlal, I find solace and peace.

 

A note about this post:  I wrote this article right after I visited the mosque called Masjid Istiqlal. I felt that it should be written in the present tense to convey how affected I was by the experience.

 

This entry was posted on Thursday, April 23rd, 2009 at 12:08 am and is filed under 'Pinions, My Indonesian Experience. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.