President Prabowo Prays Eid Al-Adha At The Istiqlal Mosque, Hands Over 985 Sacrificial Cows

President Prabowo Subianto (doc Gerindra)

President Prabowo Subianto was present at the Istiqlal Mosque, Jakarta, on Friday, June 6, to perform Eid al-Adha 1446 Hijri prayers with a number of state officials and ministers of the Red and White Cabinet.

The President, who wore a white shirt and black skullcap, arrived at the location at around 06.47 WIB. His arrival was greeted directly by the Minister of Religion Nasaruddin Umar.

A number of officials who participated in the congregational prayers included MPR Chairman Ahmad Muzani, DPD Chairman Sultan Bachtiar Najamudin, Minister of Home Affairs Tito Karnavian, Head of BIN M. Herindra, Head of Bakamla Vice Admiral TNI Irvansyah, Coordinating Minister for Infrastructure and Regional Development Agus Harimurti Yudhoyono, Minister of Industry Agus Gumiwang Kartasasmita, TNI Commander General Agus Subiyanto, TNI AL Chief of Staff Muhammad Ali, Deputy Minister of Social Affairs Agus Jabo, and Cabinet Secretary Teddy Indra Wijaya. Teddy also sits right next to the President.

Thousands of worshipers have packed the Istiqlal Mosque since 05.30 WIB. This mosque has a capacity of up to 250,000 people. The committee estimates that the number of pilgrims this year ranges from 100,000 to 150,000, as in previous years.

Eid prayer starts at 07.00 WIB with Imam Ahmad Muzzakir Abdurrahman, a memorizer of the Qur'an who won the best third place in ASEAN and Asia Pacific in 2010.

After the prayer, President Prabowo and the congregation listened to the sermon delivered by the Chancellor of the Raden Intan State Islamic University Lampung, Wan Jamaluddin Z. The theme of the sermon this time is The value of sacrifice and sincerity in Eid al-Adha.

After the sermon, President Prabowo and Vice President Gibran Rakabuming Raka are scheduled to symbolically hand over sacrificial animals to the sacrificial committee of the Istiqlal Mosque.

On a separate occasion, Plt. The Grand Imam of the Istiqlal Mosque, Mulawarman Hannase, said that the slaughter of sacrificial animals from the President and Vice President will be held on Saturday, June 7.

For this year's Eid celebration, President Prabowo handed over 985 cows that had been distributed to mosques in 38 provinces and 514 districts/cities.

The sacrificial cows weigh between 800 kilograms to 1.3 tons, consisting of various types such as simmentals, limousines, ongole, brahman, angus, and Balinese cows. All sacrificial animals have gone through a health check and are declared fit for sacrifice.