Seeing The 100 Years Old Mosque In Pandeglang Built By Sheikh Asnawi

The interior of the As Salafie Great Mosque in Caringin Village, Labuan District, Pandeglang Regency, Banten Province. (ANTARA/Mansur)

BANTEN - The mosque, which is over 100 years old, was built by the charismatic cleric Syekh Asnawi bin Syekh Abdurrahman in Caringin Village, Labuan District, Pandeglang Regency, Banten Province, which is still well maintained today.

The As Salafie Grand Mosque is still a place for various religious activities for local residents, including congregational prayers and Quran recitation.

"Every Ramadan is full of congregations who perform tarawih prayers and recite the Koran," said H Mumu Asnawi, grandson of Sheikh Asnawi who is the chairman of the Prosperity Council of the Great Mosque of As Salafie, in Pandeglang, as reported by Antara, Thursday, April 7.

"We and the residents here care for and preserve this mosque," he added.

The Great Mosque of As Salafie was founded in 1884, after the mosque in Caringin was swept away by a large tsunami that occurred after the eruption of Mount Krakatau on August 23, 1883 according to the thesis of Febri Jiwandana from UIN Sunan Gunung Djati Bandung in 2021.

Mumu said that four times the renovation was carried out on the As Salafie Great Mosque, which had been designated as a cultural heritage building.

The first restoration carried out from 1980 to 1986, according to him, included renovation of the roof and floor of the mosque as well as the addition of a water generator, bathroom, ablution area, and water tower.

In 2000, he continued, the second renovation was carried out to replace the pillars of the teacher and window and door frames, painting the walls, repairing the pulpit and stairs, as well as adding meeting rooms.

The third restoration carried out in 2005 included the installation of blong paving and repair of the mosque's courtyard.

In 2021 restoration was carried out to repair the walls of the main room of the mosque and repaint the mosque.

Currently, the buildings and supporting facilities of the Great Mosque of As Salafie are still in good condition, including the pulpit with calligraphy carvings which are estimated to have been made in the 18th century.