Jakarta- US Secretary of State John Kerry visited Asia’s largest mosque in Jakarta on Sunday during his visit to Indonesia, paying tribute to Islam in the world's most populous Muslim-majority nation.
According to AFP, after the top US diplomat removed his shoes outside the Istiqlal mosque in the heart of Jakarta, he took a 20-minute tour through the vast building and was accompanied by grand imam Kyai al-Hajj Ali Mustafa Yaqub.
The same source explained that the Obama administration is attempting to repair the frayed relations between the United States and Muslims around the globe since the 2003 Iraq invasion.
“We are all connected to the same God and the same faith. Abraham connects us all in the love of our neighbor and the honor of the same God. May peace be upon you,” John Kerry wrote in the guest book of the mosque.
Indonesia, the world’s third largest democracy, has often been considered the “bridge” between the West and the Muslim world. Ninety percent of Indonesia's 250 million people identify themselves as Muslims, and most of them practice a moderate form of Islam.
US president Barack Obama, who spent part of his childhood in Jakarta, also visited the mosque in 2010 when he travelled to the country.
The Istiqlal Mosque, commissioned in 1961, lies in the heart of Jakarta. It serves as a reminder of Indonesia’s struggle for national independence and hosts over 130,000 prayers during Ramadan.
With agencies