A Study on the History and Development of the Javanese Mosque Part 2: The Historical Setting and Role of the Javanese Mosque under the Sultanates

This paper aims at discussing the historical setting and role of the Javanese Mosques under the Sultanates. The discussion will focus on where the mosques were built and what was the main purpose of mosques constructed under each Javanese Sultanate until the end of nineteenth century. Under Sultanates, many mosques were believed to be founded by wali (saint), sultan, sultan’s family, or kyai (Islamic/religious teacher) ordered by the sultan. Referring to this kind of mosque, 71 surveyed mosques will be analyzed by historical setting and roles of the mosque, because there are some varieties in each sultanate. Based on this analysis, this paper argues that there are four types of mosques: Agung (Grand) Mosque, Langgar Kraton (Palace) Mosque, Community Mosque, and Isolated Mosque. It also argues that the historical setting of mosque always has a close relationship with its roles in each sultanate.

JAABE2005Historicalsettingandrolesofthejavanesemosqueundersultanates-paper2 (1).pdf