Lautze Mosque: A symbol of Chinese-Muslim assimilation in Indonesia

The mosque, expanded from the original, has seen more than 1,000 Chinese-Indonesians embrace Islam. (Supplied)
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Updated 12 May 2020
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Lautze Mosque: A symbol of Chinese-Muslim assimilation in Indonesia

  • Established in 1991, it is a go-to place for Chinese-Indonesians seeking to study Islam

JAKARTA: The bright red, yellow and green temple-like exterior of the Lautze Mosque in Jakarta’s Chinatown could be mistaken for a Chinese home.

However, the distinctive structure of the mosque reaffirms its role as a good example of how Indonesians of Chinese descent blended in with their predominantly indigenous Muslim neighbors.
“Many mistook the mosque for a Chinese temple, so two years ago, we put up signs bearing the name of the mosque,” Imam Naga Kunadi told Arab News.
The three-story mosque is part of a row of buildings in a busy trading area along Lautze Street, after which the mosque is named, in Central Jakarta. Because of its location, the mosque only opens during the day.
“In Ramadan, we usually open every Saturday, starting at Asr time, because we have a specific type of congregation — many of the members live far from the mosque. We would provide iftar and hold taraweeh prayers. But we cannot do that this year as we have to close due to the large-scale social restrictions in this time of coronavirus,” Kunadi said.
Kunadi, whose Chinese name is Qiu Xue Long, said the mosque would still operate in a subdued manner for alms collection and distribution, or to assist those wishing to convert to Islam, and that mosque officials would act in compliance with social distancing measures.
The mosque was established in 1991 by the Haji Abdul Karim Oei Foundation, named after a Chinese-Indonesian Muslim nationalist, the late Abdul Karim Oei Tjeng Hien.
It aimed to facilitate the assimilation of the ethnic Chinese community and indigenous Muslims, especially in cases where ethnic Chinese people wished to embrace Islam.
“We understand the specific needs of Chinese mualaf (convert). We understand what they go through because we’ve experienced it before,” said Kunadi, who converted to Islam in 2002.
The original mosque occupied a shophouse and, a few years later was expanded after acquiring an adjacent building to accommodate 300 congregation members.
“The Chinese-style exterior is also to show that we still maintain our Chinese heritage even though we converted to Islam,” Kunadi said.
Muhammad Ali Karim Oei, son of Oei Sr., told Arab News the facade was designed to make the mosque more welcoming for ethnic Chinese people wishing to come inside and ask about Islam.
“They are free to ask anything and learn about Islam here, even some burning questions they may be reluctant to ask in other mosques. It is another reason we chose the name Lautze — a Chinese word for teacher,” Oei Jr. said.
The mosque has seen more than 1,000 Chinese-Indonesians embrace Islam. In addition to making an ethnic Chinese person part of the country’s Muslim majority, it also makes the person a double minority for being a Muslim minority in an already small ethnic group. Its reputation as a nonjudgmental place for Chinese-Indonesians who want to study Islam, and for the new converts, as well as other Chinese Muslims to observe the faith, led to the establishment of Lautze Mosque 2 in Bandung, West Java in 1997.
“There was a need for a mosque that accommodates the growing number of Chinese-Indonesian Muslims in the city. They felt like there was still a gap when they pray in regular mosques. People would look at them differently, even though they are already part of the Muslim brethren,” Hernawan Mahfudz, an official from Lautze Mosque 2 Foundation told Arab News.
To make them feel more at home, congregation members are encouraged to address each other as “koko” and “cici,” the Chinese words for brother and sister.
Like its Jakarta predecessor, the mosque maintains the Chinese-style facade accentuated by a row of Chinese red lanterns. The ground floor serves as the prayer hall for 200 people while the upper floor serves as a shelter for the mualafs who might be experiencing hardship as a result of their conversion.
Despite the mosque closures, Mahfudz said they would still keep the Ramadan tradition alive even without the communal gatherings.“We still provide iftar meals every day but instead of having them at the mosque, we distribute the meals directly to the beneficiaries. We also conduct group Qur’an recitations and sermons using videoconferencing applications,” he said.


India forecasters warn abnormally hot summer looms

Updated 2 sec ago
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India forecasters warn abnormally hot summer looms

  • India usually experiences four to seven heatwave days between April and June
  • India sweltered through its longest-ever heatwave last year
NEW DELHI: India can expect hotter-than-usual temperatures this summer with more heatwave days taking a toll on lives and livelihoods, the weather office warned.
The country is no stranger to scorching summers but years of scientific research has found climate change is causing heatwaves to become longer, more frequent and more intense.
Summer in India lasts from April to June, when temperatures often soar past 45° Celsius (113° Fahrenheit) at the season’s peak.
This year, the hot weather season will see “above-normal” maximum temperatures over most parts of the country, the Indian Meteorological Department (IMD) said in a forecast late Monday.
The number of heatwave days, when abnormally high temperatures several degrees above the long-term average are recorded, will also increase.
“Up to 10 heatwave days or even more can be expected, especially over east India,” leading to heat stress, weather bureau boss Mrutyunjay Mohapatra told reporters.
India usually experiences four to seven heatwave days between April and June.
Infants, the elderly, people with health problems and outdoor workers are particularly vulnerable to hotter temperatures.
The resulting heat stress can cause symptoms ranging from dizziness and headaches to organ failure and death.
City dwellers surrounded by concrete, brick and other heat-absorbing surfaces also face an elevated risk.
Prolonged periods of extreme heat can also strain infrastructure such as power grids and transportation systems.
The IMD said heat action plans must be devised to address those challenges.
“This includes providing access to cooling centers, issuing heat advisories, and implementing strategies to alleviate urban heat island effects in affected areas,” it said.
India sweltered through its longest-ever heatwave last year, with temperatures regularly passing 45° Celsius.
The World Health Organization has calculated that heat kills a minimum of half a million people every year, but warns the real figure could be up to 30 times higher.

South Korea’s Constitutional Court to issue ruling on Yoon Suk Yeol impeachment on Friday

Updated 50 min 33 sec ago
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South Korea’s Constitutional Court to issue ruling on Yoon Suk Yeol impeachment on Friday

  • Yoon’s December 3 attempt to subvert civilian rule plunged South Korea into political chaos
  • Lawmakers defied the troops to vote the measure down and impeached Yoon soon after

SEOUL: South Korea’s Constitutional Court will issue its long-awaited ruling on President Yoon Suk Yeol’s impeachment Friday, months after he was suspended for declaring martial law.
Yoon’s December 3 attempt to subvert civilian rule plunged South Korea into political chaos, after he sent armed soldiers into parliament.
Lawmakers defied the troops to vote the measure down and impeached Yoon soon after, but the months of political instability have hit South Korea’s economy and left the country in leadership limbo, even as US President Donald Trump targets the region with tariffs.
The court has held weeks of impeachment hearings to determine whether to officially remove Yoon from office, and then took weeks to deliberate on the case, giving rise to a surge in speculation with some suggesting the justices must be experiencing intense disagreements.
“The president’s impeachment case verdict will be on April 4, 2025 at the Constitutional Court,” the court said in a statement Tuesday.
For Yoon to be removed from office, at least six of the court’s eight justices must vote in favor. Confirmation of his impeachment would trigger elections which must be held within 60 days.
Hundreds of thousands of South Koreans have been rallying for and against Yoon every weekend in central Seoul.
Yoon, a former prosecutor, was detained in January on insurrection charges but was released in early March on procedural grounds. He has remained defiant throughout and blamed a “malicious” opposition.
He is also the first sitting South Korean president to stand trial in a criminal case, facing charges of insurrection over the martial law bid.
“After four long months of waiting, the Constitutional Court has finally responded to the people,” the opposition Democratic Party’s spokesperson said.
“We believe the Court will demonstrate its firm resolve to defend the constitutional order and founding principles of the Republic of Korea by removing Yoon Suk Yeol, the insurrectionist, from office.”
Yoon’s party said it welcomed the court’s move to issue a ruling, saying it hoped the verdict would be “fair and impartial” and would not lead to further social unrest.
The People Power Party “will respect and accept the court’s decision, and after the ruling, both the ruling and opposition parties... must take the lead in easing public divisions and promoting national unity,” Kweon Seong-dong PPP party floor leader said.
If the Constitutional Court decides to formally dismiss the president, it would trigger elections, which opposition leader Lee Jae-myung is currently frontrunner to win.
An appeals court last week overturned an election law conviction against Lee, potentially clearing the way for him to mount a presidential campaign.
But if it is reinstated on appeal before the election, he will be stripped of his parliamentary seat and barred from running for office for five years, including the next presidential vote.
Leif-Eric Easley, a professor at Ewha University in Seoul, said the ruling on Lee may have appeared “to many Koreans to be reading the political tea leaves.”
“This is the judiciary trying to unwind the lawfare of the past three years to allow South Korea’s political crisis to be resolved by an election rather than by the courts.”
In a separate case, the Constitutional Court last week dismissed the impeachment of Prime Minister Han Duck-soo, reinstating him as acting president – a role he took after the president was suspended for declaring martial law.
Experts said the ruling did not have a direct legal correlation with the pending decision on Yoon’s impeachment, as it was not focused on the legality of martial law itself.


Burst gas pipe sparks colossal fire in Malaysia

Updated 01 April 2025
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Burst gas pipe sparks colossal fire in Malaysia

  • The towering inferno near a gas station in Putra Heights in central Selangor state was visible for kilometers
  • The Selangor Disaster Management unit said that the blaze spread to several houses in a nearby village

KUALA LUMPUR: A colossal fire erupted Tuesday in a Malaysian suburb outside Kuala Lumpur due to a burst gas pipeline, prompting evacuations of nearby homes.
The towering inferno near a gas station in Putra Heights in central Selangor state was visible for kilometers (miles). National oil company Petronas said in a statement that the fire broke out at one of its gas pipeline at 8:10 a.m.
It said in a brief statement that the affected pipeline has been isolated. Three gas stations nearby the fire site were not affected but have been temporarily closed as a precautionary measure, Petronas said, adding that investigations are still underway.
The Selangor Disaster Management unit said in a statement that the blaze spread to several houses in a nearby village, and efforts were efforts being made to rescue trapped residents. It added that several people suffered burns and will be taken for treatment, but the extent of the full damage is being assessed, and said that the valve to the pipeline has been shut, and that will eventually snuff out the fire.
The Star English newspaper said that fire and rescue teams had rescued seven victims, including two elderly individuals. No casualties have been reported so far.
Dozens of Selangor firefighters have been dispatched to the scene. Selangor Chief Minister Amirudin Shari said the fire department has quickly evacuated residents from nearby homes as a safety measure. He said they will be temporarily placed in a mosque nearby until the situation is under control.
Pictures and videos of the fireball went viral on social media, with some residents saying they felt the doors and windows of their homes shaking believed to be due to the fire explosion earlier.


Trump urged to dismiss vaccine-skeptic Kennedy as health chief

Updated 01 April 2025
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Trump urged to dismiss vaccine-skeptic Kennedy as health chief

  • “HHS cannot be led by an anti-vax, conspiracy theorist with inadequate training,” analysts at Cantor Fitzgerald assert
  • Kennedy last week announced plans to reshape the federal public health agencies, a move that could involve firing thousands of workers

Analysts at Cantor Fitzgerald, formerly headed by the Trump administration’s Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick, called for the dismissal of Secretary of Health and Human Services Robert F. Kennedy Jr.
Kennedy, a well-known vaccine skeptic, last week announced plans to reshape the federal public health agencies, a move that could involve firing thousands of workers.
Cantor analysts Josh Schimmer and Eric Schmidt said in a note on Monday that Kennedy was “undermining the trusted leadership of health care in this country. HHS cannot be led by an anti-vax, conspiracy theorist with inadequate training.”
The note came after reports that the Food and Drug Administration’s top vaccine official, Peter Marks, was forced to resign, the highest-profile exit at the regulator amid the Trump administration’s health agency overhaul.

op US vaccine official Peter Marks resigned on March 28, 2025, citing the "misinformation and lies" he said were being peddled by the incoming health secretary Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. (AFP)

Lutnick, Cantor’s CEO for 40 years, stepped down last month to run Trump’s commerce department. His sons, Brandon and Kyle Lutnick took over as chairman and executive vice chairman of the brokerage, respectively.
“The views expressed in our Equity Research reports are solely those of the analyst(s). As always, we pride ourselves on the independence of the analysts within our Research division,” Cantor Fitzgerald said in an emailed statement to Reuters.
The ouster of Marks led to a decline in biotech and vaccine stocks on Monday. The SPDR S&P Biotech ETF closed down 3.9 percent.
The Cantor analysts noted the fall in the stocks, but said their note had nothing to do with politics, stocks and biopharmaceutical sales, but with keeping lives out of jeopardy.
They said they had learned from sources that Marks, who was willing to stay at the FDA, took a scientifically driven review of vaccine safety and did not yield to an anti-science agenda that undermined public health. The same could not be said about Kennedy, they said.
The analysts also said the “administration has shown an ability to correct course, to compromise and to make changes where needed,” adding they are “hopeful that the leaders in Washington will recognize and appreciate the benefits that vaccines can and should play in protecting US citizens.”


European countries resist US push to scrap diversity and inclusion initiatives

Updated 01 April 2025
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European countries resist US push to scrap diversity and inclusion initiatives

  • European firms reportedly have received a letter saying Trump’s rollback of DEI initiatives also could apply outside of the US
  • Belgium's FM Jan Jambon said Europeans have a “culture of “non-discrimination” that must be continued
  • Barcelona’s mayor said his municipal government will defy Trump’s attack on DEI initiatives that have included a cultural program hosted by the city

PARIS: US government efforts to eliminate diversity initiatives are not going down well on the European continent.
Laurent Saint-Martin, France’s minister for foreign trade, said on Monday the country won’t compromise after the US State Department said that French companies who have contracts with the US government need to drop diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives.

In neighboring Belgium, where some companies received similar requests, the government lashed out at the new US rules.
French media reported last week that French companies received a letter saying US President Donald Trump’s rollback of DEI initiatives also could apply outside of the US.
Saint-Martin spoke to RTL Radio following the reports and said French authorities will seek explanations from their US counterparts about the letter.
The reported demands included abandoning inclusion policies that are part of French and European Union laws such as equality between men and women, the fight against discrimination and racism or the promotion of diversity to help people with disabilities, he said.
“All of this is progress that corresponds first and foremost to our French values, we are proud of this and we don’t want to compromise on it,” Saint-Martin said. “We can’t just cancel the application of our own laws overnight.”
French media said the letter was signed by an officer of the US State Department who is on the staff at the US Embassy in Paris. The embassy didn’t respond to questions from The Associated Press.
State Department spokeswoman Tammy Bruce, speaking to reporters at a briefing in Washington, confirmed that letters were sent.
“This is an effort to comply with the executive order from the president and it is essentially a self-certifying statement to local consulates and embassies,” she said.
Le Figaro daily newspaper published what it said was a copy of the letter. The document said an executive order that Trump signed in January terminating DEI programs within the federal government also “applies to all suppliers and service providers of the US Government, regardless of their nationality and the country in which they operate.”
The document asked US government contractors to complete, sign and return within five days a separate certification form to demonstrate that they are in compliance.
Saint-Martin said he was “deeply shocked” but insisted on the need to have a “positive agenda” and maintain a dialogue with the US.
In Belgium, Finance Minister Jan Jambon said Europeans have a “culture of “non-discrimination” that must be continued. “We have no lessons to learn from the boss of America,” he told channel RTL-TVi.
In a joint statement quoted by local media, Foreign Minister Maxime Prévot and Equal Opportunities Minister Rob Beenders regretted the “step backward” taken by the US.
“Diversity and inclusion are not just buzzwords, but the foundations of a strong and dynamic society,” they said. “They strengthen our economy, foster innovation and allow talent to flourish.”
In Spain, Barcelona’s mayor said last week that his municipal government will defy Trump’s attack on DEI initiatives that have included a cultural program hosted by the city.
Trump issued the executive order to roll back the programs with federal funding, including those receiving US government aid abroad.
The Barcelona-based program is one of 700 “American Spaces” located in 140 countries. They offer English-language and other courses to adults and children, information and materials about the US and counseling for foreign students hoping to enroll at US schools and universities.