TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - The head of Istiqlal Mosque’s public relations and protocol, Abu Hurairah, said that the plan to establish a tunnel that would connect the Istiqlal and Cathedral had long been discussed by both parties.

He said that such a tunnel was meant to accommodate and ease congregates and tourists to cross between the two notable Jakarta icons.

“Especially for congregates or tourists who park their vehicles at Istiqlal but want to pray at Cathedral,” said Abu on Friday, February 7. He revealed that the sense of tolerance between the two houses of worship had resulted in the plan.

Abu Hurairah also said that one of Istiqlal’s imams once suggested the fences that sit between the Mosque and Church be dismantled. “So there will be no divider. But that would be too difficult to do. What can be done, however, is by making a tunnel that connects the two houses of worship,” said Abu.

He added that the planned construction of the Istiqlal-Cathedral tunnel had entered the assessment stage, including from the safety aspect. However, he said the exact location was still undetermined. “We will wait for the study done by building and urban planning experts,” he said.

This planned tunnel has also received a go-ahead from President Jokowi, who dubbed it the “silaturahmi tunnel.” Silaturahmi is an Islamic term to describe brotherhood or a sense of kinship. “I have agreed with the plan. It can become a tunnel of silaturahmi,” said the President today at Istiqlal while monitoring the mosque’s revitalization project.

ADAM PRIREZA | DEWI NURITA