Jakarta/Batam – Muslims have welcomed Idul Fitri with festivities to mark the end of the holy fasting month of Ramadan after three years of muted celebrations due to COVID-19-induced restrictions.
In Jakarta, hundreds of thousands of Muslims crowded Istiqlal Grand Mosque to attend Idul Fitri mass prayers on Saturday morning.
Grand imam Nazaruddin Umar earlier said the mosque was predicted to have 250,000 Muslims performing Idul Fitri prayers, tempo.co reported.
Vice President Ma'ruf Amin, former vice president Jusuf Kalla, and Trade Minister and National Mandate Party (PAN) chairman Zulkifli Hasan were among those who attended Idul Fitri prayers at the grand mosque.
Former Jakarta governor Anies Baswedan was also seen attending the Idul Fitri congregational prayers at Istiqlal.
President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo, meanwhile, performed Idul Fitri prayers at the Syeikh Zayed Mosque in Surakarta, Central Java, on Saturday. Jokowi, as seen in a video uploaded by the Presidential Secretariat, was joined by Central Java Governor Ganjar Pranowo of the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P), who just on Friday was named the PDI-P presidential candidate for the 2024 election.The government announced on Thursday evening that the first day of the month of Syawal, which marks the Idul Fitri celebration, falls on Saturday following an isbat (confirmation) meeting.
Muhammadiyah, meanwhile, celebrated Idul Fitri on Friday.
In Batam, Riau Islands, for instance, at least 5,000 people from Muhammadiyah performed Idul Fitri prayers in the open field of Stadium Temenggung Abdul Jamal on Friday.
This year also sees the biggest wave of mudik (exodus) travelers across the country since the start of the pandemic, an expected 120 million people.
– Fadli contributed to the story from Batam