Jakarta – Millions of Indonesians have taken part in morning prayers before celebrating the end of the month-long Ramadan fast with family and friends as the world's largest Muslim nation marked the Eid al-Fitr Islamic holiday.
President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono and Vice President Yusuf Kalla attended prayers at Jakarta's main Istiqlal mosque, but left immediately after the prayers and did not mingle with the congregation, in a break with previous years.
Officials said the pair would hold an open house for the public later on Tuesday afternoon.
The streets of the capital filled with people visiting friends and relatives, some of them following the Eid tradition of seeking forgiveness for past misdeeds.
Cemeteries were also packed with people bringing flowers and offering prayers for their dead relatives after the month-long ban on visiting graves during Ramadan.
More than 50,000 prisoners had their sentences cut to mark the day, with just over 2,400 walking free, Justice Minister Hamid Awaluddin said. Among those freed were two men serving five-year jail terms for helping hide the bombers behind the 2005 Bali blasts that killed 202 people.
At Jakarta's Cipinang state prison, the jailed youngest son of ex-president Suharto, Hutomo "Tommy" Mandala Putra, who received a 45-day sentence cut, was not seen at the Eid prayers held there. Wibowo Joko Harjono, the chief warder at the prison, told journalists that the younger Suharto "may not be feeling well," and declined further details.
In Poso, in religiously-divided central Sulawesi, where clashes between police and Muslim crowds have killed one and injured several in the past two days, a church caught fire in the early hours causing no casualties.
Local police declined to comment, but the Detikcom online news portal said National Police Chief General Sutanto in Jakarta told journalists it could have been arson.
Sutanto also said that there was no plan to withdraw the 1,000 police reinforcement from Poso, as has been demanded by local Muslim leaders.
"We will not pull them out. Their presence there is to safeguard the (security) situation," Sutanto said.
In Ende, in the predominantly Christian eastern Indonesian island of Flores, close to 10,000 Muslims conducted prayers in an open field under heavy security, the ElShinta radio reported. The prayers went off peacefully, it said.
The area recently saw protests over the execution of three Christian militia leaders in Palu, central Sulawesi, in September. The three were executed for their part in the sectarian violence in 2000.
Eid prayers also proceeded peacefully at eight locations in Kupang, the main city in predominantly Christian West Timor where protests against the executions have also taken place, the state Antara news agency said.
In Aceh, where a peace pact signed in August 1975 led to an end to almost 30 years of violent separatist conflict, the main Eid prayers was held at the Baiturrahman main mosque in the capital, Banda Aceh.
"We are starting with a new page in our history in the spirit taught by the Koran. Everyone of the same faith is a brother or sister. Therefore let there be peace among them," said Ali Mokhtar Ngabalin, said during his sermon there, according to the state Antara news agency.
Some 30 million adherents of the Muhammadiyah, the country's second largest Islamic movement, celebrated Eid on Monday. The timing of the festival depends on the sighting of the new moon.