The many newly-built mosques in this part of the world have evolved to become great monumental structures , which were initially basic, simple and rudimentary structures. Even so, some of the newly-built mosques remain purely as a place of worship, without being utilised fully as it had been done by the Prophet Muhammad PBUH in the AI-Masjid AI-Nabawi in Madinah.

With the Prophet’s guiding principle in proposing the building of this mosque, the Central Java Province authority initiated a mosque design competition aimed at re-living the glories in the same spirit as when the Prophet Muhammad PBUH first built his mosque in Madinah.

Completed in 2006, the Great Mosque of Central Java in Semarang is the largest and most important mosque in the province, with a capacity to accommodate up to 16,000 worshippers. In addition to the main prayer hall , the mosque complex comprises ablution facilities, an auditorium, and museum, a building for the Islamic cultural office, shops, guest houses, a radio studio and library, as well as an open courtyard with minarets.

Located in the district of Gayamsari, construction of the mosque began in 2001 and was completed in 2006. The mosque’s site is surrounded by picturesque settings of green paddy fields to the west and neighbouring housing areas to the east and south.

Designed by architect Ir. H. Ahmad Fanani, the design of the mosque mixes the Southeast Asian style with elements of Arabian-Middle East and Postmodern design. A mixture of the various styles is clearly seen in the huge pyramidal roof structure, surmounted by a bulbous round dome flanked immediately by a group of four minarets. The main building is preceded by two rectangular buildings with a courtyard at its centre.

The courtyard is also used as an overspill area for praying and is uniquely equipped with retractable umbrella tent structures reminiscent of the umbrellas of AI-Masjid AI-Nabawi in Madinah. The six large, hydraulically-operated umbrellas can be deployed automatically and used during important occasions or Friday prayers, to shade the courtyard from the hot mid-afternoon sun, thus making the space usable for the worshippers. At the near end of the courtyard, a U-shaped open structure with horseshoe-shaped arches with modified Greek style columns encircles the fountain pool.

Built as an integrated religious complex, the Great Mosque of Central Java has also been developed as an attraction for religious practices and tourism. The 99 metres [324 feet) AI-Husna Tower, which bears resemblance to the tower of the Menara Kudus Mosque, houses a radio studio, museum, revolving restaurant and an observation gallery.

The wide square prayer hall was formed by four mammoth columns that support the upper-roof tier where the main dome and four minarets are located. The roof tier is furnished with clerestory windows which illuminate the interior space with natural light, supplementing the light cast by the grand, circular chandelier.

Besides its columns and wide-spanning arches , the space of the main prayer hall is largely dominated by the pyramidal roof trusses that run vertically on all sides. The space is rendered in green and is designed as a double volume space which allows for a raised female prayer gallery. The mihrab and minbar were formed by a built-in portal at the centre of the qibla wall, flanked by cut-out arches. The entablature of the portal is adorned with a band of calligraphic Quranic inscriptions, with a fine timber arch outlining the marble niche space. Several wall arches, framed in the wood facilitate natural lighting into the space below. On the right of the mihrab is a built-in minbar with a round arched opening of the pulpit platform.

The mosque complex covers 10 hectares (25 acres). There are three central buildings arranged in the shape of a U, with the domed mosque at the centre; all buildings have pitched, tiled roofs, while the central mosque has four minarets. The central roof resembles the roof of a “joglo”, the traditional Javanese house, and symbolises the rising steps toward heaven or to gain God’s blessing. The long buildings forming the arms of the U house a library and auditorium respectively, the auditorium can hold up to 2,000 people.