Masjid Darul Malihah Kampung Bukit Berangan

Nestled in the rolling green hills of Kampung Bukit Berangan on the outskirts of Kuching city in the state of Sarawak on the tropical island of Borneo, this quiet house of prayer carries the reverent name Darul Malihah, meaning the pleasant and gracious abode, a title that reflects the peaceful character of the kampung community that devotedly built it for themselves and for the travellers who pass by. The state of Sarawak stretches along the north western coast of Borneo, a vast land of dense rainforest rivers, timber longhouses and a richly mixed Muslim population drawn from Malay, Melanau, Kedayan and Dayak Muslim backgrounds, whose Islamic heritage was nurtured carefully from the fifteenth century onwards by the old sultanate of Brunei and later by travelling missionaries of the Sambas and Johor religious schools. The city of Kuching, the state capital sitting on the banks of the wide Sarawak river, remembers Datu Merpati Jepang, may God have mercy upon him, among its founding Muslim dignitaries, and the city has long been quietly famous for the gentle Borneo manner of its teachers, imams and religious guides. The architecture of the mosque blends the Malay tiered timber roof with the green painted domes favoured across the northern coast of Borneo, a raised teak floor to breathe above the damp tropical earth, and tall windows of carved wood screens known as kekisi that draw in the cool river breeze through the hot afternoons. Five daily prayers ring softly across the quiet kampung, and on Fridays the farmers, boatmen and civil servants of the nearby districts gather in peaceful quiet ranks within the prayer hall. During the blessed month of Ramadan the evening breaking of the fast is shared with spicy bubur pedas and colourful kek lapis, the famous Sarawak layered cake, before the long tarawih prayers begin. The two Eids fill the wide compound with families dressed in the traditional baju kurung and baju Melayu, and the many days of Aidil Fitri unfold with open houses across every corner of the kampung. Visitors are warmly welcomed with gentle Borneo courtesy, and the beautiful Sarawak state mosque, the white Astana palace and the lively waterfront bazaar are all reachable by a short and pleasant drive from the kampung lane out through the green rolling hills.